alt Hacker NewsI grew up in India (70,80,90) before coming to the US in 2000. I’m not a vaccine sceptic. But this sort of thing makes me cringe.
I’ve had chicken pox, mumps and measles growing up. Everyone I grew up with had those. No one is experiencing dementia or any sort of neurodegeneration. There was a chicken pox epidemic in my engineering university dorm. I didn’t catch it since I had it earlier as a kid. Either way none of the people who had it are having issues.
I think take the vax to prevent the disease. The neurodegenerative side effects are just advertisement for the vaccine.
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‘I haven’t witnessed second order effects therefore they don’t exist’ is a myopic position to take. The advertisement argument is so cynical and depressing I find it hard to even think about rebutting. It probably doesn’t make sense to try, because it’s an axiomatic world view, these are kinda hard to argue with.
> I’ve had chicken pox, mumps and measles growing up. Everyone I grew up with had those. No one is experiencing dementia or any sort of neurodegeneration.
Are you asserting dementia and neurodegeneration don't exist in India, or merely not in your set of close personal acquantances? Because if its the latter, that... hardly means anything. The expected prevalence even with a past history of diseases that increase the risk isn’t high enough that it not happening that you are aware of in your personal circle is... really noteworthy at all, unless your circle is large and/or you have detailed access to the private medical information of everyone in it.
Are you seriously still in contact with everyone you grew up with? And everyone you went to undergraduate with?
Consider yourself lucky. My mom had measles as a kid (1940s) and for several years had a high rate of ear infections, etc.
> No one is experiencing dementia or any sort of neurodegeneration.
Measles specifically cause lifelong disabilities, so yes, people do actually suffer those.
If you were born in 1970, you (and presumably the people you grew up with) are ~55. The sample set in this particular study are 71-88 years old (plus 7 years after), so 16+ years older than you (years that also coincide with increased prevalence of noticeable dementia and neurodegeneration).