The paranoid birthers/deathers have a new imaginary danger in their sights: the efforts in Massachusetts to protect the public against the very real possibility of a serious flu outbreak.
Using phrases like “medical fascism,” the far-right online world is bristling with anger. Here’s an example, from the hard-right but well-read World Net Daily: “A ‘pandemic response bill’ currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.”
Yesterday, DPH Commissioner Auerbach sent a letter to the General Court and local and municipal elected officials. The memo debunked the false claims regarding mandatory vaccination for H1N1 influenza.
Last month, the Public Health Council approved regulations in preparation for the H1NI flu pandemic and the seasonal flu. DPH presented a plan for protecting the residents of Massachusetts against both types of flu. The department did not call for or authorize mandatory vaccination against the pandemic flu. DPH’s staff has been tirelessly working in an open way on a strategic plan so that spread of the H1N1 flu can be tracked and monitored and all agencies coordinate their efforts.
More information can be found at www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu. The reality-based community needs to respond forcefully to this assault on public health.
-Mehreen Butt
The languAGE of the Bill may be implimented only when the President of The United Dtates of America declares a STATE OF EMEGENCY. hmmmm, didn’t he just do that two days ago???? Having Bills like this helps the states to be able to obtain federal funding etc. including eviction, force, stealing ones property.
Three things concern me about this: One, it seems rather obvious that the government is exaggerating the scare, considering how very few actual cases have been reported. Two, the actual wording of the law could be exploited and abused by devious officials in power. Three, the officials in government and the medical industry providing the vaccinations (Big Pharma) have been granted immunity to any and all adverse after-effects of the vaccine.
People should use a little more common sense and law makers would not have to put these regulations in place. I agree with the comments above.
The language of the bill does not define what an emergency is, except that it is an event that is detrimental to the public health. The level 6 pandemic level is based on infectivity and not virulence. Yes, people get infected very repidly with h1n1 but the great majority recover without incident.However, the classification of pandemic level 6 is enough to declare a state of emergency and impose state usurpation of basic freedoms. Why are we making more laws that can be abused or misinterpreted when we already have law presidence on the books. Example if someone that has been diagnosed with aids knowingly spreads the disease to other people without their knowledge this person can be arrested and charged with the a crime. Politicians feel that in order to appeal to their constituaents they must make more laws to alay unfounded concerns and at the same time grab more power from the people as was stated by the current administration not letting a crisis go to waste.
What this article or the DPH letter do not mention is the language of Mass. Senate bill #2028 that passed the Senate with unanimous support and is making its way through the house as we speak. It contains language that can lead the state to mandate vaccination, seize property ,institute fines and imprison Americans for failure to comply. So basically they are saying they won’t do these things but they are aquiring the power to do them. Very interesting and dangerous.