Chickenpox party, anyone?
A Queensland mum is offering to open up her home to fellow anti-vaxxers and infect their children with chickenpox.
Mother-of-two Hollie Singleton has advertised over Facebook the opportunity for families to come into her home while her sons, three and five, suffer with the highly contagious disease.
And if you think that sounds like a warped idea reminiscent of ancient history – you’d be right. chickenpox parties were actually all the rage a century ago – before a vaccine was developed, that is.
Ms Singleton posted the invitation to the members of an anti-vaxxer group, suggesting that anyone who wants to get the disease out of the way, should come pay her and her kids a visit.
“My son has a full case of chickenpox. We are all home together for the week,” she wrote.
“If anyone wants to clear this bug now and get it over with please come to Brisbane and visit us. We are here to infect only those who want it!”
Her post received great interest, many commenting about the possibility of meeting up, one particular woman mentioning that her kids had already been through chickenpox, which left her “waiting for a measles outbreak lol.”
According to Singleton, the offer would’ve been taken up by more parents if it wasn’t the holiday season. Apparently, parents are fine with their kids getting chickenpox, just not when Santa’s coming.
“I had a number of people who were interested if the timing was different,” she said.
Come next month, new laws will be enacted that will stop anti-vaxxer parents accessing childcare rebates. Further, child care centres will be able to refuse unvaccinated children entry.
The latest figures from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register show 90.9 per cent of 18-month-old children have been vaccinated against chickenpox, along with other contagious diseases like measles and mumps.
Watch Jimmy Kimmel disarm the anti-vaxxer movement below.
What’s your take on chickenpox parties?
Top Comments
I know this is wrong but I feel violent towards these people they want kids to suffer as well as expose them to the possibility of getting shingles later in life. And all of this can be avoided by a quick jab.
Are these people against other modern medical innovations. For instance if their appendix ruptures will they refuse an operation? Are they against anesthetic? Because how do they know that's safe?
I notice she has piercings and makeup, isn't she afraid of any of those things having poison in them? What about her hair dye? That could be seeping into her brain causing her to react irrationally, oh actually that explains her stupidity!
These people need to have their children removed, what they are doing is child abuse.
I feel the same way. They are fvcking idiots. Not a scientist or a doctor, not even educated in any health field and thinks that looking stuff up on Google is "research". It makes my blood boil. You aren't clever or special for denying proven, life saving, world changing medicine. You are a twit who is willfully endangering the lives of others, including your own children.
I'm pretty sure they'd be expecting the full gamut of taxpayer funded healthcare if complications arose from deliberately contracting vaccine-preventable diseases!
With what we know and have avaliable now in medicine, this woman is negligent and dangerous
I say that as a person who was taken to a pox party as a kid before vax was available