The local vaccination rate there is horrible.
A WIRED investigation shows that some children attending day care facilities affiliated with prominent Silicon Valley companies have not been completely vaccinated against preventable infectious diseases. At least, that’s according to a giant database from the California Department of Public Health, which tracks the vaccination rates at day care facilities and preschools in the state. We selected more than 20 large technology and health companies in the Bay Area and researched their day care offerings. Of 12 day care facilities affiliated with tech companies, six—that’s half—have below-average vaccination rates, according to the state’s data.
And by below-average WIRED means ‘critically unsafe,’ here. It’s the herd immunity problem: essentially, anti-vaccination advocates pretty much bank on the fact that since everybody else vaccinates their kids, then unvaccinated kids are safe from outbreaks, because an outbreak is unlikely to spread. The critical percentage is, according to WIRED, about 92% (which is probably just taking an average of the 90% to 95% that seems to be the general rule of thumb): less than that, and a measles outbreak is possible. Those day care facilities mentioned above are all showing vaccination rates below 90%*. The companies involved are, of course, contesting the findings, blaming poor and incomplete record keeping for their low scores.
I will let you think for a moment about why that explanation should not actually reassure you. Worked it out, yes? Good.
Anyway… the good news? This is all made possible by California’s personal belief exemption for vaccinations, which might be on the chopping block very, very soon (turns out that California liberals have kids, too). Until then… I’d recommend that people looking to work in the tech field avoid Silicon Valley like the plague. Before there is one, there.
Moe Lane
*You don’t want to know how bad it reportedly is at Pixar. Trust me on this. Just be grateful that measles can’t be transmitted via Imax.
Heck I knew that even before I learned of their anti-vaxing lunacy. The work hours are long and the cost of living is high. Can’t buy a house unless you make 6 figures or commute over an hour each way. And you better homeschool rather than put a kid into those lefty training centers they call schools out there. Couldn’t get out fast enough once the work I had dried up.
As I’ve mentioned in other thread:
1. Don’t bring your kids to school unless they’ve either been vaccinated or have the disease already.
2. If you don’t want to be vaccinated, please arrange your kids to have the disease.