Jenny McCarthy: She Doesn't Want Kids to Get Vaccinated

[maggiemae]

CathinAz - Sounds like you got your Mom in in the nick of time. Good job.

I suggest anyone young to ask their parents if they had chickenpox or were vaccinated for it. Unfortunately I no longer can but assume (99% sure) I was.

Don't wait and familiarize with the symptoms if you are unsure...or go for the shot. A friend of mine had the shot on medicare and supplemental ins and it was $100. Heck of a lot more with out.

I love this site, for one reason it allows a discourse on very important subjects.

[LuckyBitch]

I love this site, for one reason it allows a discourse on very important subjects.

 

@maggiemae, I was just going to post a similar comment. I realize we've gone off topic, but I'm finding it very informative.

 

Admittedly, I didn't know much about shingles and I had a fit when my husband had his annual physical this past winter and the doctor talked him into a shingles shot. It wasn't covered by our insurance and set us back a few hundred dollars. But, then I did some reading about it:

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/basics/definition/con-20019574

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/expert-answers/shingles-vaccine/faq-20057859

[Cosmocrush]

Meanwhile in the PR.com article.

 

 

Um...because it can be fatal in adults?  (then again, I'm not a doctor.) 

Before the vaccine came out, (mid 90s) every year about 100-150 Americans did die from chickenpox but a much larger number - something like !0,000 kids were hospitalized each year.  I remember this well because I got the chickenpox as an adult just a few years before the vaccine came out.  It was very painful and very expensive (housebound for almost two weeks)  a year later, my brother came down with it as well. 

 

But back to Jenny - does she ever talk about Evan's father?  Is he in the picture at all?  I can' remember. 

[kaygeeret]

I also had shingles and it was only because my mother had a horrific case - she couldn't see the grandchildren for a couple of weeks, she could not stand to have any clothing around her waist, etc. that I identified my case years later.  I helped apply the salve around her waist (with gloves).

 

When I recognized the onset, my doc was unavailable and his nurse, god bless her, asked if I could leave work to get treated at a walk-in clinic. 

She insisted that I get treated that day and I did.  Altho' my actual case was mild due to the prompt action, I do have residual neurological pain at the original site.

 

Interestingly, the treating MD at the 24 hour clinic asked if the staff could see the rash as they had not had too many cases.  I am aware of many, many people who have it.  It is no joke.

 

By the way chicken pox is no joke either.  If you scratch the 'pimples/lesions' you could wind up with pock marked skin, surely something no one wants.  It is a distinctly unpleasant disease and should not be treated lightly.

[LuckyBitch]

I wonder if Jenny's son has had chickenpox yet?

 

Oh, that's right. He probably escaped it because most of the other kids don't get chickenpox anymore since they get the vaccine.

Edited July 18, 2014 by LuckyBitch

[Former Nun]

But back to Jenny - does she ever talk about Evan's father?  Is he in the picture at all?

 

 

Cosmocrush, she has said that he is a good dad and that (finally) she and he have a good relationship.  They want to maintain that for Evan's sake.

[DangerousMinds]

Seems like someone is making a LOT of money from the shingles vaccine in the good old USA.

[Tosia]

Thanks, everyone, you convinced me to go get a shingles shot.  I really do not know if I have chicken pox or not, and I just turned 60.  My mom has passed and my old med records which I have do not mention any chicken pox or vaccine from the 50's.  I did ask my doctor for a shot a couple of years ago, but she said they did not do them in the office. I had to go to Walgreens or somewhere like that. ?????  I am going to check again when I go to an appt. in August, and find out why the vaccine is not given in the med office. I have insurance and was hoping they would pay for it.  

 

My supervisor from work has shingles a few years ago and was out for 4 weeks.  She talked about how painful it was--around the waist. My boyfriend's ex-wife had it in her scalp and it went down into her EYE!  She had to be hospitalized and almost lost use of that eye.  The pain is overwhelming I hear.

[LoveIsJoy]

From the Oprah.com article posted a page back...

 

 

JM: I am not familiar with glucose allergy testing. I think you mean gluten allergy. If so, it is typically a blood test. But I would test for ALL foods. Also Evan came back NOT allergic to gluten but that does not matter. It still needs to be removed.  [bolded emphasis mine]

 

Question to Jenny...if Evan's test came back negative for a gluten allergy, why does it still need to be removed from his diet?  If you're advocating removing gluten from the diet of all kids with autism, then why bother testing for it at all?  Is this something you learned at the University of Google (™Jenny McCarthy) or is there actual scientific evidence indicating gluten allergy testing and removal across the board.  And really, the average mother can test for ALL foods?  (Okay, I guess that was more than one question).

 

It's almost like she's making it up as she goes along.  

[scarynikki12]

Guys I work in a retail pharmacy and I can promise you that most will have the Zostavax shot available. It depends on the state and insurance whether or not you can get it without a prescription but, even if it isn't covered by your plan, look into getting it. We had an outbreak at my store a year and change ago (not us, pharmacy employees lucked out) and it was rough on our coworkers. They were out for weeks. It can be expensive so shop around if it isn't covered by insurance. Jenny doesn't know what she's talking about yet again.

[LuckyBitch]

Thanks, everyone, you convinced me to go get a shingles shot.  I really do not know if I have chicken pox or not, and I just turned 60.  My mom has passed and my old med records which I have do not mention any chicken pox or vaccine from the 50's.  I did ask my doctor for a shot a couple of years ago, but she said they did not do them in the office. I had to go to Walgreens or somewhere like that. ?????  I am going to check again when I go to an appt. in August, and find out why the vaccine is not given in the med office. I have insurance and was hoping they would pay for it.  

 

My supervisor from work has shingles a few years ago and was out for 4 weeks.  She talked about how painful it was--around the waist. My boyfriend's ex-wife had it in her scalp and it went down into her EYE!  She had to be hospitalized and almost lost use of that eye.  The pain is overwhelming I hear.

 

@Tosia, she's very lucky she didn't lose her eyesight. That's the scariest part in that Mayo Clinic article that I linked to above:

Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken for a symptom of problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys. Some people experience shingles pain without ever developing the rash.

Most commonly, the shingles rash develops as a stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of your torso. Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face.

 

When to see a doctor

Contact your doctor promptly if you suspect shingles, but especially in the following situations:

The pain and rash occur near an eye. If left untreated, this infection can lead to permanent eye damage.

 

As far as the cost of the Zostavax, I just checked my bill and we were charged $324 ($275 for the shot, plus a $49 administrative fee). Looking around on Google, I think we were charged at the high end. Also, some people are saying that insurance covers it only when you're over 60.

 

I found some price info here. The comments are worth a read to see what people are reporting being charged around the country and with various insurance companies. 

 

Also, read those comments on that site and you'll see a few people mention what you heard from your doctor, that they had to get the shot at Walgreens, CVS, or some other pharmacy. And, one person said he had to go pick up the shot at the pharmacy and bring it to his doctor's office.

 

If I had to do it over again I'd ask the doctor's office up front what the cost is. It boggles my mind why so many people seem afraid to do that with doctors, but never with other professionals. Then, I'd call my insurance company and see if it's covered. Good luck!

 

Hmm, I wonder if Jenny advises her father against getting the shingles shot?

[Jaded]

Jenny says the only person who can replace her on The Spew is Jesus H. Christ....

http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/18/jenny-mccarthy-the-view-replacement-host/

[3pwood]

For whatever it may be worth:  I'm a member of the Kaiser Permanente group in northern Calif & received a shingles vaccination for free the year I turned 60 (2007) -- don't know what the current policy is, & different members' plans may differ -- but Kaiser has always been devoted to preventive measures, so it may be worth looking into.

[Kromm]

Jenny says the only person who can replace her on The Spew is Jesus H. Christ....

http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/18/jenny-mccarthy-the-view-replacement-host/

To be fair, she didn't seem to be saying that seriously (only a deluded person would).  It was definitely intended to be sarcastic (even if it's not all that funny).

[Jaded]

To be fair, she didn't seem to be saying that seriously (only a deluded person would).  It was definitely intended to be sarcastic (even if it's not all that funny).

I know. I figured most others would get that fact too. It didn't offend ma in any way but it was a stupid joke to make nonetheless. 

[kaygeeret]

Damn, the girl is caught in her "sexy, exciting" hi and happening 20's isn't she.

 

She and Donnie may get married, but it won't last - she's not a grown up.

Damn, the girl is caught in her "sexy, exciting" hi and happening 20's isn't she

 

 

 

 

Oh for pete's sake, I meant hip and happening!

[Kromm]

Damn, the girl is caught in her "sexy, exciting" hi and happening 20's isn't she.

 

She and Donnie may get married, but it won't last - she's not a grown up.

 

 

Oh for pete's sake, I meant hip and happening!

She's getting to the age where it's gonna be more like "Ow, my hip! What's happening?"

[Cosmocrush]

Damn, the girl is caught in her "sexy, exciting" hi and happening 20's isn't she.

 

She and Donnie may get married, but it won't last - she's not a grown up.

 

 

Oh for pete's sake, I meant hip and happening!

I don't know much about Donnie Wahlberg  but he's a 45 year old and still performing with his boy band from his own twenty's: New Kids on The Block.    Sounds like it might be a good match. 

 

Edited for literacy

Edited July 20, 2014 by Cosmocrush

[Kromm]

I don't know much about Donnie Wahlberg  but he's 45 year old and still performing with his boy band from his own twenty's: New Kids on The Block?    Sounds like it might be a good match. 

He might even need congratulations for going for a woman near his own age, when his level of fame could net him a 22 year old.  I suppose a 41 year old who only ACTS like she's 22 is good, in comparison.  I mean if she wasn't such a vaccine hating nut job.

[heebiejeebie]

I had shingles when I was nine and I think was considered quite young to have it.  I now have little tiny marks on the left side of my body that look like I feel asleep in the sun with rain drops on my body that tanned off color from the rest of my skin.  Or a mouse took itty bitty bites out of me that healed but scared.  I do get flare ups occasionally.  Usually when I go through a long stressful travel period.  It is very painful.  But I also tend to look at the attempted hysteria to sell vaccines with a side eye.  Yes vaccines are important.  But some of the corporate gives under the last administration in regards to the FDA make me a bit worried.  I can already hear the commercial now "did you or a love one suffer stroke or die* after taking a shingles vaccine?  Did your internal organs melt and explode out your anus in a flood of blood tissue and fecal matter?  Did your skin slough off your body animate and take over having sexual congress with your partner?  Call Slick, Shifty and Slimey Law Firm and find out what kind of settlement we can get for you now!"

 

All that and I find Jenny's stance even softened rather dangerous. 

 

 

*There actually is a commercial that asks if either you or a loved one died from using a particular drug.  I wonder if tort reform covers litigation from beyond the grave.

[Lava VaVoom]

Because of this discussion, I called my insurance company and found out the shingles vaccine is covered 100%.   (THANKS, OBAMACARE!)  So I got it today.

[CousinAmy]

Today Jenny shared that her son Evan, who's away at camp, tells her every day how much fun he's having at camp, and how many friends he's made. But the camp called her to tell her that Evan hasn't made any friends, but he has attached himself to the bullies and believes that anything they do to him - throwing dirt down his pants - is a sign that they like him. 

 

She wanted advice about how or when should she tell Evan that these kids aren't his friends. 

 

I couldn't tell if this is a camp for children with special needs, or a camp for all kids. I wonder why she doesn't enlist the help of the people who run the camp, who maybe should keep an eye on a nine-year-old boy being bullied.

[Morgalisa]

 

I couldn't tell if this is a camp for children with special needs, or a camp for all kids. I wonder why she doesn't enlist the help of the people who run the camp, who maybe should keep an eye on a nine-year-old boy being bullied.

 

Jennie said that it was not a camp for children with special needs.

[LuckyBitch]

@CousinAmy, sorry, I see we're discussing this in two different places, and we posted about it at around the same time. I was going to post that article in this thread, but when I saw the issue mentioned in the All Episodes thread, I posted it there.

[kaygeeret]

Wow!  So Jenny has a special needs child, moves him to a new city, school etc., new step dad and away from his Chicago support.......

 

And sends him to a sleep away camp FOR ORDINARY KIDS!!!!  Evan is special needs for the love of pete......at his age group you are so damn right he is going to be bullied.

 

The camp counselors are not used to dealing with special needs kids....this is the stupidest situation regarding a kid like this that I have heard of recently.  Makes Sherri look good.

 

What is anyone thinking?

 

I am assuming we have the facts here and are not conjecturing about the camp etc.

[ginger90]

Makes Sherri look good.

 

Sherri's son "with special needs" is attending the same camp as Evan. They are in different groups according to age.

[CousinAmy]

Sherri's son "with special needs" is attending the same camp as Evan. They are in different groups according to age.

Now I'm wondering why two kids with special needs are in a camp where counselors aren't specially trained to care for them. (Even if the staff at the camp had training, how could they be oblivious to Evan being bullied?) 

[RogerFromOhio]

Now I'm wondering why two kids with special needs are in a camp where counselors aren't specially trained to care for them. (Even if the staff at the camp had training, how could they be oblivious to Evan being bullied?) 

It is possible that this is another one of those "lemonade stand" stories...... another I'm a "tough mommy" story

[ginger90]

Now I'm wondering why two kids with special needs are in a camp where counselors aren't specially trained to care for them

 

On the show, Sherri stated Jeffrey's therapist said it was a good idea. I don't know if Jenny decided on her own, adopted what  Sherri told her Jeffrey's therapist said or it was recommended professionally for Evan too. It's an awfully big world for the two of them to end up at the same camp.

[CathinAZ]

Jenny is not stupid and knows how to use the media. Sounds like she may be using her last few hours on national TV to 1) promote any other work she is doing (free national publicity) and 2) maybe put out there some causes or themes she might align herself with in the near future. I smell a book about "helping your special needs teen cope in normal school", "protecting special needs kids from bullying", etc. She also chose to speak publically thus sending a message to other parents of kids at camp, as well as camp administrators, that they might want to have a little talk with their kiddos about kindness and accepting others.....something they should do anyway! Jenny is probably checking in regularly with counselors about how her child is doing (something special need moms I know do...they tend to be more proactive with teachers, etc) and that's how she learned about how he is interacting with other kids and vice versa. Hope the counselors are quietly making "adjustments" to ensure all kids have a positive experience.

[Tosia]

CathinAZ, I think you got it on the button.  Jenny is looking for sympathy and new ideas for books and public support.  She should have gone to the camp adm first.  I imagine that camp is embarrassed and angry at her public statements.

[kaygeeret]

 

CathinAZ, I think you got it on the button.  Jenny is looking for sympathy and new ideas for books and public support.  She should have gone to the camp adm first.  I imagine that camp is embarrassed and angry at her public statements

 

You make a great point Tosia. 

 

I don't really know the libel laws, but she has certainly made the camp appear shady and it wouldn't take much to figure out where the kids are.

 

Lord, she and Sherri just don't get anything do they.  Jenny is actually a target for a lawsuit....stupid is as stupid does.

[LuckyBitch]

Yep, last week Jenny got herself an article in US Magazine for blabbing about her birds and the bees discussion with her son. And, this week she's getting headlines over his troubles at summer camp. Conveniently, the articles mention her new (one hour) weekly Sirius radio show. Way to use your kid, Jenny! 

 

I don't even watch this show anymore, but I can't wait until Sherri and Jenny are both gone!

[CathinAZ]

Don't know if she really made the camp look "shady". I'd bet she researched the camp up, down and sideways and also talked with administrators about her son before placing him there - maybe the camp even assures parents they are skilled at helping kids fit in. The email she got from counselors was probably an honest assessment of how he was doing. Her public comments were almost a gut check for ALL parents about if and how they've talked with their own kids about accepting others and treating kids well.

I know it's difficult for parents of challenged kids to place them into mainstream programs and for other kids to understand and know how to interact. I see it in my son's classroom and Scout troop. It can be hard at first, but then heartwarming when the kids "get it". Not all do...there always seems to be a small group of "mean kids".

[kaygeeret]

You make good points CathinAZ, but I do think she slanted the story to victimize Evan.

 

If the camp accepted two high profile (ok semi high profile) kids they must have felt they were able to cope.

 

Jenny presented the story as if the camp called her and informed her of the bullying and then just stopped: no solutions, no discussions over what could be done, no suggestion that maybe Evan would be better off at home in New York for the summer.

 

Her story painted Evan as a clown and the camp as having no solutions.

 

I doubt Evan will be welcomed at a sleepover camp next year - thru no fault of his own.

 

No camp want to be "outed" as being incompetent at dealing with difficult situations - why take Evan and the mother he comes with.

[Morbs]

NOVA got in some good digs at Jenny: http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/tca-pbs-nova-panelists-scorch-jenny-mccarthy-over-vaccine-position/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[TribbleTrouble]

NOVA got in some good digs at Jenny: http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/tca-pbs-nova-panelists-scorch-jenny-mccarthy-over-vaccine-position/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Zing! They certainly didn't pull their punches. Good.

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

Zing! They certainly didn't pull their punches. Good.

And Offit is correct that Jenny lacks the gravitas of a Meryl Streep, which makes her ability to garner a pretty significant anti-vax fan club even more baffling.

[ginger90]

which makes her ability to garner a pretty significant anti-vax fan club even more baffling.

 

Associate anything with a potential "cure" or "cause" of something regarding children and I can understand why people jumped on it. I don't have to agree, though.

Edited July 24, 2014 by ginger90

[CousinAmy]

Update on Evan: the camp supplied him with a "buddy" to pal around with. Of course the buddy "understands the situation." So another 12-year-old kid now has Evan's trust. I hope Jenny can trust that kid. 

 

Oh, and Jeffrey got a buddy too, but his is a girl. You can imagine how Sherri liked that. 

[CathinAZ]

Sounds like the camp is on top of it. Jenny may have known about the "buddy" approach when she brought it up on air , but didn't mention it, because she got more attention by throwing the situation out there for discussion.

I have no doubt that jenny and sherry sent their kids to a pricey camp that deals with this situation regularly, had sit down meetings with camp administrators to review all their concerns (special needs, confidentiality, etc), and the camp would have done their best to make it a positive experience for all kids.

Still think jenny made it public to perpetuate her image as a "protective mama bear" and we will be seeing a book ( unless her new hubby is really rich and she can reduce her workload ) about helping a special needs kiddo deal with adolescence.

[TribbleTrouble]

Associate anything with a potential "cure" or "cause" of something regarding children and I can understand why people jumped on it. I don't have to agree, though.

I agree. I think it was much more about the message than the messenger. Jenny just happened to be the loudest and most well-known face with a public platform to spew all her misinformation. Much of the anti-vaccine movement springs from that one thoroughly discredited doctor in the UK and his bogus study. As I recall, he lost his medical license over the whole debacle, and yet some of them still insist on clinging to his bogus findings.

[mtlchick]

So two days after her rant about her son's problems at camp, the topic on her radio show yesterday was "Kids are Dicks" featuring Jason Biggs and his wife and then proceeds to call her son one. Now I didn't hear the show.  And I get being frustrated with your kid and call them things you don't really mean sometimes (unless you're my mother and completely meant it.)  But given the amount of blow back on his camp problems, was it really the BEST time to make that a topic on her show?

Edited July 24, 2014 by mtlchick

[kaygeeret]

 

Today. 9:13 am

 

So two days after her rant about her son's problems at camp, the topic on her radio show yesterday was "Kids are Dicks" featuring Jason Biggs and his wife and then proceeds to call her son one. Now I didn't hear the show.  And I get being frustrated with your kid and call them things you don't really mean sometimes (unless you're my mother and completely meant it.)  But given the amount of blow back on his camp problems, was it really the BEST time to make that a topic on her show?

 

WOW!  What a class act!

 

I am speechless with disgust.  She has the unmitigated gall to lecture people on kids and how to treat 'special needs' and she does this.

 

She is worse than I ever thought and man do I feel sorry for Evan!

 

 

Words are actually failing me

[DangerousMinds]

I think she's trying to host a la Howard Stern, who famously discussed his then-wife's miscarriage in gory detail on the air (amongst other similar things). Not many can pull off that style, obviously.

Edited July 24, 2014 by DangerousMinds

[LuckyBitch]

Jenny is a total ass if she really talked about her son that way. She's another one who needs to STFU about her kid and make a living on her own, leaving him out of it.

Btw, I keep forgetting to mention this. I was talking to someone who heard part of Howard Stern's show when Jenny was on. He told me that in discussing the changes at The View Jenny remarked, "Maybe if I was an Asian conservative I'd still be there. "

Really, Jenny? If that makes you feel better about your lackluster performance all year, go ahead and enjoy your bitter delusion.

[CousinAmy]

 

Really, Jenny? If that makes you feel better about your lackluster performance all year, go ahead and enjoy your bitter delusion.

"Lackluster" is the right word for it. Today when they were discussing how awful they all look first thing in the morning, especially Amy Robach - all I know about her is that she had breast cancer but she looked spectacular today - Jenny made a comment about how long it takes her to look this good, or something - she really looked kinda lackluster. 

[LuckyBitch]

Jenny McCarthy: My Son Called the Cops When I Texted While Driving

Jenny McCarthy is raising a son who seems to be a stickler for rules.

 

Though the soon-to-be former "View" co-host said it's "awesome" that Evan, 12, is a "rule follower," she also shared stories about times it nearly got her into legal trouble.

 

"We're driving in the car and of course I text and drive," she said on her new Sirius radio show, "Dirty Sexy Funny." "He called the police on me and said, 'My mom is texting and driving right now.' True story."

 

Jenny McCarthy on Having 'Birds and Bees' Talk with 12-Year-Old Son

 

Jenny McCarthy Reveals the Reason She Left 'The View'

 

To avoid a possible run-in with the police, McCarthy, 41, said she grabbed his phone and threw it out of the car window. However, it wasn't the only time Evan tried to get his mom in trouble. Once, when she sneaked outside to smoke a cigarette, he couldn't find her and became anxious.

 

"He called 911 and said, 'I am alone in the house. My mom abandoned me,'" she recalled. "I go back in the house and it's 911 and they're like, 'Your child just called. Is there an emergency?' I'm like, 'What?! No! Everything is fine.'"

 

 

[Jaded]

If she quit doing at least two things that are bad for her, dangerous to others and one of them being illegal she'd cut down on at least two ways her son annoys her. 

I wish I could say I feel bad for her that Evan's rule following has gotten her in trouble, instead with her attitude after learning about all of this I hope he continues.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Jaded

[Taylorh2]

Has Jenny mentioned why Melissa McCarthy (her cousin) isn't invited to her wedding ?  I heard it on ET