Yes, that kind of surveillance is widespread in the US. Usually it's not creepy...at least not at the beginning. Like, I started getting very friendly phone calls from a kind state nurse who was really super concerned that my youngest hadn't had the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccinations yet. It was just because I was busy, having gone back to work full time ASAP b/c I had mouths to feed, and the pediatrician's office was super busy and getting an appt is really hard.
This kind nurse magically got me an appointment for my youngest at their doctor's office at the time and date of my choosing. I was astounded. This, like, never happens. Doctors are so overbooked and busy here. The state must REALLY want kids vaccinated! It was around the time there was a measles outbreak in New York, right next door, so perhaps they were extra concerned. I am big believer in the old school vaccinations against potentially deadly diseases (measles, tetanus, polio, diptheria and whooping cough), so I was happy to take her up on it.
I have yet to be harassed about the newer rotavirus, RSV, chicken pox, and cervical cancer vaxxes, which leads me to believe the public health folks realize those are less necessary.
But there's a more subtle way they harass you: by refusing to let your kids go to day care, school, or summer camp without the full complement of vaccines (day care includes the flu shot.) This is the way a lot of people start out homeschooling--because they are literally forced into it by the required vaccination schedule of public schools. If the state starts requiring the Coof mRNA shots for school, or if any of the other req'd vaccines go mRNA, I believe there will be a huge protest and large exodus from the public schools around here.
And by the way, if you're interested in finding friendly doctors, ask the homeschooling crowd. They know.
Re: Emily Oster says 'Let's forgive and forget'
This kind nurse magically got me an appointment for my youngest at their doctor's office at the time and date of my choosing. I was astounded. This, like, never happens. Doctors are so overbooked and busy here. The state must REALLY want kids vaccinated! It was around the time there was a measles outbreak in New York, right next door, so perhaps they were extra concerned. I am big believer in the old school vaccinations against potentially deadly diseases (measles, tetanus, polio, diptheria and whooping cough), so I was happy to take her up on it.
I have yet to be harassed about the newer rotavirus, RSV, chicken pox, and cervical cancer vaxxes, which leads me to believe the public health folks realize those are less necessary.
But there's a more subtle way they harass you: by refusing to let your kids go to day care, school, or summer camp without the full complement of vaccines (day care includes the flu shot.) This is the way a lot of people start out homeschooling--because they are literally forced into it by the required vaccination schedule of public schools. If the state starts requiring the Coof mRNA shots for school, or if any of the other req'd vaccines go mRNA, I believe there will be a huge protest and large exodus from the public schools around here.
And by the way, if you're interested in finding friendly doctors, ask the homeschooling crowd. They know.
-Ms. Krieger