What I am sure of is this. The benefits of vaccination in this instance far outweigh the risks. I am lucky that I only ever had one of those three childhood diseases, measles. In the late 50s and early 60s these were commonly called the 'red measles' as opposed to the slightly less severe form known as the "German measles" (rubella). What I can tell you is that spending two weeks in a darkened room running a high fever and itching like mad was no fun, forbidden to read and in a household that wasn't about to make exceptions for strictly regulated TV watching just because its offspring was sick. At the time, it was believed that one's eyesight could be damaged if one tried to read while sick with the measles, not sure if that's true or not.
It was an uncomfortable and boring two weeks. I wasn't sick enough to just sleep, and there was no excitement as a result of coughing up blood clots the size of quarters as there was later when I had scarlet fever, or of a whole household having to be quarantined, which at least had the effect of making me feel like a VIP (albeit a very feverish VIP who could no longer babble at will because her throat was so sore). The other thing I'll tell you is that even though I may not have had my 'share' of childhood diseases, having avoided getting mumps and the German measles, until I finally had my tonsils removed the summer I was eight, I was missing up to six weeks' school a year. I realize tonsillectomy is another 'hot button' issue - but given that at age 53 I get a virus maybe once every four years and perhaps one cold in 10 to which I'm exposed, in my case getting rid of those tonsils was the right thing to do. And no, I don't take the benefit of having an extremely sturdy immune system for granted - I'm grateful for whatever it is I'm doing right and for my good genes each and every day. And no, I don't get flu shots (because 'flu' is a catchall term for a whole bunch of different viruses, and usually the shots are prepared far in advance of the strains of flu actually making the rounds and are therefore not as effective as they could/should be - comparing annual flu vaccines to the MMR vaccine is, however, a case of comparing apples to pears - similar but different).
I find it very strange in a world that so readily accepts an outright ban on peanut products being brought into schools because a small proportion of children (one per cent!) suffer from an allergy that resistance to a vaccination that has clinically proven to control outbreaks of diseases mistakenly labelled 'childhood diseases' (since there is nothing 'childish' about the consequences that can result from measles, mumps, and rubella, including retardation and sterility) is so entrenched. Many of you have never known anyone who contracted smallpox - or polio. Here's a list of some people of whom you may have heard who suffered from polio, having had the misfortune to be born just before the vaccine came into widespread use. Included on that list are Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Ian Dury. My maternal grandmother (born in 1896) 'didn't believe' in the smallpox vaccine. If she were still alive I would ask her if she had changed her mind after she and two of her children contracted a mild dose of smallpox. I had assumed the scars on my uncle's face were from acne, but in fact they were smallpox scars.
So if you're in the UK, get on the phone and on the email trail as Dr. Ben suggests (I know it's a long blog post). And if you're not, please educate yourself about what the word 'endemic' means. We have bigger issues to deal with, as world citizens, than this nonsense of the ignorant being given platforms to spout their dangerous psycho babble and their wealthy corporate media backers launching law suits over 'intellectual property infringement' when the informed try to set the record straight.
Update: While I think it would be wonderful to live in a country where the media aren't all owned by a single company, it's hard for me to tell if Melanie Phillips of The Spectator actually has some valid points to make, or if her motivation is merely to take on The Times. Witch hunt is pretty strong language, under the circumstances.
Disclosure: I am allergic to peanuts myself; it's the one food allergy I've had my entire life.
Posts
