Posted on 11/09/2013 6:30:02 PM PST by lee martell
Today's young parents are confronted with a dilemma; should they obey the clear, strict instructions of the neighborhood school and make sure their child is vaccinated before school starts, or should they 'just say no'. Some folks on side of receiving immunization shots are quick to point out the worrying resurgence of various diseases most Americans thought were almost wiped out. Diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough have largely been held in check because of available immunization injections. In 2011 there were 167 cases of Whooping Cough reported. In 2013 there have been 352 so far. These almost defeated diseases appear to be driven by familes who refuse to vaccinate their children. American families should feel fortunate that there is medical assistance readily available here. Paradoxically, doctors and their vaccines, are not usually found in abundance where they are most needed. Syria is right now experiencing a dramatic resurgence in polio, of all things. How sad that this debilitating sickness is taking young lives in that war torn country. Syria is not likely to have today's version of the Iron Lung available to very many people, especially not when hospitals are as dangerous as a battlefield.
There are some immunizations that don't even need to be injected, they can simply be stuck onto you, the patient. Biomedical Engineer Mark Kendall has a new medical invention that will make needle-phobic people happy. The Nanopatch; a tiny square (smaller than a postage stamp) that can deliver a dose of vaccine. The Nanopatch was presented to the public at the TED Global 2013 Exposition in Edinburgh, Scotland, just two miles from the birthplace of the needle and syringe in 1853. This is an improvement over the needle, because the needle delivers vaccines into muscle, bypassing the immune surfaces of the skin. This means a smaller dose of 450ng vaccine via Nanopatch can be just as effective as a larger dose 600ng via needle and syringe. Because less vaccine will be needed for the Nanopatch, this could make an expensive vaccine much more viable to distribute in the developing world. Another advantage of the Nanopatch is that it is created by a surface coating of a dry vaccine, so one need not be concerned about a cold chain from manufacturer to user as with the basic liquid vaccines for needles.
However, all this research and innovation misses the point for many parents. One mother of a six year old is quoted as saying, "I just don't feel good about pumping all those strong drugs into a child's delicate system. I have read accounts of some who feel that those same shots are the reason their child now has autism. I know some people say there is no relation, but once that is done, it can never be undone." This parent requested anonymity because most times when other moms and dads discover her two children have never been vaccinated at all, they get upset with the mom for allowing that to occur.
Several of my childhood friends contracted polio.........
Yep, got mine.....
Wasn’t the polio vaccine put on a sugar cube that we kids had to eat?
When was that exactly? It has always been an issue, and likely will continue to be for some time.
Immigrants coming over from Europe to Ellis Island on ships like the Titanic and many others went through a program of de-lousing and other efforts at reducing the risk of disease, and were often blamed for bringing diseases with them.
Those two things were all schoolkids nightmare over here. But at least, the polio thing went over to be just a painless sugarcube handed out in class.
The up and coming bad stuff is the madcow-modifieds and the coronas.
As an older person now I plan on traveling to the one country I don't know very well: the USA, trips: down the Mississippi, Virginia, Washington D.C. and such. I'm looking forward to it...and no shots. :o)
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