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medpundit |
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Friday, December 19, 2003UPDATE: A reader says I over-simplified things: First, apparently the Spanish Flu actually first showed its ugly head in the USA while our troops were in training for WWI, at the time it was a mild flu. We took it to Europe, while there the strain did what flu viruses do so well, it mutated. When it came back to the USA, with those returning from the war, it was a deadly virus. It apparently needed no help from secondary bacterial infections to kill healthy young adults. Second, while you mentioned the issue with trial lawyers and law suit impacting the vaccine industry, it is an issue that is as serious as the war on terror. Because of a slight risk, usually knowable, parents are opting out of having their children vaccinated at a time when, regardless of the war on terror, vaccines are as important as ever. Some childhood diseases that were quite rare in the past fifty years are on the resurgence, whooping cough is a good example. As the USSR collapsed outbreaks of various diseases thought under control begin occurring again at epidemic levels, typhoid, whooping cough, etc. Afghanistan had major outbreaks of whooping cough in the past two years. The number of cases are up in the USA and I would bet it is in those states that have the most lenient policy relative to vaccination. Outside of basic sanitation, vaccinations were most probably the greatest medical breakthrough in human history far exceeding antibiotics. Now we risk losing vaccines because a few people, who wish to live in what the believe should be a risk free world, are driving the industry into extinction. Having worked in government, I would hate to turn over all vaccine production to government. Third, we all have little memory of the horrors that a parent could face raising children as short a time ago as the first half of the 20th century. Without vaccines we will face that again. As it is with the increase in resistant bacteria, strep diseases easily could begin to devastate our children again. Our schools systems do not educate us even to wash our hands any more, so expecting them to teach the history of the impact of disease on human history is something I do not expect to happen, yet it is necessary. Fourth, we have set aside tool used and taught because of so called human rights issues. When I had the Asiatic Flu in the 1950s they closed schools trying to curb the spread. Even seemingly little things like requiring people to wash their hands and teaching our kids to do so, seems not to be politically correct. posted by Sydney on 12/19/2003 08:46:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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