Thread: Vaccines are our best defense against some diseases

Vaccines are our best defense against some diseases

Parents make powerful choices for their children. One of the most important is the decision to give them vaccines that will protect them from deadly, disabling diseases. As USA TODAY reported Wednesday, chicken pox, measles, mumps and whooping cough are not distant, forgotten diseases. They may be right next to you, in an infected traveler on an airplane ("Reports of sick travelers climb," News).

Right now, in fact, several states are experiencing outbreaks of whooping cough, or pertussis. In California, the pertussis epidemic has killed six infants this year who were too young to be fully vaccinated.

In 2008, the same story played out with measles. An unvaccinated boy returned home from Switzerland with measles, and over the next few days, more than 800 people around San Diego were exposed to the virus. Eleven other unimmunized children caught measles, including three who were too young to be vaccinated.

Vaccines truly are life-saving, and they represent our best defense against diseases such as measles and pertussis. When community vaccination rates are high, that protects vulnerable members of society, especially infants.

We know parents have questions about vaccines. Pediatricians, who provide 80% of childhood immunizations in this country, work hard every day to provide the answers. We must convince the public that the threat of disease is not theoretical, but real. And we already have the most effective weapon at our disposal.

Judith S. Palfrey, M.D., President, American Academy of Pediatrics; Boston

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/le ... _ST1_N.htm

Legal immigrants get a health inspection and their shots before they come here.

Illegal aliens don't.

Guess what the problem is.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Legal immigrants get a health inspection and their shots before they come here.

Illegal aliens don't.

Guess what the problem is.

Yes illegals get no medical screening before they enter. This is a very big problem. Another problem is that our government is so corrupt that parents are becoming afraid to trust vaccines. They think they may not be safe because our government is bought and paid for by corporations, including the pharmaceutical companies. So when you have illegals coming into the country with no health check, and you have some parents afraid to trust government agencies to protect their children....then you have a very dangerous situation.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Legal immigrants get a health inspection and their shots before they come here.

Illegal aliens don't.

Guess what the problem is.

Yes illegals get no medical screening before they enter. This is a very big problem. Another problem is that our government is so corrupt that parents are becoming afraid to trust vaccines. They think they may not be safe because our government is bought and paid for by corporations, including the pharmaceutical companies. So when you have illegals coming into the country with no health check, and you have some parents afraid to trust government agencies to protect their children....then you have a very dangerous situation.

My thoughts also. I'm one of those parents who is untrusting of vaccines. We skipped the H1N1 Flu shot and also the regular flu shot last year and this year for that very reason. I and my kids will only get vaccines when absolutely necessary.

I hate feeling this way. When I was younger, I looked at the govt like some benign agency, whose job it was to look over us and run the country - now that I am 40, I have the opposite outlook. In fact, sometimes I wonder why they hate us so much.

Today, a doctor made a connection between the recent Dengue Fever cases, and people coming across the border unchecked, illegally.

Psalm 23, it is written,..."The Lord is my Shepherd."