When I was a child laws went into effect in my home state, Missouri, requiring people to wear seat belts while driving. There was quite a bit of grumbling about the state invading people's rights. Now, I think most folks there see the potential benefits of wearing a seat belt as rather obvious. While I like that fact -- on ideological grounds -- that New Hampshire has no seat belt or helmet laws, the time I visited there I wore my seat belt without fail. As I see it, if someone else wants to risk disability or death by not wearing a seat belt, that's there business. Yes, even though I know that there are possible added costs to the public when uninsured people get into accidents and require medical care. This somewhat libertarian philosophy of mine does not extend, however, to vaccinations for children.
It was something of a shock for me to read recently that there is a significant, active anti-vaccination movement in the United States. This is the 21st century, right? Have people really forgotten the countless generations of humanity that knew the silent sorrow of childhood deaths due to disease? Apparently, yes.
Arguing without any real, scientific evidence that vaccinations actually cause problems, like autism, parents are turning away from vaccinating their children. Many states actually leave vaccination as optional. Isn't that their personal right, a decision to be made "in family" and that impacts only them? No.
Vaccinations don't always "take." I've been vaccinated against many diseases, but that doesn't mean that I actually have all those immunities. There could have been a vaccination failure, and I'll only know if I get sick. My kids are also current on all their vaccinations, and they go to school. What if one of their vaccinations failed, and someone who has never been vaccinated goes to school with that specific contagious illness? I do not want my children being maimed or killed by a disease simply because some other parent believed the pseudo-scientific rhetoric of some silly celebrities.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, or perhaps tend to agree with the anti-vaccination crowd, please get informed. A good place to start is the recent Wired magazine article that made me aware of this problem.
See Also:
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All (Wired)
0 comments:
Post a Comment