There is a fantastic campaign underway right now that makes a strong, powerful, and potentially life-saving statement.
I Have Immunity
One of its main objectives is to raise awareness of just how valuable and life-saving vaccines are. It is only because of vaccines that diseases like measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and polio have been controlled and almost completely eradicated from our population. So effective are these control measures, that when these conditions do arise, they are often unrecognized and misdiagnosed, resulting in fatal consequence.
Thanks to vaccines, the majority of doctors today have never seen, first hand, the symptoms of the above conditions. They have no memory of the rash and fever that accompanies measles. The fever and cough of pertussis are often unrecognized and attributed to a flu or a cold.
In the last few years, things have begun to take a turn for the worse though. Thanks to outspoken and uneducated anti-vaccine advocates like Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey, (and of course we can’t forget Oprah for providing them an international platform), vaccine rates are now on the decline. Inaccurate tales based on misinformation and fear are spread irresponsibly, and have no basis in truth. Without proper scientific studies and/or data, these spokespeople site vaccines as the cause of autism.
When presented with evidence to the contrary, they change the goal posts, finding other ways to demonize vaccines and those who support their use. They continue to wrongly accuse vaccines of hurting and killing children. Millions of people world-wide have been scared into believing that vaccines are harmful and may cause a child autism, and that is just not true! Vaccines do not cause autism! They just don’t!
So, as a result, doctors today are again becoming familiar with diseases long thought to be eliminated from wealthy, First World nations. They are witnessing the suffering and sometimes deadly consequence of avoidable disease, often in the youngest and/or weakest in our population. Babies who are too young to vaccinate, or cancer patients with compromised immune systems who depend on herd immunity are the innocent victims.
All parents want to act in the best interest of their child. The “motherly instinct” line of defense is often used when no other logic, reason, or scientific evidence is available to support a decision.
I too am a mom, and like any other mom, I do depend on my “motherly instinct” as well. I use it when I need to comfort my child when she wakes in the night from a bad dream. I use it when she grieves over a lost toy. In these cases I find it perfectly acceptable to defend my actions and go with the “Mother-knows-best” defense.
As I said, I am just a mom. I am not a doctor, a health care adviser, or even a qualified first aid attendant for that matter. So when it comes to issues of healthcare and disease prevention, my “motherly instinct” tells me to consult a professional who knows more than I do.
Given the fact that my family is fortunate enough to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, which also happens to have one of the finest health-care systems in the world, why would I rely on the advice of someone who has no medical experience whatsoever. Honestly, why would I think that even I could make a better medical judgment than my doctor? Why would I think that Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, or Oprah Winfrey knows what’s best for my child?
Parental instinct does not mean you have to have all the answers. Why would doctors and scientists study to find new answers if we already had all of the solutions to begin with?
Parental instinct ≠ knowing everything!
Parental instinct does mean that it is in our nature to protect our children from harm. It is in our nature to do everything possible to ensure the happiness and success of our children. There is an innate desire to help our children live a productive life. And so, we depend on professionals daily to provide our kids advantages towards success. We rely on teachers to educate and coaches to skill build. We rely on the engineer who designed the safety support structures that keep our children’s schools standing. These may be areas that we are not experts in so we take the advice of trained professionals who are educated in their field.
When it comes to matters of life saving vaccines, why on earth would we ever rely on the medical advice of an actor or a Playboy model?
Parental responsibility = asking for help
It does seem that some of the more outspoken anti-vax celebs and spokes people have backed down from the TV rounds lately. Perhaps the high profile exposure of Andrew Wakefield’s fraud has driven some away. But unfortunately they haven’t vanished completely, and the message that vaccines are harmful and cause autism continues to spread. Much damage has been done. Vaccination rates have declined and we are globally and rapidly feeling the effects.
However, even though we seem to be hearing about new outbreaks of measles and pertussis almost daily, it is not too late to turn the tides.
As parents, teachers, adults, children, citizens of the world, we need to come out in crowds to support vaccines and their life-saving effects and say yes… “I Have Immunity! Do you?” Let’s be open to discussing this, as if it’s not a taboo topic. Let’s question the other mom’s on the playground, rationally, to ask why they believe what they do regarding the safety of vaccines. We don’t have to have all of the answers, but if we can at least provide them with a link or a reference to reliable vaccine education, it may encourage them to open their minds and investigate further. We are so often politically correct in allowing everyone to have their personal opinions and feelings, but in this case, a granted right to vaccine exemption based on personal belief is coming at a huge cost. Not just in money but in our children’s and family’s lives.
Thousands of people turn out every year at Autism conferences worldwide. They are scared and in most cases, they are sure that vaccines are to blame for their children’s condition. Shouldn’t the fear of disease outbreaks, iron lungs, and infants dying from the sheer exhaustion of a cough at least compel a few of us to come forward as well? The consequence of vaccination decline frightens me, and I am ready to do something about it!
Don’t think you can’t make a difference?
It only took a couple of unvaccinated travelers to cause the recent Quebec measles outbreak where over 250 people were infected. It only took one Swiss traveler to initiate a 2008 measles outbreak in Arizona which infected fourteen people, involved two hospitals and cost almost $800,000. Maybe it will take only one child in your kid’s school to begin the next epidemic.
Now consider this…Maybe it will only take one parent to begin the local discussion and encourage vaccines. Maybe you will be the one teacher or student to challenge the anti-vaccine movement and increase herd immunity.
It is our privilege to live in country that has access to excellent health care and vaccines, and it is our social and global responsibility to promote vaccines and protect those who cannot be vaccinated. Every person vaccinated is a win for health…world wide!
It’s not too late to tip the scales.
Stand up and be proud to shout “I Have Immunity!”
