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Physicians have to be respectful of patients' choices. Choosing not to vaccinate their children is a very common reason for "discussion". Personally, I don't get angry when I speak to parents about this. Usually you can tell in a few sentences whether they even want to hear the evidence or whether their mind is made up before entering the room. The former can be a nice give and take about the controversies surrounding vaccination and the studies that back its implementation. The latter can be painful and fraught with frustration. All I try to do is give the information and be as nonjudgmental as possible.
I believe this will all change in the future. New information is coming out about how measles is on the rise (the highest level in over a decade). Measles usually is not a killer so no one is getting scared yet. The one that is going to get parents freaking out, however, is polio. Though not a huge killer either it does leave major handicaps on its prey. I am old enough to remember playing Little League with a kid who had the effects of polio. He was actually a lefty pitcher and it made his curve ball pretty amazing. But that's not the point.
Polio is rising in India and Nigeria. Many Americans go abroad and come back. Though this travel pattern is nothing new, what is new is that our strength of "herd immunity" is decreasing. When increased perpetuation of Internet rumors about vaccines meets more and more parents checking inappropriate sources, there will be sudden tipping point leading to even much more unvaccinated kids. That is when Nostradougus predicts polio will start showing its ugly head back here in America. You heard it here first.
It's Here
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The pager is off and there is no medical journal is to be found. After
almost 2,000 patient visits and one new building later it's time for this
country do...
6 hours ago
4 comments:
In the close to 4 years that I've had my blog, I've discussed this many times. My husband was a polio victim. It's not pretty. It's scary, and painful and these anti vaccine militants don't understand these illnesses that we no longer face. Unfortunately, I see it every day in the pain in my husband's face.
(I wrote a post for grand rounds last year, about 3 months before he went into a respiratory crisis, and spent 45 days in the hospital that took a year to recover from, called The 1950's aren't necessary anymore)
Now THAT's scary.
One of the other reasons herd immunity is declining is the discontinuation of the oral vaccine. The injectable only covers the individual, the oral creates gut immunity and prevents spread of the virus. A person vaccinated with the injectable can still spread the virus. Unfortunately, the powers that be rejected a combo approach with two doses of injectable followed by two (or more) of oral, which virtually eliminates vaccine associated polio while preserving real herd immunity.
How about an approach similar to "sex ed" as practiced at my high school in the late 70's - herd the parents who don't feel like vaccinating their kids into a stuffy, dark room and show graphic videos of the worst complications their kids (and others) might face if left unvaccinated. Showing the consequences of STDs seemed to work pretty well with a bunch of bitchy HS girls in puberty, myself included.
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