Comments on: SCHOOL HEADLINES: Measles, Chess & Fiscal Mayhem

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:33:10 +0000

My coworker told me that she didn’t have her children immunized because of the risks. I explained that the only reason she could make that choice was because I and other parents now and our parents before us were responsible and vaccinated their children.

My best friend’s mother had polio as a child which resulted in a life-long disability, and luckily not death.

There are risks associated with not vaccinating children. Those children do have a higher incidence of contracting those diseases, and can and do die from those diseases (such as measles).

By: Elsa Ramirez

Elsa Ramirez — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:13:53 +0000

My first child was exposed to measles before she was 6mos and I was upset. My mother had measles as a teenager and was left with upper respiratory problems. My husband had whopping cough. I am a public health professional, we go for the greater good. Look at immigrants with badly pocked faces, that is small pocks and it too is coming back. We had it beat. I remember iron lungs and children in braces. My dad coordinated the mass polio immunizations in El Paso Tex. in the late 50′s and early 60′s, what kid isn’t going to eat a pink sugar cube! I have a small scare from getting small pocks busters every summer when I went to Mexico. My dad had a big one. I am 53 and all my kids got were chicken pocks, I think they were already infected when the vaccine game out.

By: Gary Eberhart

Gary Eberhart — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:19:46 +0000

Relative to your story regarding “vaccine exempters”, I wonder what one of these “new age parents” will say to their child when they contract a disease such as polio? Parents who avoid vaccinations because of unfounded fears about the safety of vaccines need to open their eyes. There is no reputable medical organization that is suggesting that we stop vaccinating our children. The problem is that parents who avoid vaccines gained their knowledge on the safety of vaccines from a Hollywood star that they saw on Oprah or from the internet. These parents are too young to know the devastation of Polio or the whooping cough. To watch a young child die from whooping cough or some other deadly disease that had almost been eradicated would be terrible. I think people should educate themselves about what is medically best for their children, I know I do. But please be aware that medical advice that comes from Oprah and Tom Cruise is not founded on medical research. Take care of your children and make sure that the choices that you are making are not only good for your kids, but don’t destroy all of the medical gains that we have made as a civilization. Here is one place to get medically accurate information about pediatric vaccinations: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1824.html