Joe Kassel makes a point that media coverage is counter to healthy discourse concerning the importance of getting childhood vaccinations. However, his argument is that the anti-vaxxers are getting the short shift concerning their views. The most important concept about children getting vaccinations at the appropriate age for certain diseases is based on sound scientific principles and years of evidence of effectiveness.
Joe Kassel believes that those who go against the current medical “dogma” should be respected and engaged in debate. Respected, yes. Debate, no. Why? There is essentially no debate as to the effectiveness or the necessity of vaccinations. Yes, articles have appeared in a number of medical journals over the years. There have been some correlations that have been noticed. Yet the real issue is not that there have been correlations but most of these have been shown to be nothing more after a more extensive review.
The most important information and research is that vaccinations work in most people and prevent these diseases which can be as contagious as 90 percent of non-vaccinated people and some have a mortality rate of over 20 percent. Recently, Clark County in the state of Washington near the Oregon border has seen an outbreak of measles. It’s a disease that has an infection rate of 90 percent and a mortality rate of 1 per 1,000 but also will cause permanent damage due to encephalitis in between 1 per 200 in infants, and 1 per 400 in older children.
There’s a greater risk if male. Encephalitis can cause permanent brain damage. This is just one of the many childhood diseases. Mumps can result in sterility and encephalitis. The list goes on yet to date there is no substantiated cases of vaccinations causing autism or sudden infant death syndrome which are commonly sited as reasons for avoiding childhood vaccinations.
There are rare cases where a vaccination may have an adverse effect but these are in about 1 in a million. The evidence shows that getting vaccinations does a great deal of good and offers the population as a whole protection against diseases while not getting them can result in very tragic outcomes.
We cannot allow those who have unfounded fears avoid their responsibility to society as a whole by not getting their children vaccinations. There is compelling reason to enforce vaccination laws in order to protect society from the consequences of preventable diseases. To this day there has never been a compelling argument otherwise.
John Pierce is a resident of Waikoloa.