No Compromise for Children’s Vaccine

I have lived and practiced medicine in many different places in the world and witnessed epidemics of measles, polio, mumps and whooping cough. It still hurts to remember my first week of practice when I attended to the only case of diphtheria I was to ever witness. Working with all the town’s pediatricians, we failed to save that child’s life.

Now I have been practicing pediatrics in the United States for over 30 years.

Not long ago, many families would have 10 to 15 children to have only a few survive. Most of the rest would die of infectious disease for which we now have a vaccine. We have five children. I wonder who of my children would I surrender to one of these awful diseases if we did not vaccinate them.

It was only at the turn of this century when pandemic smallpox would claim a third or more of the world population. Thanks to the smallpox vaccine, we have wiped out smallpox from the face of the earth, with no reported cases since 1977. It is a true human success story.

We aimed at eradicating measles from the United States by 1990, but the nation became complacent in administering the vaccine, and in 1990-91, there were about 28,000 cases of measles and 30 deaths. Virtually all of those cases occurred in people who were not immunized. Thanks to the requirement of a second dose of measles vaccine and “no shots/no school” law, there were only 100 cases of measles in 1993, most of which were imported from outside this country.

Bad publicity about the vaccine for pertussis (whooping cough) prompted Japan to discontinue the vaccine in 1975. In the three years before the vaccine was discontinued, there were 400 cases of pertussis, causing 10 deaths. I fear we might be heading for the same trap of bad publicity. Unvaccinated children could result in the reemergence of dangerous diseases.

Research conducted by the National Network for Immunization Information shows the public wants to know more about immunization. The medical community has a duty to explain the importance, value and necessity of vaccines. The media can help clarify unscientific rumors and misconceptions that circulate to discourage parents from vaccinating their children. Health plans and the government have a duty to pay for vaccines and ensure they are administered.

Vaccines are very safe. We should be willing to take a small risk and enjoy the large benefit. Let us not compromise our children’s protection. For more information, contact the National Network for Immunization Information at (888) 546-6446; fax: (703) 299-0204; Internet: https://www.immunizationinfo.org.