Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

moniquill:

tea-and-skeletons:

Polio is an infectious viral disease that enters through the mouth or nose, then travels to the spinal cord. There it attacks nerves that control muscle activity, causing temporary or permanent paralysis. Usually polio affects leg, arm, stomach and back muscles. But if it paralyzes chest muscles needed for breathing, it can be fatal.

Just as World War II ended, the most severe epidemics hit the nation. Most polio outbreaks began in the summer. Since children were most frequently affected, communities reacted with dread, often closing down public swimming pools and movie theaters. The epidemic peaked in North Carolina and the United States in 1952, when a record 57,628 cases were reported nationally. Some referred to the national state of panic as “polio hysteria.”

The following year, Dr. Jonas Salk and his associates developed an injectable polio vaccine made from inactivated virus. Schoolchildren by the thousands were vaccinated, reducing the incidence of polio by almost 90 percent within two years. Later, the Salk vaccine was replaced by the Sabin oral vaccine, which was easier and less expensive to administer.

Today polio has been eradicated in the United States, where the last case caused by “wild” virus was reported in 1979. Worldwide, while vaccination campaigns continue, hundreds of new cases are still reported each year.

Polio killed many victims by paralyzing the muscles needed for breathing. But many more survived, thanks to a device invented in 1929, the iron lung. The patient lay on a bed that could slide in and out of a large metal tank. At one end was a motor-powered “bellows” that pumped air in and out of the chamber. As air pressure increased in the chamber, it pushed down on the patient’s chest, forcing air out of the lungs. When the pressure decreased, the chest expanded, taking air into the lungs.

Some patients regained their ability to breathe on their own after a few weeks or months in an iron lung. Others remained dependent on the device for years.

The cost of an iron lung was high—about $1,500 during the 1930s, the average price of a home at that time. To help families afford respiratory treatment and medical equipment such as braces and crutches, North Carolina Blue Plans began offering additional coverage for polio.

THIS IS WHY WE IMMUNIZE.

Unless there is a legitimate medical reason for avoiding or delaying vaccination (or if vaccination is for some reason not available see also: poverty, lack of infrastructure and social support networks etc), I honestly do think that it is negligent and possibly abusive depending on context to not vaccinate a child in your care.

One reason is because chicken pox and measles in a first world country do not equal polio in the 1930s.

In a random example (unrelated to polio in the 1930’s but related to the modern helpful impact of vaccination) In Canada, for instance, most of us don’t live in an area 800’000 to one square mile with no plumbing, doctors, soap or fresh water… We have better nutrition and have probably grown up most of our lives in a good shelter, with a warm bed, adequate nutrition and medical care. So our chances against disease are much better and our bodies are better equipped to handle what are not usually not particularly exciting diseases to the majority of us who are posting on Tumblr.

I support vaccination in third world countries, where it may be one of many useful tools in a toolbox of care… I just feel that given all the facts, and after years of research on the topic, for my family in my location it’s a little less useful. We’ve had half the diseases that are vaccinated against, as have a majority of the people I know (whether they were vaccinated or not).  There’s a lot to be said for the impact of hygiene and modern medical care. I could go on but to be honest I don’t have the patience and I’m not really out to change anyone’s mind: I think people are likely to stay on the side they’re on with this issue… I just wanted to take issue with the idea that parents who choose not to vaccinate are abusing their kids.  Calling all parents who choose not to vaccinate abusive and negligent is a stretch, to say the least.

Disclaimer, because I know ya’ll are itching to paint me as a crazy dumbass:
I don’t want a ban on all vaccines. I don’t think everyone should not vaccinate. I don’t think they’ve single-handedly caused autism and made people dumber and created AIDS or whatever. I respect that my choices are my own and by NO MEANS think other people should blindly follow anyone’s recommendation without understanding the topic and respecting the history. I’m even open to having my opinions change as time goes on, and would be thrilled if my kids went on to research the issues themselves and got vaccinated when they were 15 because they felt strongly about it (yay education and personal choice!). My issue lies mostly with the idea that we should give kids 37 shots before they’re 12 months old, including for diseases unlikely to be passed on without sexual contact. I think it’s excessive.