[Magdalen] Measles

[Roger Stokes]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48468801

This story on the BBC news site saddens me. In 2000 the USA was declared 
effectively measles-free. Less than two decades later ignorant (and I 
use that adjective advisedly) parents are endangering that status. There 
are some individual children who, for valid medical reasons, should not 
receive the vaccination but the parents of the rest owe it to them, 
surely, to maintain "herd immunity" by having their children vaccinated. 
The suggestion that the MMR vaccination can lead to autism has been 
debunked as being a fraudulent claim based on seriously flawed methodology.

In the interests of complete disclosure my son (born 1978) had childhood 
asthma so his mother and I were concerned about the dangers of the 
whooping cough vaccination. Our doctor spoke with us and pointed out the 
balance of risk between vaccination and non-vaccination so he received 
the vaccination. He was also vaccinated against measles but still 
developed the disease with complications including vomiting. Might it 
have been worse without the vaccination? I don't know but I do know the 
importance of reducing the incidence of diseases from being endemic in 
an area with life-threatening implications for the more vulnerable.

We owe it to our neighbours, whom we are enjoined to love.

Roger