Notes On Vaccinations

       There is currently an outbreak of measles in an Amish population in Ohio. It started when unvaccinated Amish travelers to the Philippines contracted measles and then returned home. Because a significant segment of Amish are not vaccinated for measles, the disease spread rapidly to more than 360 cases. The establishment of rapid vaccination clinics, quarantine and door-to-door visits by public health nurses finally slowed the spread of the disease. The concern of health officials is that an international showcase of horse-drawn equipment is scheduled to be held this week with over 20,000 Amish expected to attend and there is a risk of attendees contracting measles and taking it back to their home communities.

     In my home state, Minnesota, in March of 2011, an un-vaccinated 30-month old child was infected with measles while visiting Kenya and, on returning, infected 21 other people – the largest measles outbreak in Minnesota in 20 years.  Again, an aggressive vaccination program prevented additional transmission.

     Before vaccinations for measles began in the 1950’s, the disease would cause 48,00 people a year to be hospitalized, 500 people a year to die and 1,000 people a year to suffer brain damage or deafness. Vaccination has almost eradicated measles in the United States, but the disease remains common in many parts of Asia, the Pacific and Africa – areas that are only a plane ride away.

     Multiple studies on hundreds of thousands of children have proven that vaccines are safe and effective. The measles vaccine has absolutely no connection to autism or brain damage. The July issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has studies showing the safety and effectiveness of both the rotavirus vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine. A recent study found that giving the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis) vaccine to a pregnant woman protects both the mom as well as her unborn child against whooping cough, a disease that can be fatal to young infants.

    

      Yet, even though the vaccines which protect children from these diseases are safe and the consequences of becoming infected with these diseases can be devastating (even deadly), why do so many parents continue to refuse vaccinations for their children? A study in the March issue of Pediatrics revealed an interesting fact: the more positive information about vaccines that parents who were against vaccination received, the less likely they were to give their child vaccinations. Information about the safety of the MMR vaccine, information about the dangers of the disease, images of children with measles and a dramatic story about an infant who almost died from measles did not increase the parents intent to vaccinate, even though they said that they no longer believed that the vaccine caused autism. In fact, parents who had the most negative view of vaccines said that the information made them less likely to vaccinate their child! Doctors do scientific studies to find out the best way to do things – the safest, most effective medicines and the best treatments. Doctors obviously have a lot to learn about how the human mind works.