MMR Vaccinations
In December 2014 someone carrying the measles virus visited Disneyland in California. Over 100 people became infected, and the disease spread to 17 US states. The messed up part is that measles was officially declared eliminated (no longer found in a certain region) from the US back in 2000. Other countries can’t say the same, and the strain of the measles that did the rounds in the US is thought to have originated in the Philippines.
But wait, don’t we have a vaccination to protect us against measles? We sure do, and it’s a good one. Thanks to the vaccination, worldwide deaths from measles has decreased 78% in the last ten years.
The vaccination uses a weakened form of the disease. It’s not enough to produce any of the symptoms of the disease, but it is strong enough to stimulate an immune response. Antibodies are produced which recognise the disease. We are then protected because for the rest of our lives these antibodies are on duty, able to recognise and destroy the disease if it ever hits us in full strength.
So why did the disease do the rounds in the US? Weren’t Americans vaccinated???
And there is the crux of the situation. Not enough of them, no. It’s estimated that without vaccination a person with measles will infect 18 other people. With vaccination an infected person will infect less than one other. In this way, the disease cannot spread. In large populations about 95-96% of people need to be vaccinated in order to not let the disease spread. The percentage vaccinated in California was less than this, and in other US states it was even lower.
Why weren’t enough of them vaccinated???
That’s a good question. There are a few parts to the answer. A few percent of people vaccinated can still catch the disease - so the vaccination isn’t perfect. Also, some people can’t actually have the vaccination on medical grounds. For example, a few years ago one of my students wasn’t vaccinated because her aunt had an adverse reaction to the vaccination, so at the time it was recommended that she (my student) not be vaccinated (she has now rectified the situation, and is fully vaccinated). Another example is Rhett Krawitt, a young American boy who is unable to be vaccinated due to years of chemotherapy leaving him vulnerable to infection. However, people like this are still protected. It comes down to something called herd immunity. This is the idea that when enough people are vaccinated, they surround an unvaccinated person which stops that person getting the disease. The unvaccinated person is protected by the “herd”. Herd immunity is great for people who can’t be vaccinated on medical grounds.
But then there are the others… The people who are against vaccination. The “anti-vaxxers”. These are the people I have no time for. They have put reason and modern medical knowledge aside for their own misguided ideas - either through ignorance or, as is often the case, their own stupidity. Rex Murphy, Canadian commentator and author, says anti-vaccination is intensely selfish, and that these are selfish and profoundly silly people. You can watch his piece on the anti-vaccine movement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vCAz5CL6Cc
Unfortunately, there are anti-vaxxers who are in the public eye. One notable one is Jenny McCarthy, who is very anti-vaccination and very outspoken on the issue. She is also in the media, being an American model and television host. The sad thing is a lot of people watch the TV show The View, think she is some sort of expert, and believe the dribble she spouts.
But where did this whole “vaccination is bad” idea come from? Andrew Wakefield, a British former surgeon and medical researcher, released a paper back in 1998 that claimed there was a link between MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination and autism. People don’t want their children to be autistic, so they stopped their child from being vaccinated.
Here’s the thing: vaccination does NOT cause autism. Wakefield’s paper was shown to be at best dodgy, and in actuality was downright fraudulent.
The damage, however, has been done. Vaccination rates have dropped. Diseases which were under control have started to make a comeback. And people like Jenny McCarthy are just making things worse.
Here’s what to do: vaccinate your children. If you aren’t vaccinated, go get that fixed. Getting vaccinated means you’ll get a little jab in the arm from the injection. Not getting vaccinated could lead to a much larger problem, both for yourself and those around you.