Not getting your child immunized against measles is stupid
and inconsiderate!
Yes, yes….I know there are lots of folks out there who
vehemently declare the dangers of vaccinations.
Some of their arguments have a bit of merit and others are just lunatic
fringe stuff. They tout their rights as
parents to do what they believe is best for their children, but what about
other people’s children?
We live in a society, and we interact with each other
regularly. We have an obligation to
protect each other. I would not have
considered avoiding immunization. If
parents want to tinker with some of the timing and not throw too much at a
child’s immune system all at once, I give them some lee-way with that. But, not to immunize at all??? I have no sympathy.
And it has nothing to do with statistics and logic. On this issue, I have raw emotion.
I was born prior to measles immunizations being
available. I had measles. I remember the agonizing boredom of spending days
in bed in a darkened room with nothing much to do. I was not allowed to use my eyes, because of
concerns about damage to them. More
importantly, even though I was a preschooler, I remember the palpable anxiety
in my mother. I sensed she was in great
fear for me, although she did not express this to me verbally.
As I grew older, I came to understand the reason. I heard the stories of my mother’s baby
sister and how thrilled my grandfather was to have another girl. I heard how she became very ill with measles
when she was less than a year old. My
great-aunt talked about accompanying my grandmother to take the baby to the
doctor. They had no car and had to go to
the doctor’s office on the streetcar.
The baby had measles with complications, and the doctor could do nothing
to save her. They traveled home on the
streetcar with a dying baby. I visited
her grave with my grandfather. Decades
had passed, but he still carefully tended the flowers he planted there each
year. My mother told me of her brother
Chuck’s grief. He was older and in
school. He brought the measles home from
school and felt he was responsible for his baby sister’s death.
The baby’s name was Ruth Ellen. I was given my name in memory of her.
I am an admirer of clear thinking and logic. I believe in parental rights.
But, on this issue?
I have seen the far-reaching consequences of measles prior
to the availability of immunization. Don’t
give me any argument. I won’t
listen. Just go get your kid immunized!
