New cases drop below 500, a 99 per cent decrease since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched. Just ten polio endemic countries remain: Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan.
Polio is one a handful of diseases that is nearly eradicated. Vaccines can clearly save lives, as this website demonstrates. The website is not developed my a pharmaceutical industry marketer — or a member of some sort of pro-vaccine consipracy.
The vaccination issue is a complex and very emotional one. Many parents have questions about vaccinations, and I find I have inadequate time to properly discuss the risks and benefits. For parents who choose to vaccinate with minmal discussion, I sometimes wonder if they are adequately informed. For parents who choose not to vaccinate, I struggle with how much of the "mainstream" medical information I want to share with (impose on?) them. Most certainly, I want to hear from the parents what their concerns are, but I want to know that the openness and critical thinking goes both ways. By questioning the "standard" immunization strategy, these folks are telling me that they are critical thinkers .. which I applaud and respect. But I sometimes find that they are not necessarily questioning the rhetoric of the anti-immunization voices with an equally thoughtful critical eye.
Mercury free vaccines are available and have been for some time. And while many parents worry that giving many vaccines to infants can be harmful because the weaken immunity, there are no studies to corroborate these concerns. In fact, there is an extremely well written book (available online for free) on this topic.
hmmm
