Don't vaccinate? You could be putting everyone at risk

Young military man receives vaccination for the flu

While the flu epidemic in the 2014 - 15 season spreads across the country, there are those individuals who are against vaccines of any kind, worried that they either do not work or cause death or disabilities.  But what happens when the flu strikes areas and individuals who have immune systems compromised by other conditions and how do some media reports influence how people behave in the era of modern medicine and its treatments?

The flu epidemic was reported by CNN to have continued its march across the country, taking with it the lives of 21 children, six in the past week.

The number of people who have died from this recent flu may be far greater than the numbers reported as the states are not required to provide statistics on adult deaths related to the flu.

95% of the flu cases this year are said to be the H3N2.  The flu has mutated to a particularly serious type, one that is more aggressive than others and somewhat resistant to vaccines, although health officials maintain vaccines do offer some protection.

The CDC has announced the particular concerns about the H3N2 strain of the flu with spokesperson Erin Burns stating, "For a regular flu season, H3N2 seasons are more severe." Given the frequent stories about accidental deaths and medical malpractice cases, many members of the public resist modern medicine's methods in favor of alternative therapies.  Yet many of these alternatives have been found to have risk as well, especially when a number of types are used that may interact badly with other medicines or alternatives.

The problem is further accented by individuals who represent under developed countries like Pakistan and who use selective reporting to denounce vaccines, particularly for polio, as does a blogger from Pakistan, whose writing uses physician statements from the defrocked and isolated statistics that reinforce his position. It is often that type of writing quoted by individuals who refuse vaccinations. It becomes an added source for those who don't trust modern methods in medicine.  It also represents the view of some of the people in underdeveloped countries who don't immunize and are now seeing a growing number of cases of diseases like polio again.

Suspicions on vaccines were heightened in alarming fashion by research in Great Britain on autism, where the writer-researcher targeted vaccines as the principal cause of autism.  Many parents flocked to the view, to the extent that when the research was denounced by other research, and the original one criticized as written specifically to undermine vaccines by using autism worries to sell the conclusion.  In fact the original research against vaccines has been labeled "an elaborate fraud."  And because more people read an original, false material who may not read a retraction or updated version based on more sound research, there remain many parents who refuse to give their vaccinations as a result of the fraudulent study.

The consequence is that children don't receive vaccines who may get the flu and are consequently compromised with the additional risks from chicken pox, mumps, measles and other childhood diseases.  However, this result is magnified is increased substantially to the adult population, including seniors, at the time when the flu can be fatal.

Polio, once the dreaded disease of childhood in the United States, has been virtually eliminated by modern vaccines.  One of the earlier types of the vaccine, however, called OPV was discontinued in the country in 2000, as the early version had associated with it a vaccine-derived polio virus. Those who do not receive vaccines can acquire the type of "wild" polio type illness or naturally occurring.  The other  type, vaccine-induced OPV , has all the features of the one naturally occurring, which is perhaps why countries like Pakistan continue to have cases, with cases reported in 2011 after the world-wide campaign that was initiated in 2006 to eradicate the disease.  Therefore there is fear about it for the concerns of it being vaccine-induced.  IPV, or the type known as inactivated polio vaccine, is the type presently used in the US.  The problem in making the switch to a different form of the vaccine is the cost and the anxiety related to the other form of the disease.

Yet the CDC reports IPV successful and polio virtually gone in those areas where it is used.

Mutated disease forms can create epidemics that are severe.  Polio is a worst case scenario, but other childhood diseases, when contracted as an adult, can cause serious complications.  A major flu can increase those complications.  And the numbers of parents refusing vaccinations for their children has increased significantly in the past decade.

Scientists who examine the issues of vaccines, and the concerns about disease risk, offer this conclusion: "Vaccines are one of the great public health achievements of the last couple of centuries," Dr. Buttenheim said. "They protect us from diseases that used to routinely kill hundreds of thousands of children in the United States and still kill hundreds of thousands globally. It's not just important for a child to be vaccinated, it's important at a population level to have high rates of coverage."

In a season of the flu outbreak, considered more serious than the usual, having some protection is considered to be important.  At the same time vaccinations in general have been found to significantly reduce the numbers of disease victims from many causes over the years, which scientists believe is  adequate evidence of why people should get vaccinated, even on those occasions where the protection may be less but still helpful in preventing needless deaths.

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Edited version due to phrase omissions during transfer from original on Word document.  Additional insertions may clarify the types of vaccines, the IPV considered more costly in switching types.  Pakistan is one of those countries still using OPV.