Mary Bullard: Prevention is key. Get vaccinated.
During a rally in Richmond, Virginia, Donald Trump made his usual number of wild statements. One of his most dangerous comments didn’t get media attention: “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate,” Trump declared. He promised to take all federal funds away from public schools that require vaccines like MMR, chickenpox vaccine, and polio vaccines. On Capitol Hill and across multiple states some GOP officials have begun condemning vaccine mandates — not just related to COVID-19, but all vaccines.
A little history: During the 1950s measles, mumps, chicken pox as well as coughs, sniffles and flu were accepted as an inevitable part of childhood. I shared a bedroom with my three younger siblings, so we had chicken pox sequestered together in a darkened room with mittens on so we wouldn’t scratch. We shared colds slathered in Vicks vapor rub, breathing steam from a bowl of heated water.
Measles is highly transmittable as the virus lingers in the air for hours. We, of course, shared this potentially fatal virus. When my younger brother’s fever spiked, my mother in the middle of the night wrapped him in a blanket and ran to the hospital that was next door to our apartment. They refused to treat him as he was infectious. My mother was handed a wooden tongue depressor, and a cab was called to take him to Detroit Children’s Hospital. He had developed encephalitis, a measles complication. Bruce was left handicapped, and after many months in rehabilitation and years of special care, my parents were left with medical bills that took years to pay off.
Before the 1963 vaccine development, measles caused an estimated 3 to 4 million cases each year, Additionally, measles caused ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) that results in convulsions, deafness, or intellectual disability.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, thanks to a highly effective vaccination program and other control measures. A single dose of the vaccine is 93% effective at preventing measles; two doses are about 97% effective. Even today 1 in 5 unvaccinated people with measles is hospitalized. And among children, 1 in 20 gets pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles in young children.
Why is this information important: Recently potentially hundreds of people were exposed to measles in Wayne and Washtenaw counties. As you don’t actually need to share the same airspace with an infected person at the same time, the risk is hidden. Measles can be contagious but asymptomatic for four days.
Prevention is key. Measles can be dangerous, but that’s especially true for unvaccinated children, pregnant women as well as people with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatment and people with HIV. Health leaders are calling on all Michiganders who can get the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine to ensure they have had two doses and are fully immunized.
Vaccines including MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) and Chickenpox protect not only children but adults. For example, the chickenpox virus will remain dormant in the sensory nerve ganglia of the body. In adults over 50 years old who have had chickenpox, the virus can reactivate as Shingles at any time. This painful rash can cause complications including vision loss, balance or hearing issues, and often long-lasting pain at the site of the shingles rash. The vaccine is 90% effective in preventing Shingles in adults 50 years and older and is usually covered through insurance plans.
Vaccination mandates "are an American tradition," with roots that predate the United States itself. In fact, vaccines against smallpox during the Revolutionary War may have saved the Continental Army from defeat. Vaccination policies are common in schools nationwide. Students are required to receive mandated vaccinations before they can attend classes to protect themselves and others.
Vaccines protect those with health risks and fragile immune systems. They also protect young children and communities of color who are hit hard by disease. Immunizations protect not only yourself but those you care about.
— Mary Bullard is member of the Stronger Together Huddle, a group engaged in promoting and supporting the common good. She’s is a former librarian and lives in Temperance.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Mary Bullard: Prevention is key. Get vaccinated.
