RE: OT - Vaccines

On Fri, 17 Aug 2001, Jenkins, Michael wrote:

> The interesting thing about this thread is the fact that most of the
> childhood diseases our children get shots to prevent still exist in
> most third-world countries. The last I heard smallpox has been
> eliminated from North America, not the world. Now, if the shots
> were doing no good and the diseases would eventually just disappear
> it seems to me this would have already happened in those countries?

Mike, no flames intended, but think: poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, and (conspiracy!) first world manufacturers horribly polluting third-world nations. Might those be responsible for a large part of the problem in developing nations?

> I wonder why there always has to be some conspiracy involved. My
> goodness, cloning, bioengineered foods, DNA evidence, the government
> and vaccines!?! What will be next? I think indoor plumbing was
> just a Citywide conspiracy to collect Sewage/Water fees. We now
> know better about a lot of things including the general welfare of
> kids that get the vaccines. Yes, your child could do without them
> and be just fine unless they come across some other child who has
> contracted the disease. The reason I didn't have Polio and Smallpox
> when I was a kid is because of the vaccinations. I knew a poor soul
> that had polio and it's a horrible disease.

Note that the West's adoption of widespread vaccination coincided with the emergence of antiseptic protocols in hospitals, dentist's and doctor's offices, chlorination of public pools and the like. Who can say what was more responsible?

You can't possibly credit vaccination with the overall lack of prevalence of disease in the West. We don't vaccinate for some of the worst diseases in third-world countries, such as dysentery, malaria and AIDS, yet those diseases (especially the first two) are not as prevalent in the developed nations of the West. Now, could it be that we are just filthy rich and therefore better able to provide nutrition, health care and sanitation for our children to keep them healthy and free from virulent disease?

We'll have to take the debate on bioengineered foods to another forum!

:-)

--
Jeremiah Wilton
http://www.speakeasy.net/~jwilton

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