Childhood vaccination rates

are apparently falling. They have been falling since Covid. The level needed to ensure that as many people as possible are safe is apparently around 95%. This apparently ensures that the very small minority of people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are protected by the vaccination of the rest of us.

If my mother had been solely responsible for the vaccination of me and my siblings then we would not have been vaccinated. Our mother's "Christian Science" beliefs did not allow for vaccination. It was the Senior Cat and my godmother, a nurse, who saw to it. I sometimes wonder whether my mother's choice of her very close friend as my godmother was subconsciously influenced by another subconscious desire to ensure the safety of her children.  Whatever it was we got the jabs available at the time. Now we get other jabs when our GP deems them necessary and because we do believe that immunisation is a valuable weapon against some forms of illness.

The article in this morning's paper was therefore something I viewed with curiosity and alarm. There is apparently a growing "anti-vaccination" movement on social media. It is going beyond the disproven and dangerous belief that vaccinations cause autism and brain damage and even SIDS - sudden infant death syndrome. 

There is a "no jab, no play" law in this state. In a nutshell what it says is that a child under six must be vaccinated in order to attend day care, pre-school and so on.  There are now sites on social media advising parents how to provide false medical certificates to suggest their child has been vaccinated. Some parents are agreeing to vaccination schedules they have no intention of carrying out. They are suggesting alternative "natural" cures for potentially fatal diseases like whooping cough.  They are using AI and Chat bots to deliver false information. Ask the "right" questions and you can obtain a "yes" to the idea you can be arrested for feeding your child the ingredients in a vaccine.

My mother had a cousin who was rarely mentioned. I have written about him elsewhere. He was intellectually retarded and lived in an institution for such people. He was financially provided for, indeed we were the beneficiaries of his estate when he died but we were not even aware he was still alive. It is something I still feel angry about because the only thing I remember about him is from my early teens. We went to visit his parents for some reason and he happened to be there. We only glimpsed him briefly as he was sent to his room. Later we were told that he "does not learn very well because he had a high fever as a result of a measles vaccination. It's why I did not want you children vaccinated."  This was actually incorrect. He had not been vaccinated at all.

There will always be people who will put their children at risk. When they start to spread misinformation and put others at risk then we have an even bigger problem. I hope we can get back to that 95% which will protect the most vulnerable, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.