The Board of Health supported their decision by saying, “One-third of children under five in New York City do not receive an annual influenza vaccination, even though the vaccine safely and effectively protects them against influenza illness”. Since children are the ones who primarily spread the disease, vaccinating them could reduce cases throughout the city. It will also reduce the risk of children suffering medical complications from the fly by 60%.
The CDC highlights the importance of vaccination in this PSA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG2SvLNRU9I
Upon reading this article, I immediately thought of the debate over inoculation during the Boston Smallpox epidemic of 1721. Many felt inoculation was wrong because it went against God’s will and was untested, much like the current people crying out against flu vaccination. It is interesting that almost 300 years later we are still debating new vaccinations and are using similar arguments.
http://healthimpactnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/vaccine-autism-research-300x200.jpg
This article also made me think of what other precautions schools could make to prevent the spread of flu. If you look back to what we have learned so far, nothing else really works besides vaccinating. Quarantining works for some diseases but sometimes, as in the case for smallpox, it is hard to quarantine because of its long incubation period. What else, besides vaccination, could have Manhattan declared to help protect kids?
I personally agree with Manhattan’s mandate. Flu is a very infectious disease and can be life threatening to small children. Working in a children’s room in a public library, I have seen first hand how kids spread germs not only amongst each other, but to adults who they are in contact with. Vaccination is the best way to prevent this. And, the mandate allows people with medical and religious objections to be excused, which I feel is the right thing to do. If the city was declaring this for everyone, with no exceptions, I would feel a hundred percent differently.
I also find it ridiculous that the Autism Action Network is citing an old, discredited study that links Autism to vaccinations. It has been discredited for sometime now and many other Autism advocates, such as the organization Autism Speaks, have acknowledged this. It bothers me that this group is misinforming people for their own agenda. This article about Manhattan’s new mandate brings up the age old debate of vaccination and makes us once again question whether we should order people to do it.
Original Article: “City Mandates Flu Vaccine for Kids Under 5” Published on December 11 by Amy Zimmer for DNAinfo New York
While I'd previously heard about the connection between vaccines and Autism, I'd never been aware of the connection's rationale. Therefore, the link being that vaccines are stored in mercury before use was a new concept for me. However, if what Jacki says is true about the study being old and discredited, I mutually disagree with magazines causing hype regarding this faulty bit of research. On the other hand, if an organization is concerned with supporting those with Autism and in turn helping combat against new cases of the condition springing up, I can see their reasoning behind publishing warnings against receiving certain vaccines. Even if the only study linking Autism to vaccines/vaccine storage may be unreliable, the organizations must feel obligated to make the connection known. And who knows, the shortage of studies on this claim makes the information rather inconclusive on both sides. Future research could link mercury-preserved vaccines to that condition, and Autism-related organizations are driven to be aware of and considerate of this fact in their journalism output.
ReplyDeleteThis is a well written, extremely informative post and was a pleasure to read! I have to say however that I agree with Jacki on her point about the faulty Autism link. I have read much about this so called “study” and not only has it been discredited but it had no scientific founding that would even constitute its research. Regardless, the flu vaccine has been greatly accepted, proving its worth and effectiveness. Because children and their play-place environments are crawling with germs and disease, it is wise to vaccinate them and stop the cycle of contamination. I find it interesting that some organizations and religions still do not support vaccines, especially a vaccine so common and useful. However, I approve of Manhattan’s mandate and their valiant effort to restrain the flu especially among children whose immune systems may not be as great as others.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article and a well-done and succinct summary of it. This news brings to light a controversy that I didn't realize was still so prevalent in the United States. When I went onto Google to see if I could find out more about this infamous study, the second thing that popped up after I typed in "study linking" was "study linking vaccines to autism", right after "study linking violence to video games", so this topic is clearly more well-known nowadays than I thought. I was also doing a little digging into Autism Action Network's claim that the mercury in the vaccines caused autism, and I found this article from about 5 years ago: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/03/22/u-s-government-concedes-that-mercury-causes-autism.aspx. It has the misleading title of "U.S. Government Concedes That Mercury Causes Autism". The fact is that the government agreed that a little girl's autism-like symptoms resulted indirectly from the nine vaccines she received as an 18-month-old child. However, far from directly causing autism, the vaccines had actually aggravated a hidden mitochondrial disorder that could have been triggered by anything. (For those who don't know, a mitochondrial disorder just means that the body's cells can't produce the energy they need in order to function properly.) This is just the sort of story that the Autism Action Network would use to bolster their case, and people are free to come to whatever conclusions they want to regarding this particular case, but I still believe that autism is not directly caused by vaccines. Because of this, I think the Manhattan Board of Health's mandate is a very reasonable one, especially since they are willing to offer free or low-cost vaccines to those who cannot afford the regular price. However, keeping the case I mentioned in mind, I can see why some people would be wary of getting the vaccine for their children.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that all people not just children under 5 should get a flu shot. Punishing the schools with a fine for children lacking the documentation of a flu shot seems like a good reason to educate the parents to do it. I think that this is a good preventive measure to try and prevent the spread of disease especially in children under 5 who are most susceptible. I see where the Autism Action Network is coming from but I think the chances are so low of children contracting autism that their argument is invalid. The vaccine has been proven safe and will drastically decrease the number of flu cases each winter. I personally think it is a great idea to mandate all children under 5 to get a flu vaccine and wish this was in place all over the country.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article and your analysis of it Jacki. I too am amazed that organizations such as the autism Action Network still refer to this claim that the Flu vaccine causes AIDs. I would be curious as to how this plan is carried out in New York and what kind of response it will receive. The flu is such a prevalent illness today I'm surprised its not a requirement for students to be vaccinated for it in all 50 states. We have mandatory booster shots in place for Tetanus which has under 50 deaths a year in the US; while shots for more common and preventable illnesses such as Influenza are optional. The HVP vaccine Gardasil can prevent 75% of cervical cancer cases which is the most prevalent type of cancer found in women by the CDC. Yet again this vaccine is optional. Hopefully the the world of law can catch up to the world of medicine and help enforce the use of these life saving vaccines.
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