Eradicating Polio Worldwide (babies, children, husband, raise)

[Taboo2]

Will you give your kids the Polio vaccine if you knew that it could help eradicate it worldwide and finally rid us of this dreaded disease?



Why Can't the World Eradicate Polio? | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com
In the universe of global diseases, polio would seem to be a minor problem. Fewer than 2,000 people in the world were stricken last year. AIDS and malaria, by contrast, killed more than three million people. In a list of the world's most threatening infectious diseases, polio would rank pretty far down—past measles, meningitis, influenza and drug-resistant tuberculosis, to name a few. Which raises the question: why did Bill Gates release $255 million of his foundation's money on Wednesday to fight polio?
The answer many health officials give is that polio is on the brink of being eliminated once and for all. A campaign of mass inoculations around the world, led by the World Health Organization, has reduced cases by 99 percent, cornering the disease in a few pockets of resistance. What's needed, health officials argue, is an infusion of funds to get them over the hump.
Trouble is, it's not clear that more money is going to do the trick. It's not easy to wipe a disease off the face of the planet—especially one like polio, which spreads easily and quickly through contact and occasionally through contaminated food and water. Only one in 200 children who contract the virus shows symptoms (usually paralysis), which makes the other 199 silent carriers. Indeed, more than two decades of fighting the disease around the globe has taught health workers that it is far more stubborn than originally thought. The failure to deliver the knockout blow has cast doubt on whether eradication is a viable strategy in the war on polio—even with a donor as bold and wealthy as Gates.

[miasmommy]

I'm not sure if I understand the question????

Polio is a vaccine that I don't question anymore. Of course it was part of my research. But my husband and I came to the conclusion that we WOULD vaccinate against polio for many reasons. One being that it IS on the "brink of being eliminated" and we didn't want to contribute to setting that goal back. Two, the vaccine has been around a while. Three, I didn't find as many side effects as some of the other vaccines.

So you question is would I vaccinate if it would contribute to the eradication of the disease? That would be one of the reasons yes, for this disease at least.

[TouchOfWhimsy]

The injected (dead) polio vaccine has a track record of fewer and less severe side effects than most other vaccines. We gave this vaccine. If the question were "would you give Gardisil to eradicate the 4 strains of HPV that it might protect against?" or "would you give the varicella vaccine to eradicate chickenpox?", though, then my answer would be "no."

On a bit of a tangent, I do wonder why, if the dosage is the same, the vaccine would need to be given twelve times in some countries, but only a few times in the USA. If two or three doses is sufficient to be effective here, why not in India? Also, are they giving the same oral vaccine as they used to give here? The one that actually spreads polio through the stools of recently vaccinated babies/children? Or is it a different oral vax? I have read that there are very few records kept of what children in certain countries (I believe India was one of them, but don't quote me on that) receive the polio vaccine, and that every month or two they just line up kids and give them their vaccines, regardless of whether they have completed the series or not. I don't have the time or inclination to find out the answers to these questions/issues... maybe someone else knows about them?

[miasmommy]

Originally Posted by beanandpumpkin

The injected (dead) polio vaccine has a track record of fewer and less severe side effects than most other vaccines. We gave this vaccine. If the question were "would you give Gardisil to eradicate the 4 strains of HPV that it might protect against?" or "would you give the varicella vaccine to eradicate chickenpox?", though, then my answer would be "no."

On a bit of a tangent, I do wonder why, if the dosage is the same, the vaccine would need to be given twelve times in some countries, but only a few times in the USA. If two or three doses is sufficient to be effective here, why not in India? Also, are they giving the same oral vaccine as they used to give here? The one that actually spreads polio through the stools of recently vaccinated babies/children? Or is it a different oral vax? I have read that there are very few records kept of what children in certain countries (I believe India was one of them, but don't quote me on that) receive the polio vaccine, and that every month or two they just line up kids and give them their vaccines, regardless of whether they have completed the series or not. I don't have the time or inclination to find out the answers to these questions/issues... maybe someone else knows about them?

I am with you on the gardisal and varicella