So, I just thought of another question for you (and thank you for entertaining my curiosity!) and I’ll use diphtheria as an example. If you were to opt out of the DTaP vaccine and heaven forbid your child contracted Diphtheria, I would draw the conclusion logically that you would be against administering any medicine to treat the disease as well? Is this right? The reason I’m making that assumption is because the medicine would be a foreign substance that does not allow the immune system to work on its own, and the medications has likely been developed by the same drug companies who are not trustworthy. Again, I’m not trying to make any points, but I would be interested in how you approach the situation, and the reasons why.
And my second question, if you’ll bear with me, has a little bit of background info. I’m getting my information from the CDC and other medical websites, but not from any commercial pharmaceutical site. I do trust the CDC, but again I would be interested if you think my sources are reliable or not. Here goes:
Diphtheria used to be one of the main killers of children --it was known as the "strangling angel of children-- it’s pretty nasty. I really don’t want my kids getting it. In 1921, there were 206,000 cases of Diphtheria in the U.S., with 15,520 deaths. In the 1920’s a vaccine was developed to combat this disease, after which cases dropped dramatically. In fact, between 2004-2008 alone there were zero (ZERO!) cases reported in the U.S.
The DTap vaccine (which protects against Diphtheria, as well as Tetanus and Pertussis, the latter two I won’t go into because I have the same problem of kids climbing on the computer right now lol) anyway the DTaP vaccine on the other hand, has been associated with severe reactions in less that 1 out of one million doses, and in the cases of severe reaction, it was unclear whether the reaction was caused by the vaccine or another source. There have been no deaths.
Are you wondering when I’m going to finally get around to asking the question??
Sorry for being long-winded. I’m wondering what people in the anti-vaccine community would attribute the eradication of diphtheria to, if not the vaccine. I agree about the importance of a healthy diet, but in 1921 people ate far less processed foods and artificial ingredients, and they were closer to their food. Also, I’m wondering about the massive difference in public sanitation, which I think was the other reason you gave for why diseases were erased.
Also, if we’re able to draw conclusions from purely correlational data, why would it be that in other places, the only outbreaks of diphtheria happen in small communities that choose to not vaccinate. Why do you think that would be.
Finally, given that in one year there were 15,520 deaths of children from the disease, and there has not been an actual death from the vaccine, I am wondering how you feel the risks of immunization, in this instance, outweigh the benefits.
Please don’t feel that I am trying to argue or challenge you, but something doesn’t add up and I’m trying to figure out what piece I’m missing. I hope you’re having a blessed start to Lent!
