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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Meningitis Immunization Support
Our children are our future and we must as adults and parents be sure to take care of them. Yes we try to make their environment one that is a good place to live. We can ensure that safety measures are in place in their schools and homes. Another thing we can do to take care of our children is to get them immunized. One immunization that is not talked about as much as the others is the meningitis immunization.
Currently there is a awareness campaign supported by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention other wise known as the CDC. Public input is being sought through out the country on the subject of whether infants two years and younger should be immunized against meningitis. Meningitis is a leading cause of preventable infant death in the U.S. One out of every 16 infants who contract the disease will not survive. Out of those 16 one in every five will suffer seizures, blindness, amputation, paralysis or learning disabilities. If there was a way to prevent such terrible things wouldn't you want to find out more about it?
Other diseases have successfully been eliminated in the past. A successful vaccination program for small pox went global and have been wiped out. Polio, measles, diphtheria and Hib are all at all time lows. The eradication of meningococcal meningitis is an achievable, pressing public health objective and vaccinating infants is an important step in that direction. All ready there is one safe and effective meningitis vaccine that has been approved by the FDA and more on the horizon. The CDC will be the ones that will have to recommend that pediatricians include them in their vaccination schedule. There will be CDC regional meetings in Seattle, Chicago, and Denver this summer. If you are unable to attend these meetings then you should sign the Meningitis Angels Petition that will allow you to share your voice to let CDC know you support infant immunization against meningitis.
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central and Meningitis Angels. This campaign was made possible in part through support provided by Novartis Vaccines. A small donation to a charity of my choice was made in my name from Mom Central as a thank-you for participating. All opinions in this posting are 100% my own
Tuesdays Gone
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on this post. This vaccine is harmful (more than it is helpful), in my opinion. The highest-risk group for contracting meningitis is college students who live in dorm settings. I do not see the risk of meningitis to other ages of children being high enough to consider vaccinating (depending on the rates of the illness in their communities and other factors, of course.) If you are so inclined, please read this post: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/14/barbara-loe-fisher-on-the-meningococcal-vaccine.aspx
ReplyDeleteI've been a reader for a very long time and will not let this difference of opinion change that - we all make parenting decisions based on what we think is best for our children. Sometimes, what we think is best will differ.