Focus on vaccinations!

Today I have decided to write and express my concerns, my opinion and also my outrage on what appears to be one of the most controversial topics I can think of, vaccinations!! I am writing today as a health professional, but mainly, as a sensible, educated human being. 

It has been 17 years since I have made Nursing my profession and in many ways my way of life too. I am particularly interested in aspects of nursing education of patients and staff, as one. I have been doing it with great dedication for most part of my career. I went on and expanded my studies by completing Master degree in Public Health, learning extensively about World's trends in immunization programs. Studying years and years about the importance of this basic method of prevention and eradication of some of the deadliest diseases in the world, exploring and analyzing the vast variety of scientifically proven evidence, beyond any doubt, I couldn't even begin to imagine that it would create any sort of controversy. No contemporary phenomenon confounds and confuses me more than seemingly sensible people turning down one of the most unambiguously helpful interventions in the history of modern medicine. Yet they do!!!!!! To me everything looked and still does look: "Black &White". 

Not only that I think these people are wrong and that their beliefs are misguided. I also think that in any scientific matter there is no place for beliefs, but purely scientifically evidence based decisions. But, of course, those who refuse vaccination, for various reasons and beliefs, disagree with me. Unfortunately, it seems to me that there is no amount of evidence that could convince them otherwise, which is precisely the problem! If this trend continues, we are gradually deteriorating to be like Sub-Saharan Africa, where children are still dying in mass from totally preventable diseases. This dangerous trend indicates that something has gone very terribly wrong in our society. I wish I could point a finger on what it is!!!!

What irritates me most of all is that those anti-vaccinations advocates or selective" vaccinators are, basically, lacking any sense of public/community responsibility and are taking advantage on "Herd immunity" of the population. Maybe few weeks spent in SSA (e.g. Nigeria) would bring some perspective into their misguided opinions, maybe seeing people crawling on the streets without their limbs entirely or partially, as a result of debilitating Polio, will do the trick???? Consequently, as the amount of not vaccinated people increases, the "Herd immunity" decreases and we witness diseases outbreaks, which were considered to pass from this world long ago. Then I and you, as parents, need to worry that the two-week-old infant in GP's waiting room, who could be my baby or yours, as well, is getting exposed to a potentially-fatal case of pertussis if "non-vaccinating" parents bring their children in with a bad cough. 

Giving kids vaccines is the absolute, unambiguous standard of care!

Another aspect of the troubling "anti-vax" trend is increased speculation regarding newer vaccines, such as anti-HPV vaccines (@Gardasil, @Cervarix). Just to refresh our collective memory, HPV is sexually transmitted virus, which is associated with 90% of cervical cancer diagnosis. The argument, which seemingly initially makes sense, that there is not enough information yet to prove the safety of the vaccine, or that there are reported cases of serious adverse effects, proves again to be wrong when we switch our thinking from "beliefs" into "facts and evidence". 

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6229a4.htm?s_cid=mm6229a4_w 

There is also a lot of debate going on about the "morality" of this specific vaccine, given in such young age. Many of various religious authorities are banning the topic even from discussion and, of course, the vaccine is not even available in Muslim countries. But my question is: "Is preventing health from future women and mothers of our society is moral? Is it ethical at all? How about forming a skilled, educated opinion based on scientific facts?" 

Moreover, there are new studies that show that HPV vaccination also has an effect on people who have already previously had this disease, and who generally have a much greater risk of subsequently contracting an HPV-associated disease again. Studies were able to show that the risk of a renewed disease is reduced by two thirds with this vaccination. The vaccination protects people from the disease, and it is not only advisable for young people. There is data which proves the efficiency of the vaccination in people even up to the age of 45. Therefore vaccination is to be recommended for everyone up to the age of 45. It provides protection not only from cervical cancer but also from other types of cancer, such as anal carcinoma. This protection applies to men and women equally. This revolutionary new evidence was recently published in British Medical Journal (BMJ), which is one the leading medical publications in the world.

Reference: 

1.                      E. A. Joura, S. M. Garland, J. Paavonen, D. G. Ferris, G. Perez, K. A. Ault, W. K. Huh, H. L. Sings, M. K. James, R. M. Haupt. Effect of the human papillomavirus (HPV) quadrivalent vaccine in a subgroup of women with cervical and vulvar disease: retrospective pooled analysis of trial data. BMJ, 2012; 344 (mar27 3): e1401 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.e1401