life & style // 14

War of the Words:
A plea for the poke

» Get vaccinated for those who can’t

Sophie Isbister

Life & Style Editor
Milifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

here has been an anti-

vaccination movement ever
since vaccines have been in
existence. People have always
been wary about taking vaccines
into their veins, and have been
arguably even more worried
about government intervention
into their personal health lives.

This is a fair concern, and
one that has been heeded
by the government so far—
vaccines are not mandatory.
However, that has posed its
own set of problems. Due to
misinformation spread by
actress (not scientist) Jenny
McCarthy, a whole generation
of parents avoided the MMR

now-debunked reports that the

has led to recent outbreaks of
measles across Canada in 2013.
Wariness and uncertainty
about the flu vaccine—usually
based around emotional
responses and “icky feelings”—
have also posed public health
concerns; health officials worry
that enough people are opting
out of the flu to compromise
herd immunity, which is the
accepted theory that having
a high percentage of the
population inoculated against a
virus protects the community as

with measles, which is part
of the reason we're seeing an
outbreak.

Some people can’t get
the flu shot, such as people
with immune disorders, or

: those with egg allergies. Herd

: immunity protects those

: people: the flu is less likely to

: spread through populations

: when a high percentage of that
: population is immunized. This
: is why it becomes an issue when
: otherwise healthy people opt

: out of the flu shot. Healthy

: people are perfectly able to

: withstand the flu, but they also
: risk passing it along to those

: who aren't able to inoculate.

The flu vaccine is

: completely safe; it cannot give

: you the flu. If you got the flu

: immediately after getting the

: vaccine, it’s likely that you were
: exposed to the flu virus before

: getting inoculated. And yes,

: you can still get the flu after

: getting vaccinated—the flu

: vaccine does the best it can

: and usually protects against
vaccine for their kids because of 70 to 90 percent or comm on
vaccine could cause autism. This : better to hedge your bets and
: increase that herd immunity.

: Ifa healthy and strong adult

: gets the flu it is preferable to an
: immunocompromised person

: getting it—especially nasty

: strains like HiNi and H5Ni,

: both of which have reared their
: ugly heads this flu season.

People have been turning

: away from vaccines for reasons

: that are not based in science.

: While I understand that it is

: your right to say no and opt

: out, illogical, emotion-based

: arguments have sadly been

. . | winning the vaccination battle.

a whole. We lost herd immunity: Th 1 f solid
: There are plenty of soli

: reasons to get vaccinated as

: part of a comprehensive public

: health operative, and very few

: reasons—mostly selfish ones—

: not to.

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