NJ First State to Mandate Flu Shots for Preschoolers

[lesliepear]

http://www.wnbc.com/health/14814059/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

I do it for Alan anyway, but hopefully there won't be a shortage as there was a few years ago.

Comments

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

The anti-vaccination alarmists are going to have a cow.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

They are:

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MTAmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMzIyOTQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

If the anti-vaccination people had a hint of science backing their objections, I might give them some credit. But the usual objection is autism, blamed on the mercury-based preservative present in vaccines that are distributed in some multi-dose containers (but absent others, and always absent in single-dose containers). That just doesn't make any sense.

If we attribute the rise in autism to exposure to the mercury-based preservative, why have diagnoses continued to rise, even after the same chemical has disappeared from common use as an antiseptic, and declined as a preservative? (I used the antiseptic under the brand name "Mercurochrome" a lot as a kid. It was nice because he toughened the skin as it healed, and didn't sting when applied.) Exposure in that form was vastly more common than exposure as a vaccine preservative.

Isn't it a lot more likely that diagnoses of autism have increased because children previously labeled as "retarded" or otherwise not "normal" are now diagnosed as autistic?

(This isn't directed at you, obviously.)

[stitchinthyme.livejournal.com]

I'm ambivalent about this sort of thing. I mean, vaccinations are in general good; they've virtually eradicated some really horrible diseases (polio and smallpox, for example) that used to cause a lot of misery and death. But vaccinating healthy people for illnesses that are in general non-deadly and do no lasting harm, like the flu and chicken pox[*], seems a bit like overkill to me. I'm no expert, but I thought that exposure to some germs is necessary for kids to build a strong immune system, and I've read that today's parents' obsession with cleanliness may be contributing to higher incidences of things like asthma and severe allergies.

I haven't gotten a flu shot in years; I figure that as a relatively healthy adult who does not have small children and is not in a caregiver situation, if I get the flu, it'll make me miserable, but it probably won't kill me. And it might even boost my immune system if a pandemic should come along. Plus, I've also read that the contents of a flu shot are basically chosen based on scientists' best guess as to what the next year's prevalent flu viruses will be. There's no guarantee they'll be right.


[*] And yes, I do know that flu and chicken pox can be severe and even deadly, but in people who are otherwise healthy, they're usually not.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

The idea that some exposure to germs is good is sometimes called the challenge hypothesis. I think it's very credible. But it isn't an argument against vaccination, because generating immunity to influenza only reduces exposure to germs through herd immunity. (That's the idea that if every other pre-schooler in town is immune or partially immune to a particular strain, it will disappear for lack of susceptible hosts before it gets to a particular child.) That herd immunity does a lot to stop exposure to the strains covered by the vaccine, but it does almost nothing to change the amount of exposure to germs in general.

In other words, if you find the challenge hypothesis credible, the right strategy is not to avoid vaccination. The thing to do is let the kids play in mud. Get them pets and let the pets roll around in mud too. (But for the pets' safety, don't let them outside without supervision.) Let them swim in lake water, as long as it's not really filthy. Visit third-world countries (but take precautions against dangerous endemic diseases). Eat at restaurants without regard to their health department record.

I don't get flu shots every year, but I do if I have a reason to take the extra effort to avoid getting sick. If I'm sitting at home all winter, I probably won't worry about it. If I'm going to Norway with my wife, I'll get a flu shot so I'm not sick on the plane or while I'm there.