[FLPERMACULTURE] vaccines and public health/personal choice

[Krys Cail]

Thanks, Bethany,

That was a very thoughtful post about vaccines and public health.

It is, indeed, a very complex and difficult topic, which is made more
difficult by our profit-driven medical establishment in the US, and the
influence of corporate money in government.

I did want to just add my own family's experiences, as sometimes it is easy
to see the experiences of others who share our point of view, but more
difficult to be aware of the experiences of those who are a bit different
from us.  My brothers' families, each with 7 children, were not vaccinated
as young children due to their religious objections.  Both families were
raised as fundamentalist Christians, home-schooled, and came into contact
with very few other children (or adults) who were not a part of the same
subculture.  Nationally, most parents who do not vaccinate their children
fall into this category, I believe.  All 14 of those nieces and nephews have
now reached adulthood. As children, 3 of them suffered from Whooping Cough
(Pertussis), although only one has been permanently disabled due to lung
damage from the disease.  When there was an outbreak of Pertussis, which was
mostly within the fundamentalist Christian community in the Northeast, most
of the others (other than the 3 who contracted it) were vaccinated.... not
clear how many of them would have come down with it if they had continued to
refuse vaccination.  The 3 nieces and nephew who contracted the disease were
in the family who maintained some contact with the outside world (i.e.,
allowed the children to go to stores with parents, play with
non-fundamentalist children in the neighborhood, etc.).  Conceivably, the
complete isolation in which the other 7 children were raised might have kept
them from contracting the disease even if they had not been vaccinated
(although, it did also lead to serious social maladaption and various
anti-social behavioral problems, including serious crime and teen pregnancy,
in late adolescence for most of them).

Cases of pertussis have increased recently, primarily in this subculture
that does not vaccinate children.  This does have public health implications
for all of us... as, if the disease continues to find hosts and thrive, it
can mutate into forms that the vaccine will not protect us from (the
anti-social and criminal behavior of children raised in isolation has some
costs, too... and, of course, many of these parents also refuse medical care
when the children are ill, due to their strong belief in prayer-based
healing).  Keeping children safe from contracting disease through social
isolation also has its impractical sides-- for instance, my mother's older
sister (who I never knew, as she died as a child) was badly burned at age 2
in a kitchen accident.  She contracted contagious meningitis in the hospital
while recovering, and died of the meningitis. A fundamentalist family might
have prayed over her instead, and had her die of burns.... and been liable
for serious child abuse prosecution from a state that also prosecutes
medical malpractice (although differently).  Or, a family today might choose
the meningitis vaccine instead.  But, if it is a matter of personal choice,
some subcultures will keep the disease cultures alive and spreading in the
population.

Complicated business.  Definitely takes a village to raise a child, IMHO.
New parents often learn too late that the accumulated wisdom of others is
worth some consideration.  At some level, US sensibilities seem to overvalue
the individual and undervalue the group-- an outgrowth of our religious and
cultural heritage, certainly, but contrary-wise to the ecological principles
that science shows us make the world work as well as it does.  Some parents
will always stray too far into exerting control, based on their personal
beliefs and opinions, over their children's lives-- and it will always be a
tricky business to determine where the line is, what kind of parenting is
not fair to the children involved (abusive) and what kind of parenting poses
undue risks to the community (raising risk of need for social controls/aides
such as prisons, healthcare and financial support for the permanently
disabled).  But, the parental choice process should ideally have
consideration for both the well-being of the individual child and the public
health of the community.

Krys

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