American’s have feared the very idea of vaccinations for some time now, causing vaccinations to be a controversial topic for this country. When American’s were going through the Polio outbreak in ’52, one of the worst this countries ever seen, citizens simply refused to
If you’re unsure of what Polio is capable of, prepare yourself: it begins with an innocent stream of symptoms, seeming more so like a pesky cold. But come time for the virus to reach the bloodstream and spread, well that’s when things become a real danger. You begin to feel shooting pains that dart throughout your insides, muscle spasms, and finally, paralysis sets in. And for those who were particularly lucky, the virus hit the nervous system, inviting death inside for some tea.
During this plague, 58,000 people had fallen victim to the devious virus, many were bedridden for the rest of their lives. But American’s seem to have forgotten about this epidemic, considering the attitude most American’s have towards a medicine that could save themselves and their kids from the disastrous fate of Polio is (oddly enough) negative. “While creating the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk had to deal with critics like Walter Winchell, who warned, “It may be a killer” (TIMES).
As of right now, the world is closer than ever to wiping out the virus completely, but what value does this really hold with the recent boycotting of vaccinations? Will this bring us another 1952?
Forbes published an article titled, “Anti-Vaccine Movement Causes Worst Measles Epidemic In 20 Years”. This article, unfortunately, was not published in the 50’s, but in February of 2015. Measles is spreading and rapidly, because of those who boycott the vaccination, therefore leaving these individuals exposed to measles and ready to share the virus with the rest of us. Scientists have been warned time and time again about those who are ant-vaccination when developing these cures. And what’s the most tragic part about this all? Well, in 2000, America was (proudly) measles-free because of the vaccinations that were being given to prevent the measles from outbreaking, just as they are doing today. Most Anti-vaccination people are just sharing false and misleading information, and if not, well, then they are the ones believing it.