HOW soon we forget. Everyone past their mid-forties survived the last great
measles pandemic before the arrival of a vaccine. Too many of their siblings
didn鈥檛. Yet once more measles threatens Britain because parents鈥� misplaced fears
are leaving children unvaccinated.
Let鈥檚 be clear. Most scare stories about measles vaccine are just scare
stories. Vaccination is vastly less dangerous than measles. And while parents
may arguably be entitled to put their own children at risk, they surely have no
right to impose that risk on other people鈥檚. Leaving children unimmunised does
just that. The more children escape the net, the freer the disease is to spread,
abort and kill.
But it鈥檚 not only parents who are to blame. Britain鈥檚 medical establishment
routinely offers only one type of vaccine: the MMR cocktail designed to stop
mumps and rubella as well as measles. The scare stories revolve mainly around
that vaccine.
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It is true that Britons mistrust official reassurances, especially since BSE.
But when health supremos insist that children are given a vaccine which, rightly
or wrongly, is feared by many, they invite mistrust. Officials may find MMR
convenient, but what is more important is protecting kids from a deadly disease.
The lesson is simple. Give parents a choice of vaccines and more children will
be protected.