Thought of the Day - June 18 - Anti-Vaxxers

In the year I was born, 1959, it is estimated that 2.6 million people died of the measles, most of them children. Since then the miracle of the measles vaccine has saved a 100 millions of lives - just let that sink in. This is the good news. The bad news is two-fold:

• First, the preoccupation of health-care professionals and diversion of funding for COVID-19 means that for the first time in a long while the number of deaths from measles will increase once again in 2020. This is significant. Over 150,0000 people were killed by measles in 2019;

• Secondly, the public now associates the incredibly effective measles vaccine with the marginally useful "big-pharma money-maker" also known as the flu-vaccine. Thus, religions zealots and immuno-compromised folk aside, we have the rise of Anti-Vaxxers. Incredibly there were 30 or so cases of measles in BC last year!

Anyway the message here, besides COVID-19, while new, is not alone in taking many lives, is that potential vaccines have a second hurdle (beyond money-grabbing politics). They have to convince the public that there is minimal risk and a real benefit - not an easy task, given the deservedly poor public image of recently introduced vaccines such as those for influenza.

Cheers

Cliff