Editor:
I am old.
I listen to the radio and I hear young, well-meaning parents expressing deep concerns about, if not hostility toward, vaccinations.
These young parents have not watched their children die, go deaf or blind, or become imbeciles due to the high fever caused by measles.
I have seen this. When she was a baby, before vaccines were available, my aunt – previously a bright, cheerful, healthy toddler – fell ill with a very high fever. She was never the same again, always sickly and slow.
Measles and whooping cough are not merely “inconveniences.” They can be truly miserable and distructive. Polio is even more so. If you value your child, keep him or her safe. Vaccinate.
Whatever damages you fear are far, far less likely than running the risk of letting your child catch these terrible, but now-preventable, diseases.
It is much wiser to vaccinate than to run the risk of illness that can kill and, even if the victim survives, often requires lengthy and expensive hospital treatment.
The requirement to vaccinate is no different than requiring drivers to obey traffic laws – for the safety of us all.
Joan Scofield
Sweet Home