The article I read this week from the NY Times was entitled, "20 million in Mideast to Get Polio Vaccine." It was written by Donald G. McNeil Jr, and the article discusses a potential outbreak of polio in the Middle East. I feel very strongly about vaccinations and their importance, so I chose to discuss it this week.
The article explains how the World Health Organization and UNICEF are attempting to have 20 million children vaccinated against polio in certain Middle East countries. The push for the vaccination of these 20 million children comes from the diagnosis of 10 children in Syria with polio. Apparently, the polio virus has been found in the sewers of these Middle Eastern countries.
The reason that scientists and doctors are pushing for these vaccines is that polio offers a risk to tourists and can be spread when people move away from the Middle East. In order to keep polio non-existent, we should vaccinate anyone who is at risk for contracting it.
I chose this article because it is important for the world to understand the importance of vaccinations. Vaccinations not only protect you, but they also protect the people around you. We discussed this in class regarding the influenza vaccination. This year, the government and health officials are doing a big push for people, especially children and the elderly, to get the flu vaccine. We also want those who are around these groups of people to get the vaccine as well. When people are vaccinated against illness they no longer pose a danger to their own or others' health and well-being. So, even though people may say what happens in the Middle East (disease wise) can not affect them all the way over here in the United States, they are very wrong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/science/vaccine-drive-to-curb-spread-in-middle-east.html?ref=science
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