VaxMeUp
As you may already know, I'm not overly fond of the Anti-Vaccination crowd, they play on ignorance and fear to push their own agendas.
Anyhoo, tonight I found through the magic of twitter that one of the people I follow - Julie Posetti - had been diagnosed with Whooping Cough. She was another victim of the falling numbers of pertussis vaccinations that have led to a marked increase in cases (including sadly, the death of an infant a few weeks ago).
Snap. I've had enough of letting the anti-vaxers get away with spreading misinformation and crippling an effective public health measure. So after discussing it with the twitterverse I've come up with VaxMeUp Day. On a day to be announced I want to organise a mass Pertussis Vaccination. Not only will this be a public show of support for the concept of vaccinations, but it will actually help to boost the herd immunity against the disease. Remember as an adult, there is every chance that your original immunisation has worn off.
So let's see what sort of support we can drum up. I'm going to be contacting my local members (State and Federal) as well as health bodies. I want to see this happen, and I want to see it happen soon.
Comments
crystal crowd
Oh yes, the "crystal crowd". Happy to chant om, polish their crystals and work on their auras. But science? No....
How much is whopping cough
How much is whopping cough vaccination? Because I'll take every free vaccination I can get, including swine flu. Can't understand why anyone wouldn't, unless they're mathematically incapable of comparing the exceedingly small risk of the vaccination itself versus the costs of being infected or infecting others multiplied by the probability of being infected - as trade-offs go, vaccination is as no-brainer as they come. Hep A and Hep B were quite pricey though (around $200 all up I think), but still got those.
Re: How much is whooping cough?
Rang the chemist last night, apparently the cost of the DPT booster (Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) is $38.50.