Friday, October 14, 2005

Avian Flu:We Need to Vaccinate Kids NOT the Old

As we are officially told that yes, the avian flu HAS reached Europe, here is a study that begs the question: WHY do we vaccinate the elderly but NOT our children?: B/c the human immune system weakens with age, only 28% of elderly people who get vaccinated develop immunity. The low rate of protection means that 84% of all elderly (the 72% whose vaccinations don't take, along with those who don't get vaccinated) remain prey to a flu virus that runs otherwise largely unchecked. This vulnerability, combined with the aging of the population, has caused the nation's overall flu death rate to rise 400% even as we vaccinate more of the elderly. What about kids?: "Kids' immune systems respond wonderfully to flu vaccine. A whopping 90% are successfully immunized by a flu shot (compared to the 28% figure for the elderly and 60% for middle-aged adults). Kids' 90% success rate has been used to set up viral roadblocks high and wide enough to increase protection for whole populations b/c as researchers have confirmed- the flu spreads primarily via toddlers and school children, whose immature immune systems are easily infected and who have lousy hygiene. Kids often don't wipe their noses, wash their hands, or cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough, and they touch everything. That's why they catch the flu twice as often as and much earlier in the season than older people do. For an airborne virus, kids are the conduit of choice. So, wipe out kids catching the flu, and we can wipe out most of flu transmissions. Don't get me wrong: I love Noni & Poppi, too, but I think it only makes sense to save our children 1st before we save our elderly. The old have already lived a full life. Our kids have barely had the chance to do so. Besides, if we stop kids from getting it, the parents of those kids probably won't get it. And who takes care of the elderly? People who have kids, that's who.
Posted by Tina :: 12:22 AM :: 6 Comments:

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