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A Need for Needles?

Part One

By Carma Haley

Many of these illnesses and diseases may not be epidemic in the United States, but remain in other countries where immunizations are not available or easily accessed. "As a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa in 1990 to 1992, I saw children and adults with polio begging in the street and observed the devastating consequences of limited vaccines first hand," says Chyczewski.

Education through local doctors, hotlines and even through the Center of Disease Control (CDC) itself can help parents understand that the choice they make regarding immunizations is vital to their child's health. "I think if parents are educated about what the complications are, which a lot of parents do not know or understand, they would opt for the a shot over the disease," says McLeod. "For example, parents do not know that death, physical disfigurement and disability are all complications of chicken pox. For some, all it takes is a description of what the disease is like, what it can do or even just to see a picture of someone who has the disease. Being informed, with good, accurate information is the first step."

Preventative medicine is a trend that is not going away. Physicals, checkups and routine visits are all measures of preventative medicine. According to McLeod, immunizations are just one more step on the path to healthy, happy children. "Vaccines are the most cost effective preventive measure we have in medicine today," she says. "It is much better to deal with the pain of a five-second shot then to run the risk of disfiguring or deadly complications from an illness knowing it could be prevented. It is not a matter of scaring a parent; it is a matter of educating them as to what is best, medically, for their child. And isn't that what it is all about anyway -- the children?"

Part two of this series illustrates the feelings of parents and experts who feel immunizations should not be given to children.