Immunization advocate sounds cautionary note
Posted Apr 29, 2014 11:03:40 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A leading advocate for immunization in Canada says celebrities who speak out against getting vaccinated do indeed have a negative impact on the immunization rate.
Dr. Vivien Brown of Immunize Canada told ‘570 News Mid-day with Eric Drozd’ Jenny Mccarthy did her group no favours when she suggested that her son’s autism may have been triggered by being vaccinated. “We’re very interested in celebrity culture and I think that we really have to take the time and effort to explain how important immunization is for call Canadians.”
Dr. Brown says the successful fight against a number of diseases is actually a double-edged sword. “We’ve done so well with immunization that we kind of feel these diseases aren’t that important and what we forget is that they’re very important and when we don’t immunize carefully, they come back to haunt us.”
She says meningitis and measles can be deadly in certain people who are not immunized against them. “We have to remember that these are killer diseases. A good portion of people that get these diseases survive them, but some people don’t. These are real diseases and you just have to see one case in your life to know that you really want to avoid it.”
This is National Immunization Awareness Week in Canada. Immunize Canada is calling on Canadians to keep up-to-date with their immunizations.
