When I was a kid, smallpox and polio were still a thing. A declining threat but still a danger. There were no vaccinations yet against measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox. Kids just got those diseases and either died or recovered and then had immunity after that.
At my elementary school we lined up to get our smallpox vaccine. I still have the scar from the vaccination. We were single file, shuffling up to the public health nurse and the school nurse administering the shots. We heard the gasp and cry of pain of the youngster ahead of us getting the shot, then their weeping and the nurse calling “Next!”. My friend, Jeff Bryant, saw his chance and ran out the side door of the school in a panic. It never occurred to the rest of us that escape was an option. Before a general stampede could take place, Mr. Grover our school principal shouted, “Get back in line!” So, we did and ten minutes later Jeff was marched back in by the scruff of his neck by his mom for his shot.
The polio vaccine was oral and three doses back then. That wasn’t administered in school. My mom took me to the doctor’s office, and I drank the first dose. It tasted awful. It tasted so awful it brought tears to my eyes, made me nauseous and want to tear out my tongue. I forget now the time lag, two weeks maybe, before the second dose could be administered. I told my Mom I wasn’t going. She told me that the doctor realized how terrible it tasted to kids, so they changed the flavor to something delicious. I believed her, she was my mom after all. It turned out that she was a lying sack of feces; they did not change the taste. It came time for the third trip. My dad had to go with my mom to manhandle me into the car. Once at the office I tore around the waiting room desperately trying to escape ala Jeff Bryant. It took three nurses and my dad to hold me down. They used the medical equivalent of the jaws of life to pry my mouth open and pour the last dose of polio vaccine down my throat. My mother was embarrassed. The medical staff were amused. I felt furious and betrayed. I didn’t talk to my parents for days after that. I also never got polio.
Vaccines were important to my parents. My Mom’s oldest brother died of smallpox. The family had to be evacuated from the farm while 21-year-old David lay afflicted with the illness in quarantine. Grandpa not only ran the farm but had a job in town. So he, Grandma and three of the four other kids moved to town for the duration. My Uncle Earl, then 16, stayed and worked the farm and cared for David. The doctors did the best they could, but David died. My Dad had a neighbor that had polio and spent his life in an iron lung. My parents took disease seriously and welcomed the medical advances that vaccines brought.
I don’t understand people who spurn proven medical treatments – preventive and otherwise. I don’t understand this hostility to vaccines in general and the maniacal denial that Covid is real. Covid killed 230,000 Americans in 2022 alone. It continues to be a major threat to people 50 and over. They make up 90% of Covid deaths. In 2022, Covid was the third leading cause of death after heart disease (#1) and cancer (#2).
Winter is upon us with a vengeance. That means heart attack season as stubborn men shovel mountains of snow. It means colds and flu. Some will die from the flu, around 20,000 Americans die from the flu annually. Covid is still a menace too. I know we were ostriches here in South Dakota, burying our heads in the sand and trying to live life as if the pandemic never happened ignoring the deaths of our fellow citizens afflicted with Covid and throwing temper tantrums over simple, common-sense defenses like wearing masks. Speaking of masks, the entire Boston school system is now back to masking as the new semester of school 2023 begins because of the prevalence of Covid.
The CDC says, so far this winter season, that Covid related deaths are up 65% and Covid related hospitalizations have increased 22%. Many hospitals are now experiences a “tripledemic” of Covid, the flu and RSV – respiratory syncytial virus. So far this season, the flu has already killed 7,300 Americans and there are 13 million cases of flu and counting. About half of the adults in the United States have gotten their flu shot and only 13.5% of people eligible to get the Covid booster have done so.
I believe in modern medicine. I’ve been vaccinated for smallpox, polio, shingles, pneumonia, the flu and have had four Covid shots – two initial doses and two boosters. If there’s a shot for it, I get it. Why people want to play Russian Roulette with illness and take the chance of shuffling off this mortal coil early from some preventable disease leaving their loved ones bereft and alone – is a conundrum to me.
Be smart, put your fears aside, dump the ridiculous conspiracy theories, ignore what your coworker told you that they heard from their brother-in-law who got it from their second cousin twice removed who heard it from a friend of a friend who saw somewhere (they can’t remember where) that crazy thing about vaccines and place your faith in the best medical research and care in the world (the good old USA’s) and get your shots. You trust vaccinations for your pets, why don’t you trust the human version for you?
As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over til it’s over”. It’s true in sports, it is also true with Covid. Do the right thing and get your vaccinations for Covid and the flu. Do it for your family, friends and the vulnerable living around you in the community. The life you save may be your own.