A/V Geeks 16mm Films: Say Yes to Childhood Immunization

Sunrise. Isn't it beautiful? Man hasn't created anything to compare with this country. It's here for all of us to enjoy. Nature has a unique and sometimes wonderful way of equalizing every one of us. But nature can treat all of us equally in other ways too. Less wonderful, less beautiful. Like savage forest fires that destroy our natural timberlands. Or devastating floods that cause many of us to lose our homes each year. And disease. That can strike any one of us at any time, anywhere. Right now there are millions of unborn infants, babies, children, adults sharing the risk of being scarred for life by preventable childhood diseases. Diseases that cause paralysis, blindness, deafness, mental retardation. These childhood diseases are killers and cripplers that produce lifelong physical and mental suffering. Perhaps man hasn't been able to equal the beauties of a sunrise. But we have learned to combat and in some cases defeat several of nature's diseases through proper immunization and continuing booster programs. And the beauty of immunization is that it works hand-in-hand with the antibody system that nature has provided man. I'm Lorne Green and I'd like to talk to you about immunizations and a dangerous and needless form of child neglect that exists today throughout this country and much of the world. A neglect that has the potential of becoming abuse. I'm talking about a kind of neglect of which even the most loving parents may be guilty. The failure to immunize our children against childhood diseases that maim and kill. And despite all the efforts by medical, educational, and health professionals, this kind of neglect has become as epidemic as these diseases once were and may become again. Our children deserve the best we parents have to offer, but overall we are failing them unnecessarily. Failing to ensure that each and every one of them gets the protection of immunization he or she deserves. The protection they're entitled to because they are our children and because the future lies in their hands. Today there are many children and young adults needlessly exposed to the dangers of childhood diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, mumps, measles, German measles, polio, and all can cause a lifetime of suffering. For example, too many remain unprotected against polio and the shattering effects it causes to the unsuspecting. And against rubella, also called German measles or three-day measles, that not only afflicts the expectant mother who acquires this disease, but also her unborn infant and that infant may suffer from birth defects. Whether it's a single case or an epidemic, two conditions have to be present. The disease and the susceptible population. Research efforts have created vaccine programs that can prevent epidemics, but the one epidemic that they cannot prevent is apathy by unconcerned and uninformed parents to protect their children through a full series of immunizations. And because of parental neglect, a new susceptible population has been created, making the specter of major epidemics a reality again. Now of course we all want our children to live healthy and productive lives, and yet we have to recognize that out of this desire stems a responsibility. We're charged with the protection and welfare of our children. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized this responsibility when he established the March of Dimes to combat polio and protect our children from the effects of crippling diseases. And since then, every United States president has recognized this need to protect the health of our children and the responsibility for it that we all share. Those children are not the victims of an imagined threat. They're all victims of preventable diseases. There may be many reasons why we fail to have our children immunized, but perhaps the real reason is we've forgotten just how terrible those diseases can be and how widespread they once were. Because medical science has been able to avoid epidemics of these major diseases through successful immunization programs, it doesn't mean that the threat is gone. The threat remains in the shadows, but nevertheless very real. And if we continue to neglect to have our children immunized, this generation and the next face a realistic threat to their health and lives. So ask yourself, could one of those children we just saw be your child or grandchild? Childhood diseases are nothing to take lightly. They're serious for adults as well as children. Right now we're seeing more young adults who have not been immunized as children being stricken by measles, polio, and mumps. And if a large number of children remain unprotected, they risk getting these so-called childhood diseases as adults. And the fact that we were immunized as children doesn't mean that we are protected as adults. Some immunizations require boosters, and if we don't receive the needed boosters, we run the danger of serious complications when the risks of childhood diseases are the greatest. Mumps can be a mild illness in children, but in the case of a male adult, he runs the risk of sterility. And women stricken with mumps may suffer extreme pain and discomfort from severe inflammation of the ovaries and pancreas. Add to this vulnerability the increased mobility of today's population, and you begin to see the scope of the problem facing not only health officials, but each and every one of us. Once a disease is transmitted from anywhere in the world into a susceptible population, we have the nucleus for an epidemic. Epidemics are devastating, and once an epidemic starts, it's almost impossible to prevent it from spreading to the unimmunized population, whether they be adults or children. Why do preventable childhood diseases continue to exist? Well, apathy is a major factor, but so is misinformation. And ironically, the success of modern medicine in reducing the toll exacted by complications of these diseases has created its own set of problems. We have an entire generation of young adults who have not seen the effects of a polio epidemic or known firsthand the rampant dangers of measles, so they take the risks lightly. Some parents even believe it's beneficial for a child to acquire the disease, risking all the complications, suffering through it all, and then emerging with natural immunity. Well, nature knows best, as the reasoning goes, but not everything in nature is beautiful, and to think otherwise is a tragic misunderstanding. In the days before immunization, virtually all American children had measles by age 15. The survivors were forever immune, but out of every 1,000 cases of measles, there will be one case of severe encephalitis, and one or two cases of severe pneumonia, both frequently resulting in death. Although there may be complications, by comparison, a child is 10,000 times more likely to suffer complications from naturally occurring measles than from the measles vaccine, and 100,000 times more likely to suffer complications from naturally occurring polio than from polio vaccines. During the 1950s, before vaccines were available for polio, within a period of only 10 years, 100,000 people were stricken with paralytic polio, and 12,000 died. Many babies were born deaf and blind with birth defects because their mothers contracted rubella. The last rubella epidemic occurred as late as 1964 to 1965, right here in the United States, and the results were that within two years, 20,000 infants were born deformed, and over 30,000 expectant mothers miscarried. Today's immunization schedules differ from those many of us adults had when we were children. Every child needs protection, and we as parents can help. Check your children's health records to make certain they've received all of their immunizations and adequate boosters. If they do need any of the vaccines, or if you have any questions about certain vaccines, consult with your physician or other qualified health advisor. Immunization programs all over the world are striving to combat diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, mumps, measles, German measles, and polio. Our children deserve this protection. In our way of life, government, medical science, and health-related medical organizations can only do so much, however. The real responsibility lies with us as parents. That's why it's so important that we create and renew a solid concern for immunization. Let's not fail our children. Immunization is our greatest instrument to ensure continued good, sound health by providing a strong defense against preventable childhood diseases. Regrettably, at this very moment, out of some 52 million American children under the age of 15, about 20 million of them are not immunized against one or more of the preventable childhood diseases, which means that 40% of our children, or nearly one-half of the children in this classroom, are not properly protected against any of the seven childhood diseases. Recently, the city of Los Angeles was struck by a measles epidemic. As a result, health officials barred over 53,000 youngsters from entering the classes because they had not been immunized against measles, and 11 out of 128 students at a school in Connecticut developed paralytic polio. But of equal concern, almost one-half of the total student body had never been immunized against the childhood diseases, and therefore were extremely lucky to have escaped contracting polio. More tragically still, in the state of New York, two sisters, five and six years old, recently died from diphtheria. Now can we as parents afford not to immunize our children? I really don't think so. Man may not have created anything to equal the natural beauty of a sunrise or sunset, but there's a particular beauty knowing that we have learned how to work with nature to protect the health and lives of our children. Unfortunately, too many of us have neglected to protect our children against diseases that maim and kill, and whether we realize it or not, we are risking the lives of our children, and it's a risk we cannot afford. There's a special verse on the song Sunrise Sunset in the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. It's a poignant reflection about parental responsibility. What words of wisdom, how can I help to ease their way? Now we must learn from one another day by day. Well, the next time you see a sunrise or sunset, ask yourself, have I fulfilled my responsibility as a parent to my children? Have I helped to ease their way? I hope you can say yes.