Anti-Vaccination Campaign in Ukraine Sparks Fear of an Outbreak

[Flannel Boy]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090325.wvaccine0325/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

KIEV, Ukraine — A widespread scare about vaccine side effects in Ukraine has led to a sharp drop in immunizations that could result in disease outbreaks spreading beyond the former Soviet republic, international and local health officials say.

Hundreds of thousands of fearful Ukrainians have refused vaccines for diseases such as diphtheria, mumps, polio, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, whooping cough and others this year, according to official estimates. Authorities have cancelled a UN-backed measles and rubella vaccination campaign funded by U.S. philanthropist Ted Turner, and will have to collect and incinerate nearly nine million unused doses in coming months.

Experts blame the Ukrainian scare on government mismanagement and irresponsible media coverage of an anti-vaccination campaign launched after the May death of a 17-year-old boy who had received a combined shot for measles and rubella.

Activists including members of the homeopathic and alternative healing industries blamed his death on the vaccination. Ukrainian authorities said they needed to investigate and halted the campaign to revaccinate nine million Ukrainians aged 16-29 for measles — a leading cause of childhood death — and rubella, which can cause serious birth defects.

The Ukrainian Health Ministry and World Health Organization concluded that the boy died of septic shock from a bacterial infection unrelated to the vaccine. But the ministry decided last month to terminate the revaccination campaign, saying there was no longer enough time to administer the vaccines before they expire this summer and that people would refuse the shots.

[Flannel Boy]

Triumph, after you're done with the bankers, can you get to the homeopaths?

[Ganhyun]

hobos and shotguns!

[Eric P]

no homeo

[Diunx]

The only one of those vaccines that I have is the hepatitis B one.

[duckman2000]

Sounds like just about every one of my relatives on the wife's side, even if the reasoning is a bit different (here, it's a fear of autism). The absolutely most troubling part of that, though, is hearing them talk about there being no need anyway since many of those diseases are so uncommon these days. Yes, thanks to decades of thorough vaccination.

[Flannel Boy]

Sounds like just about every one of my relatives on the wife's side, even if the reasoning is a bit different (here, it's a fear of autism). The absolutely most troubling part of that, though, is hearing them talk about there being no need anyway since many of those diseases are so uncommon these days. Yes, thanks to decades of thorough vaccination.

Clearly, Polio rates are down because of God's benevolence, and the vaccinations are merely coincidental.