"Downtown Eastside's Immunization Walkabout a North American First"
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"Downtown Eastside's Immunization Walkabout a
North American First" Vancouver Sun (www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun)
(06/04/02) P. B2; Bohn, Glenn
In
Vancouver, Canada, a two-week
public health campaign involves teams of volunteers and nurses walking through
the city and giving out immunization shots to whoever wants them. Since the
program started three years ago, over 15,000 people have been immunized against
a wide range of diseases, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B, pneumonia, and
influenza. The teams also test for tuberculosis, and they provide educational
information on the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. The goal this year is
to immunize and test at least 3,000 people. "The street campaigns are proving
to be the best way to reach large numbers
of people who may be reluctant to seek other treatment," explained Shelagh
Weatherill, communicable disease control consultant with the Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority.
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YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"