Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright
Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for
Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at
http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
New influenza vaccination Pneumovax, recently
shown effective in a Victoria, Australia, based clinical trial, will hopefully
prevent the onset of pneumonia during winter months. Pneumonia kills 20 percent
of infected people, with most victims over the age of 65. The study determined
that Pneumovax, given free to people over the age of 65 last year, decreased the
death rate from 116 victims in 2000 to just 71 people in 2001. Western
Australia's Great Southern region doctor Toby Leach believes that with greater
access to the vaccine, the pneumonia-related death rate will drop even further
this year.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
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?"