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The northern part of Nigeria has over 140
confirmed cases of wild polio. According to Steve Okokwu, the assistant project
officer in charge of the Expanded Program on Immunization at UNICEF,
socio-cultural beliefs, low motivation of health workers, and difficulties with
vaccine distribution are major obstacles for the polio eradication program in
Nigeria. The goal for complete eradication of polio from the world is 2005, but
the World Health Organization (WHO) will only certify a country free of polio if
there are no wild polio transmissions for three consecutive years. Five
countries accounted for 85 percent of new polio cases in 2001: Nigeria, Niger,
Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan.
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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?"