13 December, 2024

I’m a Polio Survivor. I Don’t Want You to Get It.

https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/as-a-polio-survivor-i-dont-want-you-to-get-it/

What is the most effective way to get a family to vaccinate their child? Explain to them in person the nuances and oddities of polio. Many families do not realize polio affects every body system, not just lungs or a paralyzed leg. Families do not realize the day to day reality of disability or the logistics and planning involved to keep functioning in a world not made for disabilities.

Misinformation is why a 20 year old was diagnosed with polio in 2022. Misinformation is why hundreds of thousands unnecessarily died of covid instead of being vaccinated. Misinformation will continue to disable and kill people as long as it remains unchecked. 

When celebrities advocate against vaccines, physicians retweet for attention, and pastors hold church during the height of a pandemic, a human life may pay the price. Polio, along with other vaccine-preventable diseases, will remain prevalent and history may repeat itself.