Re: Measles/rubella campaign for Afghan babies

[Guest guest]

The following was sent to the only three Afghan newspapers for which I could

find email addresses. All three news announcements I read seemed to stress

that only measles and rubella were being given? What happened to mumps???

BB

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THIS IS THE TEXT OF MY NOTE TO THE NEWSPAPERS:

My sincere hope is that only babies whose immune strength is mature enough to

handle the measles and rubella will be given it.

While it is true that the actual diseases can produce complications including

encephalitis, so can the disease as induced by the vaccine.

Throughout the English-speaking world, parents have been told that vaccine is

not effective if given prior to the child's 15th month.

Are Afghan parents being told only to expect a mild elevation in temperature

and perhaps a little redness around the site of the injection?

Have they been advised of grave concerns about the correlation between the

MMR and rising rates of autism onset in America and elsewhere?

In the event something unfortunate occurs to an Afghan baby because of the

vaccine, who will compensate the family?

Do Afghan parents know how many groups there are around the world raising

concerns about the very vaccines they are lining up to give to their babies?

In a campaign reported to be spending more than $8 million to give the shots,

I hope someone is well prepared to give complete answers.

Barbara