Public health and vaccines

I was never able to sit on my Grandpa’s lap as Thaddus Voshel Dorris died at age 36 from Tuberculosis. I had an Aunt Alpharetta who died of scarlet fever, Uncle Raymond and Uncle Thaddeus died from diphtheria. All three as infants or below the age of 4. Granted this was back in 1911-1918 time, but I share it as we think about the importance of vaccines in our current lives.

I have a good friend whose niece is expecting her first baby in April. The Mom to be is very anxious that she will not be able to obtain the needed vaccines for her newborn.

Often when people think of “public health” they think of care for the indigent. As a former nurse involved in public health, I prefer to have it identified as the health of the public. One person  receiving an immunization is good for that individual. But when we think about the entire population, disease prevention is best when we have herd immunity. Herd immunity comes through mass immunizations, or the disease invading all persons, and those who live have immunity.

Many of you know about the Iditarod, the March 1st dog sled race in Alaska, but you may not be aware of the public health significance of the race. The name Iditarod came from the native Inuit languages Ingalik and Holikachuk. The word means distant or distant place.

The children of Nome were dying in January 1925. Infected with diphtheria, they wheezed and gasped for air and died. Every day brought  new cases of the lethal respiratory disease. The town physician, Dr. Crosby initiated a quarantine, but the vaccine was really the only way to arrest the disease. The nearest batch of the life-saving medicine was more than 1,000 miles away in Anchorage. Nome’s ice-choked harbor made sea transport impossible, and open-cockpit airplanes could not fly in Alaska’s subzero temperatures. With the nearest train station 700 miles away in Nenana, canine power offered Nome its best hope for a speedy and much needed delivery.

Sled dogs regularly beat Alaska’s snowy trails to deliver mail. The territory’s governor, Scott Bone, recruited the best drivers and dog teams to stage a round-the-clock relay to transport the serum from Nenana to Nome. 

On the night of January 27, 1925, a train whistle pierced Nenana’s stillness as it arrived with the precious cargo—a 20-pound package of serum wrapped in protective fur. Musher “Wild Bill” Shannon tied the parcel to his sled. As he gave the signal, the paws of Shannon’s nine malamutes pounded the snow-packed trail on the first step of a 674-mile “Great Race of Mercy” through rugged wilderness, across frozen waterways and over treeless tundra.

With moonlight and even the northern lights illuminating the dark Alaskan winter days, the relay raced at an average speed of six miles per hour.

The relay took five-and-a-half days, cutting the previous record nearly in half. Four dogs died from exposure, giving their lives so that others could live. Three weeks after injecting the residents of Nome, Dr. Crosby was able to lift the quarantine.

Persons of my vintage remember when the polio vaccine was developed in the early 1950’s. We lined up and took a little cube of sugar with a pink dot in the middle. My fourth-grade teacher wept with tears of joy while the sugar cube was being administered to my classmates.

I am very alarmed with RFK Jr. being appointed to fill the role of the administrator of Health and Human Services by incoming President Trump. If approved by the Senate, or even a recess appointment, RFK has publicly stated he is opposed to vaccines in general. To avoid being a gas lite column he has said he will not keep immunizations from people. Thank goodness. 

RFK states vaccines result in bodily harm, sadly, some children have a negative response to a vaccine. Those are extremely rare instances, especially when we think of the number of children who have not contracted diphtheria, scarlet fever, polio, measles etc.

I carry anxiety regarding the attitude being voiced by RFK when he claims he will be discontinuing the Centers for Disease Control(CDC), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA),and   the National Institute of Health(NIH). These are the places microbiologists and scientists research, develop, and test for immunizations and vaccines. When the next epidemic or pandemic arrives, the scientists and researchers will be gone.

For the immediate moment, elderly cohorts obtain your Shingles, RSV, Influenza and Covid shots. You farmers and gardeners get your Tetanus shot renewed. Moms and Dads of children, please make certain your children’s immunizations are current.

With or without RFK, seeking immunizations always seems imperative for the Health of the Public, our relatives, neighbors, friends, and  us as individuals. 

Mary Weaver, a former public health nurse writes VIEW FROM MY WINDOW from her home near Rippey.