He added that younger practitioners, who may never have seen measles, polio or diphtheria, may not promote vaccination as aggressively as did their predecessors . The parents didn t support vaccination for themselves or their children, feeling that illness was God s will, he said. But they were still willing to immunize as a way of protecting the community at large. More or less informed objections may be the most difficult to deal with, since individuals may have based their decisions on reliable information on the risks and benefits for them. Ultimately, Dr. Hinman said, being honest about the uncertainties of vaccination risks will contribute to risk communications to ensure the public health.
Misinformed objections are a different story.
Dr. Hinman cited hugely inflammatory messages from one anti-immunization website, complete with a graphic of an impossibly long needle and a photo of a syringe superimposed on a baby s face. Commercial media, as well, thrive on controversy and tend to provide equal time to both sides, even when minority opinion on one side runs counter to the vast majority of the public and the medical profession . Table of Contents Immunization strategies must include immigrants Immigration status is a kind of social biopsy, said Dr. Lee Ford-Jones, infectious disease consultant at the Hospital for Sick Children and Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. Her presentation took a broad look at what is and what could be for immunizing immigrant and refugee children, women and men. In 1997, more than 215,000 immigrants and refugees legally entered Canada from more than 201 countries.