Would you skip vaccines if your circumstances were different?

We take a lot of things for granted as Americans. Birthday's, graduations, marriages, things we assume our children will grow up and have. When you step back you forget that not all children have these same options. In countries around the world children don't have access to life saving vaccines. Its no secret I'm pro vaccine but statistics like this scare me.

There are already been 18,000 reported cases of Whooping Cough (pertussis) in the US this year. 

Its is more than last year at the same time and we are on pace to have many more cases. It hasn't been this bad since 1959 when we had 40,000 cases. it went down for years and has spiked again.

Mozambique Measles campaign (Photo Credit :Shot@Life)

Some moms walk 15 miles to reach life-saving vaccines for their children. They don't have the same access to vaccines as parents here in the US do, so delayed or irregular schedules make it even more difficult to ensure that these children get vaccinated. 

Fifteen miles to stand in a line outside just to get their child vaccinated. I get to drive less than 2 miles away to my pediatrician's office and wait in a air-conditioned room for the same thing. I have it easy, why would i just ignore something that is preventable? People in the US are in many cases voluntarily choose not to vaccinated. Parents in other countries don't have that luxury. The rates of vaccine preventable diseases that our children were supposed to no long suffer from can be found in the chart provided by the World Heath Organization.

A child who gets vaccinated gets to reach milestones. Milestones we take for granted here. Here all children can get vaccinated for free up to age 5. In Third World countries they have to hope its even available to them.  The morality rate for children under age 5 in underdeveloped countries is insane because they don't have the access we take for granted or willfully disregard on a belief or a link that's not proven.

(Photo Credit: Shot@Life )

The chance to reach a 5th birthday. The chance to meet your best friend.  Doesn't every child deserve that?

I vaccinate on schedule and on time. I'm not old enough to know how terrible these diseases used to be here int he US my parents and grandparents had so many stories of children who died from these things. Why skip and risk a life? Shot@Life is helping to make sure more children around the world get vaccinated by spreading the word. Comments, tweets and posts will all help fund the movement.





Disclosure: The folks at Shot@Life are spreading te word about how vaccines save lives, after meeting the reps i jumped at the chance to help spread something i feel passionately about. I was not compensated for my post in any way.