Jail For Belgians Who Reject Polio Shot

[DeSwiss]

Jail for Belgians who reject polio shot

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
Wed Mar 12, 6:28 PM ET

LONDON - As doctors struggle to eradicate polio worldwide, one of their biggest problems is persuading parents to vaccinate their children. In Belgium, authorities are resorting to an extreme measure: prison sentences. Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently handed five-month prison terms for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each parent was also fined $8,000. "It's a pretty extraordinary case," said Dr. Ross Upshur, director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. "The Belgians have a right to take some action against the parents, given the seriousness of polio, but the question is, is a prison sentence disproportionate?"

The parents' sentences were delayed to give them a chance to vaccinate their children. But if that deadline also passes without the children receiving the injections, the parents could be put behind bars. Because of privacy laws, Belgian officials would not talk specifically about the cases, such as why the parents refused the vaccine or how much longer they have to get their children vaccinated. The polio vaccine is the only one required by Belgian law. Exceptions are granted only if parents can prove their children might have a bad physical reaction to the vaccine. There are no exceptions for people who object to vaccinations on religious grounds.

"Polio is a very serious disease and has caused great suffering in the past," said Dr. Victor Lusayu, head of Belgium's international vaccine center. "The discovery of the vaccine has eliminated polio from Europe and it is simply the law in Belgium that you have to be vaccinated. ... At the end of the day, the law must be respected."

The highly infectious disease is spread through water and mainly strikes children under 5. Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and fatigue. The polio virus invades the body's nervous system and can lead to irreversible paralysis within hours. In extreme cases, patients can die when their breathing muscles are immobilized.

Some ethicists back the hard-line Belgian stance. "Nobody has the right to unfettered liberty, and people do not have a right to endanger their kids," said John Harris, a professor of bioethics at the University of Manchester. "The parents in this case do not have any rights they can appeal to. They have obligations they are not fulfilling."









http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_re_eu/polio_vaccine_prison">MORE

- All us Boomer kids can be recognized by the polio scars on our left arms. Back in the 50s, I remember kids my age on crutches with their polio braces clicking and clacking on their legs as they walked. And the iron lung machines that many were imprisoned in for the rest of their lives.

And I can't see how any parent could risk such a fate for their child.
========================================================================
DeSwiss


http://atheisttoolbox.com/">The Atheist Toolbox

[OKthatsIT]

1. They're never going to eradicate polio...what profit can made from that?

its a racket.

[TZ]

2. Polios dead in this country

In case you haven't noticed. So is small pox, diptheria is almost gone, typhus, etc.
You are really ignorant.
Polio is only REALLY a problem in Africa. Why? Because people like you have scared groups of people into NOT getting the Polio vaccine.
Be consistant. First you say vaccines are all for profit, then you say that they will never cure anything because its not in their "interest". Funny how many diseases vaccines have just about eliminated.
:dunce:
Seriously, have you EVER had a day of biology in your life? How does one graduate HS with such scientific illiteracy. You reflect poorly on science education in this country.

[RedCappedBandit]

3. Unfortunately, I think he reflects quite well..

science education in this country..

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

26. Oh horse crap.

For years people shit all over parents hesitate to immunize infants against thing because, they believed, its not a good thing to bombard their immune systems and pump some of the associated chemicals. These people were treated as idiots who were afraid of science:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/250984/Federal_Government_Admits_Link_Between_Autism_And_Childhood_Vaccines

Whoops...

[Feron]

27. Actually..

The girl in the article has a mitochrondrial disorder, not autism. She had a rare reaction to vaccines.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/02/incredible_shrinking_causation_claim.php#more

Furthermore study after study has disproved the autism-vaccine link. California removed the mercury preservative in childhood vaccines (in 2001) and autism rates continue to rise.

Try again.

[AlCzervik]

6. did you even RTFA?

[MaryCeleste]

4. Is there a religeous objection?

There is one in parts US, but not all.

[DeSwiss]

11. The article....

...would not comment on that, but implied it. They stated that Belgian privacy laws wouldn't permit that kind of information to be disclosed. Its explained more completely at the link.

[kittykitty]

5. Scars on arms are from Smallpox vaccinations. Polio "vaccine" was administered orally.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. That came later-- the original Salk vaccine was an injection.

[kskiska]

22. It was an injection, but didn't cause scarring

I received the set of three injections - the last two boosters, I believe. The only scar is my smallpox vaccination. The polio shots were simple injections.

Smallpox vaccinations were later given on the upper thigh.

[DeSwiss]

10. Nope.

I got both. And took the oral twice because of problems with the first batch. We lined up at my elementary school with the line going around the block. Back then they used the same needles only sterilizing them with alcohol in between shots. This was 1958.

When the the oral dose was invented by Salk/Sabin, it was administered through a program run by the Cleveland Health Clinic called "SOS" - Sabin Oral Sunday, which was the day when the doses were given. A kid in our projects got polio and all the parents were afraid we'd get it too. That's why no one objected to taking the oral dose even after being injected. And again when the more effective one was created.

- The memories are burned in...

[TreasonousBastard]

7. I remember 6th grade and a girl named Marilyn, who...

was the sweetest, nicest person in the class, and would be the most beautiful woman as she grew up, but was enslaved to the crutches and braces.

I remember daily walking past a tuberculosis sanitarium that was renovated to be a hospital, since there were so few tuberculosis patients any more.

I remember my father talking of his bout with whooping cough, and my brother with scarlet fever.

And I remember when Salk was hailed as one of the great saviors of mankind, after Pasteur and the other leaders of science in infectious diseases.

Any parents who would dare assert their "rights" to withold treatment and prevention of these horrible diseases are as guilty of child abuse as if they starved and beat them. Parental obtuseness and ignorance is no excuse for condemning your child to possible misery and early death.

[DeSwiss]

12. I had two friends that succumbed....

...to polio. It had a visceral impact on me at age 9, and 10. The worst part I remember was none of the parents wanted their kids to come even close to their apartments. But not my Mom. And I'll always love for teaching me that lesson...

[kineneb]

9. not giving your child polio vaccine is truly selfish

Like smallpox, it can be eradicated, if the will is there. There is absolutely no reason a child should suffer through what polio can do. If the child survives, they will probably also suffer from "post-polio syndrome" as they reach their 50s and 60s. And the thing with polio- all children in a country have to be vaccinated, to avoid it returning. If some are not vaccinated, then the disease will spread to new populations as they are born.

Polio was eliminated in the US because of mass immunization programs. I remember getting the sugar cube and then later the drops. My grandparents took me with them to the Elks Club, where they were giving the sugar cubes to everyone.

My grandmother told me how horrible things were from the late 1920s to the 1950s. Swimming pools were closed in the summers, and children were kept at home, to avoid exposure. No one knew how it spread. The ones who became ill suffered in iron lungs- because their lung muscles failed and with braces for the atrophied muscles in their legs. This is when the Mothers' March of Dimes was organized. They collected funds to help the victims, and later, to fund research.

The WHO and Rotary International are still sponsoring polio immunization days in various African countries and in India.

The reason for smallpox no longer being a scourge is Everyone Got Vaccinated. I still have the scar on my arm.

Sorry for the rant, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I have older friends that get a sad/horrified look in their eyes when they talk about polio. So many of them saw their playmates sent to iron lungs, required to wear leg braces, or wheelchair-bound. We cannot imagine the fear and horror of the pre-vaccination days.

[DeSwiss]

14. It was really scary....

...and I think much of it was borne out of the fears leftover from the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918. There were no microscopes strong enough to see viruses then. That didn't come until the late 1930s and they weren't made for widespread use in part because the principle inventors were Germans. MRIs, PET and CAT scan machines were pretty much the same way because of their cost. Like the early computers, the early electron microscopes filled a whole room.

But my older sibs remember when they closed the pools in the 40s in Cleveland because of polio scares. But I do remember when they came into the neighborhood and at the pools and fogged all of us with DDT.

- Yeah, I know. I'm doomed....

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. People do not trust pharmaceutical companies, with good reason

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3183269

Doctor says 22,000 died amid Bayer drug recall

And many believe that the DPT vaccine is behind autism. 20+ years ago, my older son, an infant at the time had an adverse reaction to the P in that cocktail. Pertussis which is for whooping cough. His pediatrician only gave him DT vaccines after that. My younger son only received the DT too because the pediatrician thought if his older brother had a problem, it would be wise to cut the Pertussis out.

[DeSwiss]

15. I understand that fear....

...because unlike back in the day when I took my oral polio vaccine dose, now greed drives BIG PHARMA's decisions and there's little or no accountability or justice when that greed causes injury and death. Medicines are now made mostly in foreign countries using questionable practices and/or unhealthy work environments. And I recall an article recently where a plant in Puerto Rico was temporarily shutdown because metal parts were found in capsules.

- So there's good reason to fear that the medicines could be contaminated or even bogus counterfeits.

[TZ]

16. Pharmas in this country are strictly regulated

Even if people don't believe it. I've dealt with the FDA and they don't exactly rubber stamp new drugs/vaccines...10 plus years of clinical trials on anything new. You only hear about the bad stuff. There is PLENTY of good and exciting drugs on the market. Somehow though good news gets lost.
I'd invite you to see a manufacturing plant that we have here, but they are sterile and only the workers can get in.

[TZ]

17. That myth has been dubunked many MANY times

There are also people who think the MMR gave autism..from thimerosol...BUT MMR NEVER HAD THIMEROSOL IN IT.
BTW, did you know that Pertussis is rapidly becoming a HUGE problem in this country? One because parents aren't vaccinating their children and 2) Adults need a booster to be safe. THe new DApT vaccine is highly safe and efficacious.
As for drug recalls...For every ONE recall how many are safe and effective and NEVER reported on the news. Really people have quite the distorted view of things.
My company shut down a clinical trial for about 3 months because TWO patients had allergic reactions (one was briefly hospitalized) but recovered nicely. They think they figured out the problem so restarted the trial. Amazing isn't it? Alot of us actually CARE about the people in our studies. Sorry if I busted your myth of being a money grubbing nazi

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. Number one, this was done by my sons' doctor. I did a search and it seems that the

vaccine had to be changed because they were using whole Pertussis and it was taken out of the US in the 90's. The original cocktail is still being used overseas as it's cheaper.

Number Two.

Have you seen this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2964029&mesg_id=2964029

Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court - Now What?

As to your being a money grubby nazi, where did I ever say anything like that in my post? Re-read what I wrote. Please do not put words in my mouth.

[SidDithers]

21. The government conceded...

that the vaccine aggravated a pre-existing mitochondrial condition, which caused significant health problems, some of which are features of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The vaccine did not cause autism.

Sid

[bbernardini]

19. Alex Jones was ranting about this yesterday.

Boy, there's a guy that runs hot and cold...he, of course, believes it's all a plot by the "elite" to force eugenics on us all. :)

[Holly_Hobby]

20. What I object to are the other ingredients in vaccines:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf

[Tindalos]

23. I saw an iron lung recently

It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I think parents who refuse the vaccine should be shown one (an actual one, not just a picture) and asked whether they want that for their child. Most people with young children have no idea how devastating these diseases can be. They have no idea the dangers. To be effective at preventing outbreaks, most vaccines require 90 - 99% of the population to be vaccinated. People don't realize that polio hasn't been eradicated - it's still affecting people in other countries and could easily come back.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

24. Skin deep privacy laws..

"Because of privacy laws, Belgian officials would not talk specifically about the cases"

We own your body and that of your kids but we wont tell anyone about it....

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

25. Im gernerally against forced vaccinations

In the case of Polio I might make an exception but it depends on the age.. I dont think you should have to do any vaccinations before 2 years of age. And then mandatory ones should be damn rare..