Head's Up Malibu - Pertussis, Polio and Measles Coming Your Way

I just about fell out of my chair this morning after reading an LA Times editorial by Nina Shapiro, a professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and director of pediatric otolaryngology at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine.

According to her article, one of Malibu's three elementary schools reported that just 58% of its kindergartners were up to date on their vaccinations.  Are you parents nuts? Yes! You are exposing your children and other children to potentially fatal diseases.  I assume these are the same parents who think chemtrails are a sinister government plot and that fluoride will make your head explode. 

I remember the days before these wonderful vaccines and how I suffered with measles, mumps and chicken pox, as well as whopping cough.  As an RN, I think potentially putting your kids through these illnesses is tantamount to child abuse.  My four kids had all of these shots and fluoride - no cavities but now a bunch of happy, healthy adult kids who did not endanger other children or the elderly by not being vaccinated. 

If you live in Malibu near an elementary school, you and your kids might want to start wearing masks.  As Dr. Shapiro said, "It still seems likely we'll win the war against polio. But it's no longer looking all that certain with whooping cough, meningitis and measles, to name a few. They could be coming soon to a school near you."

PS - I had a shingles, flu and pertussis shot this year, and I am not growing horns or glowing a fabulous shade of green.