None of my children had measles, mumps or rubella -

[Hekate]

81. When the polio vax was first offered, a clinic was held at our elementary school...

When the polio vax was first offered, a clinic was held at our elementary school...

That evening parents brought their children and the lines stretched from the cafeteria to the playground and beyond. My little sister was one of the little ones who made it known, by her loud screams beforehand, that getting stuck with a needle was the worst thing in the world -- but frankly, after the recent epidemic, my parents were not moved by this tantrum.

I am just old enough to remember the last great polio epidemic. Every elementary school had a couple of kids who had recovered just enough to make it around on heavy braces and crutches. The ones who had to use a wheelchair were not in school at all. The ones who had to use an iron lung were stuck in hospital wards. And then there were the ones who had died.

Some of the arguments of the anti-vaxxers remind me of a 4-year-old's tantrum: the baby will get poked with a needle, the baby will get a sore spot, there will be redness and swelling, baby will get a wee fever. Grownups are supposed to know better.