I've Got Whooping Cough. Thanks a Lot, Jenny McCarthy.

[TNNurse]

127. Who do you believe?

I rarely seek out health and medical advice from a celebrity. Well, actually I never do. There are so many people in the world today (I just thought it was the US) who have chosen to ignore science in general. They have decided that scientific advances were apparently a waste of time. Whoever gave credence to that exceptionally flawed study on vaccines and autism chose to believe that very narrow investigation. Vaccines simply save lives. They save suffering.

I recently spent some time with a 65 yo woman who had polio. She is now dealing with post polio problems. Her life has been spent in a wheelchair. She lost a brother to polio when they were children. The thought that polio could return in this country is horrifying. All it would take is an unvaccinated person travelling to a country where the illness has returned and spreading it around here. People would suffer, people would die. IGNORANCE SHOULD NEVER BE THE CAUSE OF DISEASE.

Someone in my family recently requested booster shots which include pertussis booster before she visits with her newborn who is too young to get her own vaccine. I was glad to do it, to encourage others and glad for the reminder.

I am a recent cancer survivor. There is an incredibly low incidence of cancer in my family. It was a shock to me. We have a small child in our family who is autistic. I have friends who have autistic children or grandchildren. Everywhere you turn there seem to be food allergies. Have we done damage to our environment that caused this??? More than likely. Do we need to make some changes to save the planet? Absolutely. Do we need to deny all scientific and medical knowledge and return to the Dark Ages (or before) to save ourselves?? ABSOLUTELY NOT. COMMON SENSE REALLY IS NOT COMMON....IT IS RARE.