Vaccination Blues
The town which nurtured my children in their youths is in the news these days. There's a youngster recovering from chemotherapy for leukemia and a unvaccinated cohort of classmates who are putting him at risk for measles. The little one can't be vaccinated; his immune system is too weakened by the cancer treatments. Should he become ill, the consequences could be grave. The school has a No Peanuts policy because "some children could die" but refuses to consider a requirement for vaccinations. Though the school nurse was careful to insure that all his classmates had received the vaccine, that doesn't protect him at recess or assembly or on the playground, waiting for school to start. It's personal for me. I was president of that school board. We brought great changes to that district, not the least of which was not rehiring a long-time superintendent, and we paid a heavy emotional price for doing so. There are still people who...