My healthy 82 year old mother lives in Mexico City. She is worried about the spread of Polio in NYC and London. She grew up in a disadvantaged neighborhood. She can't remember if she ever received the Polio vaccine. Health care where she grew up in the 1940's was well under-served.
She should get the vaccine and not worry about polio spreading in the U.S. and western Europe. The only time cases of that and many other eradicated diseases that haven't been seen in 60 or 70 years in first-world countries is because people are illegally entering these countries and have not met the health and vaccination requirements. If mom is staying in Mexico then get her the vaccine. She's more likely to catch it there. If you're planning on bringing her here, please get her vaccinated.
I feel certain we'll have another run of polio, and maybe even diphtheria thanks to the anti-vax, homeschool crowd. There's no excuse for this to happen, except here we are once again with people pretending they understand medical science and putting their children and communities at risk. It's shameful.
She should talk to her health provider about the possibility that she is unvaccinated for polio. I would err on the side of caution and get it.
These diseases are appearing again due to people illegally sneaking into the United States and Western Europe.
When immigrants are admitted LEGALLY into a first-world country they have to meet vaccination and other health requirements before they are allowed into the general population of the country. They cannot legally obtain a visa unless certain requirements are met.
If they're coming in illegally in droves and allowed in.... hence the polio.
Since when were "illegals" responsible for polio or any other disease? Just because you hold racist beliefs doesn't give you license to blame.
There is no such thing as an "illegal" human being. To even call such people 'illegals' is a means of dehumanizing them. It's easier to scapegoat and blame when you suggest they aren't human beings at all.
And unless you are 100% full Native American Indian/Indigenous, you too are a product of immigrants. Doesn't matter if they got here 10 years ago or 100 years ago.
As suggested, her getting the vaccine should be discussed with her PCP.
How well I can remember various scientific advances (vaccines, fluoridation of the water supply, the teaching of phonics) being labeled "Communist Plots".
That innoculated me against conspiracy theories, I guess.
https://www.hometownsource.com/union_times/free/we-stood-in-line-65-years-ago-to-take-sugar-cubes-to-help-wipe-out/article_c97cebe0-3e5c-11ec-a3a6-5fd461b1294c.html
she probably already got it but since we got it when we were toddlers & babies, most don’t remember. However, believe it or not, I do remember my mother taking me to get some shot when I was very young & started crying 😢
I just heard on the news today that polio is on the rise and detected in New York.
https://www.pbs.org/news/health/the-risk-to-new-yorkers-is-real-polio-virus-found-in-nyc-wastewater
FACT: Third-world countries still have diseases that have been eradicated in first-world countries.
FACT: People born and raised in one of these places don't always get sick from these diseases or may only get mild cases. They can often be carriers though. That is why when they want to legally enter places like the U.S. and Europe they have to show proof of vaccination OR be detained and quarantined for a certain amount of time. This is to make sure they aren't sick themselves or carriers. If people are sneaked in, this process doesn't happen.
FACT: The American government INSISTS that American citizens who plan on travel to some third-world countries like Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Philippines and other places, must receive special vaccinations before they leave. This is for the safety of the traveler and the safety of the population when they return.
I travelled quite a bit in my 20's and 30's. UK, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Greece, Poland, Germany, The Czech Republic, Israel, several lovely islands (Bermuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Hawaii). Did not have to get any special vaccinations. I had considered going to Peru at one time to see an archaelogical site. It wasn't worth the amount of shots I would have needed to safely go there. So went to see Stonehenge instead.
It's not a race issue or a cultural issue. This the problem with people now. When they don't like a fact they turn it into something bad. Like racism or sexism, or some other 'ism'.
So, this 20 year old would not have been vax'd because it wasn't required when he was a child.
Our government used to use a brain when determining what vaccinations to give children, because there is always a risk for adverse reactions and the potential for good must outway that potential, not so in 2022. God help us.
I stand corrected.
It would be truly ironic if fear of a polio resurgence overcame the Covid anti-vaxers.