Measles by Justin Geisen

Your dad comes home from work with a running nose. You assume that  he just has a common cold; hee should be just fine. A week later, your father has  a rash down his neck. At first glance,  you assume that it is just a heat rash. In fact, the whole family believes that it will  fade away in just a couple of days. He coughs and gives you and your mother a big hug before going to sleep.

Two weeks later, your dad is dead. Another week later, your mom is dead, and you are in the hospital diagnosed with measles. Three days later, you are buried six feet under ground. Three vaccines could have prevented this family tragedy. If you have any love at all for your family, then you should get your family vaccinated from the measles. The measles is virus that has caused many epidemics. Do not let you or your family fall victim to it.

At one point the measles virus caused 2.7 million deaths a year in the world (“Measles” 1). This statistic shows how contagious and deadly the virus is. It also shows that the measles virus could resurge in the population and spread as an epidemic. Measles is a very dangerous virus. There is no cure for this deadly disease. Nine  out of ten  people who come into contact with a person who has the measles virus will attain the measles virus (Vaccines). When a person gets vaccinated from the measles, it lowers the chances of the spread of the measles virus in the community. If everybody contributes for the better of society by getting the measles vaccine, then the measles virus will be unable to spread . You can make a difference. You can protect your family and friends from the virus by getting vaccinated. Is there a way we can stop such a horrible epidemic from occurring ?

The first written accounts of the measles virus was in the 9th century by a Scottish physician named Francis Home (“Measles | History of Measles | CDC” 1). “The measles could be fatal if the victim was an infant. In 1912, measles became a nationally notifiable disease in the United States, requiring U.S. healthcare providers and laboratories to report all diagnosed cases” (1). During the first decade of this official report, an average of 6,000 per year contracted this disease (1). In 1954, Mr. Enders and Dr. Peebles collected blood samples from students who had the measles (1). They managed to isolate the virus. In 1963, they finally  developed a vaccine for the measles virus (1). By the time the measles vaccine was made, almost all children under the age of 15 had the measles virus in America (1).

In 1978, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention set a goal to eliminate the measles virus from the United States (1). It was successfully eliminated in America in 2000 (1). There is no cure for the measles virus, once a person contracts it (“Measles” 1). The people who are most at risk are those who are living in poor or developing countries. They cannot afford the vaccine. Thus, the virus spreads throughout the population.

Currently, there are many people in the United States of America who will not vaccinate their children against measles. This has caused the measles virus to spread throughout the nation. People are refusing to vaccinate their kids, because they believe that this will cause autism, but this is not true whatsoever. Vaccinations will not cause autism (Measles 1). There is no link between the two. The measles has infected New Jersey, New York, and Washington state (Becker 1). This virus will continue to spread unless people raise awareness of these viruses to encourage others to get vaccinated.

Another major problem that makes the measles virus so contagious is that it can survive on a surface outside the body up to two hours (1).  Picture a person with the measles virus walking around the mall with many unvaccinated people . All these unvaccinated people in the vicinity are vulnerable to catching the virus for up to two hours.

When measles takes a life, the loved ones who were close to that person also suffer greatly. They can be overwhelmed with grief and strife. They may try to cope with the grief through unhealthy ways, such as alcoholism or self harm. The measles do not simply kill the victim, it hurts all those who were close to that person. That person might have been a father, and now his children who will have to deal with the loss of a parent. This could  also causes problems financially for the victim’s family. Since the father died, they might not be able to afford to stay in the current house or apartment that they are living in. It can also affect the community of the victim. If the child dies, then this might bring the parents into a state of depression.

The measles has caused many communities to come together to fight the virus due to its destruction. People all around the world have worked with the common goal of removing the measles virus. The measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the entire world. It can be spread through sneezing and coughing (“Measles” 1). The measles can cause so many deaths that it can adversely affect the GDP of the nation if there is  a massive outbreak. This is due to the large death toll, as well as money spent on research to fight the virus, providing facility and manufacturing tools to combat the virus. Overall,  the measles virus brings harm and destruction to the world. It also brings a very large death toll from all over the world.

            Almost half the measles cases in the United States of America occurred with preschool children who were unvaccinated (The Measles Epidemic. The Problems, Barriers, and Recommendations. The National Vaccine Advisory Committee). During 1989, 18,000 measles cases were reported (1). A major problem with parents not vaccinating their children between 1980 to 1990 was the inadequate access to proper health care (1). Many households who had a low income could not afford to give their children normal checkups with the doctor (1). Due to this financial problem, many children were not vaccinated.

Another issue with the lack of vaccinations was due to an inadequate public awareness of immunizations (“Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism Concerns | Vaccine Safety | CDC” 1). Families who were isolated from the healthcare system did not realize just how important the measles vaccinations were. A major problem with vaccinations during 1980 to 1990 was the cost of the measles vaccine. The vaccine was expensive,  because at the time there was little research done on the measles virus (1).

“The current childhood immunization system in the United States is a patch¬work of public and private sector efforts that include participation of private physicians and local, state, and federal governments.8 The vaccination system consists of two major components: (1)vaccine purchase and (2) vaccine administration to children. Half of all vaccines are  administered in the private sector and half are administered in the public sector.”(1)

The measles virus kills one out of every 500 people that it infects (“Measles” 1). The average death toll of the measles in the past two decades is 89,000 deaths around the world (1). This is relatively small compared to the death toll before vaccinations. This emphasizes its importance and encourages vaccinations (1).

The measles virus is a very contagious and deadly disease. It has taken people away from their family, friends, and community. It has brought death and destruction to those that it infects. It ruins the lives of many people. Measles has become  such a serious threat that nations have teamed up around the world in order to fight it. The virus was almost completely eradicated from the world due to the discovery of the vaccine. It has returned to the United States of America, because of parents not vaccinating their children.

There are many different solutions that can be utilized to combat the measles virus. One solution to solving the problem of the measles virus currently in America is to have more people acquire the measles vaccine. People are not getting vaccinated, because they do not believe that the virus will spread throughout this country again. We can help change their opinions by showing them statistics of virus epidemics that have resurfaced in America due to a lack of vaccinations. If we raise awareness of the importance of vaccinations then we can save many lives in this country as well as other countries. It requires a certain degree of dedication and commitment from many people to raise awareness of this problem. Once enough people understand the gravity of the situation they will be more inclined to take their vaccine (“Raising Public Awareness of Vaccine Benefits” 1). This will help stop the spread of the measles virus in this country.

Raising awareness of the importance of vaccines is an important solution to combat the measles virus. Vaccines save three times as many people than seatbelts do in the US alone(“4 Striking Statistics About Vaccination” 1). If more people can become aware of this fact then they will feel more inclined to get vaccinations as well as encourage other to get their vaccines as well. This causes a chain reaction of people getting their vaccines. We can also raise awareness by asking our peers about their current vaccinations and if they need stay up to date. We can also ensure that we and our families are properly vaccinated.

Bill Gates himself is trying to raise awareness for vaccinations worldwide (“Vaccine Delivery” 1). This is just one example of an organization making strides to promote vaccinations. A huge barrier in a lack of access to vaccines. Many third  world countries do not have access to vaccinations. Due to this issue, many epidemics can occur in these countries. To overcome this barrier there are many vaccination programs use to spread vaccines to other countries in poverty. One example of such a program is called United Nations International Emergency Fund (“Immunization” 1). Another barrier for vaccines is fear that they will harm people(1). This fear is rooted from a lack of knowledge and understanding of vaccinations. That is why these vaccination programs also aim to educate its audience on how vaccines work and why they are important. Statistics show that every one dollar spent on the vaccination programs saves the country in poverty forty dollars(1).

The main barrier in the measles epidemic is a lack of vaccinations in the world. There are many different reasons why. The first is fear of vaccinations. This issue can be overcome by education of vaccines. The next barrier is a false feeling of safety and thinking that vaccines are now unnecessary. This barrier can be overcome by showing the person statistics and deaths that occur a year that could have been prevented by vaccinations. The next barrier is not having access to vaccines. This barrier can be overcome when vaccination programs such as United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund help distribute vaccines to the countries in poverty. This is the largest barrier of them all, because many countries in poverty do not have any vaccines. Once a virus is transmitted among the population it is almost impossible to stop due to vaccines being inaccessible. In well developed countries such as the United States of America, if an outbreak occurs, it cannot spread as easily due to many people being vaccinated.

Camus would view anti-vaccination supports as absurd because it only ends up harming themselves and society as whole. He would also view the measles virus as an absurd thing because it kills without reason or logic. What is the purpose for viruses for existing. Camus would think of having vaccinations as absurd because the vaccine can protect a person’s purposeless, meaningless life from a harmful disease. He would question the absurdity of the distribution of vaccinations. Specifically, he would question absurdity of the lack of vaccinations in countries with high poverty rates. Is it absurd that not all people can have equal access to vaccinations? If people have access to getting vaccinated but ignore it, that would make it even more absurd. Camus would not care about about the end results of the measles epidemics and pandemics because in the end, all things eventually die. He does not believe that life has any value, so if people lost things that had no value, then there would be no loss. When a person is killed by the measles virus, the victim’s family as well as his or her close friends can be affected in a very aversive way. Albert Camus might think that the reactions of these people are absurd, because eventually all people will leave this earth. Some are simply earlier than others, so there is no point in mourning over them. Vaccinations have a chance of getting the person infected with the virus. It is absurd that people get vaccinations which can give them the virus. Another absurdity is the fact that the vaccine that protects against the virus can end up giving it. The fact that some people believe that vaccines cause autism is absurd. Another absurdity is people who choose not to get vaccinations. They can even deny their children the vaccine. It is absurd that a person would deny protection against deadly, contagious diseases in the world. It is also absurd that people would prevent their kids from getting a vaccination. The absurd part is that their altruism and family love ends up killing the one they cherish most. They did not want their kid to get vaccinated because they were afraid that the vaccine might hurt them. Instead, the virus might resurface and end up killing their child. A deadly virus that threatens to kill many people can be stopped simply by injecting a vaccine into people. A virus that once threatened the world was weakened dramatically due to a small vaccine. That is completely absurd. Picture an enormous monster that that threatened to destroy the whole world. It was then destroyed by a single dart. That is the pinnacle of absurdity.

Many lives can be saved through the knowledge of the measles virus and how to combat it. It can save lives through vaccinations. The main barrier of fighting this virus is a lack of getting vaccinated in the world. There are many steps that must be taken in order to overcome this virus. An important step is overcoming the educational barrier with vaccinations. Many people fear vaccines because they do not understand how they work and why they are important. By educating them we can overcome this barrier. Another step is overcoming the financial barrier. Viruses spread very wildly through countries who are suffering from poverty. These countries cannot afford to have vaccinations. Many volunteer programs work together to provide vaccinations to residents of these countries to combat the virus and save lives. Albert Camus would view the measles virus as an absurd thing because it kills without reason or logic. It disappears and resurfaces. What is even more absurd is that mankind is combating a deadly virus that has claimed many lives by sticking ourselves with a needle (a vaccine). The measles virus is a deadly virus, but it can be overcome by vaccinations.

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