Vaccines work

To the Editor:

Over my lifetime, I have frightening memories of diseases that we no longer have. I remember seeing newsreels and pictures in newspapers of polio patients in iron lungs that were breathing for them as they were no longer able to breathe on their own. A cousin contracted polio as a toddler and spent the rest of his life in leg braces, crutches and finally a wheelchair.

I had measles at age 5, was kept indoors for a number of days and a quarantine notice was posted on our front door to warn of the disease. A neighbor's child died of diphtheria, and I remember another who had the unforgettable sound of whooping cough, who luckily survived.

A sister-in-law had mumps in her 20's and was extremely ill. My father-in-law and his mother contracted Spanish flu in the 1918 pandemic. He lost hearing in one ear at age 2, and his mother died at age 23.

I remember the relief when the polio vaccine and vaccines for these diseases became available. None of our family or friends questioned whether they should get the vaccines. It didn't occur to us to be anti-vaxxers, as we had seen firsthand how devastating and deadly these diseases were.

The trend of infections follows the rate of non-vaccinations, and Tuolumne County has one of the highest rates for infection in California as opposed to urban areas of the state. Our young children are being put at great risk. Recently, resistance to vaccines and masks was described as hubris and deserves “the Darwin Award.” I agree.

After watching past superspreader events on television in our country, it can best be described as “thinning the herd.” What will the numbers be after the past holiday?

Barbara Davis Sonora