The importance of vaccines: do we want to end up like Madagascar, where 200 people die from measles every month? In Italy, that's eight a year—wasted lives (photo)

IMPORTANCE OF VACCINES

In MadagascarThere's no civil war, there are no animals that kill, but we are in the paradise of the sweetest lemurs, and the African country, despite a thousand problems, is a much-loved tourist destination frequented by vacationers from all over the world, including Italians. Instead, in Madagascar you die wasting so many human lives, we are talking about approximately 200 victims per month, mostly children and elderly people, for one single and absurd reason: the measlesPoverty, and also a certain indifference among us Westerners towards Africa, has meant that families in this wonderful country, relying on only 1,5 euros per day per person, cannot afford the measles vaccine. Which costs 13 euros per doseHence the silent massacre.

ALSO READ: Mandatory vaccinations in schools: why dramatize and fuel fears?

DEATH FROM MEASLES

Death from measles, in the well-known globalized world also due to injustices, is a real universal scandal, an unpunished crime that cries out for vengeance to our consciences: we are at over 100 thousand deaths the year in the world, concentrated (75 percent of new infections) in poor countries, such as Madagascar and Sudan, or impoverished by authoritarian and corrupt regimes, such as the Yemen and Venezuela. Unfortunately also in Europe, our common home, there are countries where there is still a widespread and deadly spread of measles, Such as'Ukraine , Serbia. And there is an Italian case.

TO KNOW MORE: DIY drug alert: one in four Italians buys them without consulting a doctor.

MEASLES CASES IN ITALY

Let's take a closer look at the Italian case: we're talking about a country where, for a thousand reasons, all well-known, the number of people affected by measles should be zero. Absolutely zero. And yet, according to official data from the National Institute of Health, in 2018 alone there were 2.526 cases of measlesWith eight deaths. And nearly 80 of the cases occurred in the usual southern regions, with the head Sicilia, where, and it's no coincidence, only 8 out of 10 children are given measles prophylaxis, a disease that also has two enormous side effects. The first: it is very contagious. The second: if you don't die, you can still to remain disabled, on a neurological level, for life. Encephalitis and brain infections, unfortunately, are the order of the day as deadly consequences of measles. Again health and wasted lives.

To complete this truly scathing picture, we must add the impressive escalation in the number of victims of a disease that has been eradicated almost worldwide thanks to the vaccine (according to the UN, between 2000 and 2017, the measles vaccine prevented the deaths of 21,1 million people). With only one truly good piece of news to celebrate: an impressive growth, but in regression.

MEASLES IN ITALY

Keep in mind that in 2015 i cases of measles in Italy they have just been 256, to become 861 in 2016, and splash to 5.401 in 2017, almost double those recorded in 2018. We have reached madness, in this insane path, of 5 out of 100 children that they did not do vaccines provided for by the law in force. There was a disinformation campaign on vaccines, raising scientifically unreliable alarms and creating a "panic effect" among the most superficial families (others responsible for the chaos). Then there's the fault of doctors, often superficial and irresponsible: denialist doctors, which put the health of their patients at risk. Finally, one thing must be said about the pharmaceutical companies: they have made no significant effort to lower the prices of these drugs.

INFLUENZA VACCINES

The world health authorities, starting with the WHO (World Health Organization) are clear on this matter: the minimum threshold of vaccine coverage for children is 95 percent, and apart from the mandatory vaccines, there are also very rare ones. recommendedi, how the flu vaccine. In the case of men and women over 65, people with chronic illnesses or immunosuppressed conditions, and pregnant women.

BENEFITS OF VACCINES

Only those who tend to deny reality can claim, in a general way, that vaccines are useless. In our country, four terrible diseases, widespread until a few years ago, have disappeared thanks to vaccines: smallpox, polio, tetanus e diphtheriaEradicated but not eliminated forever. And that's why mandatory vaccines exist, and must exist. So much so that, if you click on this link and examine the official data of the Ministry of Health, you can see that fortunately for us, vaccination coverage at school age has dropped to85,74 percent, now have risen to 90,09 percent.

TO KNOW MORE: What to know about the flu vaccine, and 10 tips to avoid wasting money and your health.

VACCINES AND AUTISM

The fiercest controversy on the risks of vaccines has concerned the relationship between the trivalent product (against measles, mumps and rubella) and some cases of autismThe judiciary (prosecutor's offices throughout Italy) stepped in, and among the evidence supporting some parents' complaints was the study by a British gastroenterologist, Andrew Wakefield. Unfortunately, his claims were later refuted by 25 international studies. Currently, there is no scientific evidence linking the risk of autism to any vaccine, and the World Health Organization has categorically ruled out this hypothesis.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT VACCINES

The numbers say that the global vaccine market vale over 40 billion dollars, over 30 billion, with flu vaccines taking the lion's share: $10 billion, largely generated by a small group of multinational companies competing with the usual Chinese companies offering a product at a 30 percent discount. The market is growing, growing strongly, and is expected to break the $100 billion mark by 2025. But we are still a marginal share compared to the overall market of drugs, and in Italy, vaccine spending is only 1,4 percent of the National Health Service's bill. Rather, even in this case, the real risk è the wasteAs in the case of a ministerial scandal dating back to 2010, when the Ministry of Health decided to stockpile flu vaccines, imagining a sort of pandemic. The result was that 30 million doses ended up in the trash, with a total expenditure of 330 million euros wasted.

LIVE HEALTHY WITH SOME NATURAL REMEDIES:

• Seborrheic Dermatitis: Symptoms and Natural Remedies for Combating It. Caution: Stress and anxiety exacerbate the problem.
• Flu: never use antibiotics or any other medications. Rest and treat it with natural remedies, starting with ginger and honey.
• Itching: causes and natural remedies to combat it. Prefer baths to showers, adding rice starch to the water.
• Rosacea: causes, symptoms, and natural remedies to combat it effectively. Avoid smoking, and allow berries and grapes at the table.
• Coughs go away with water, hot drinks, and herbal teas. And especially with honey. There's no point wasting money on medications: here are the best natural remedies (photos)