Immunization advocacy reported in Oklahoma

Tulsa World echo opinion: Linnea Waite, Broken Arrow

This pre-baby boomer knows about vaccinations.

Remembering the advent of vaccines

I remember as a child going out each evening to bring in the Houston Chronicle so Dad and I could enjoy the comics together.

Once I learned to read, I remember checking the box on the front page that listed new polio cases, deaths and crippling cases each day.

There were plenty of posters showing children with braces on crutches and in wheelchairs. The newspaper had pictures of people in iron lungs; girls and women with hair fixed in ribbons and barrettes while men and boys were well-groomed.

But in my child's mind, I couldn't understand how a person could live a life in a giant tube with just their head sticking out!

I was 10 or 12 when the polio vaccine became available. There were mass immunizations available around the whole area. The whole family went.

Workers put serum on sugar cubes. We opened our mouths, in the cubes went and down the hatch. Just that easy.

No more being afraid of polio.

Many dedicated professionals spent their lives working to make that day happen.

The same is true for many other diseases that can kill or maim us.

Get the immunizations!

There are plenty of ways to get roughed up in today's environment. Why let something you can't even see coming rough you up when it can be prevented?