At least someone’s bringing the hammer down for public health

A hospital in Indiana has fired eight employees because they refused flu shots (via). Good. It’s about time someone grew a spine and stood up to religious extremists who put the health and lives of the public at risk. And can we start doing this in BC, now? Update: My apologies, I didn’t read the date carefully enough. This is from a year ago. But still, the principle behind it still holds.

And to those who want religious exemptions from doing the job the voluntarily signed up for, be careful what you wish for. (Indeed, I think that it is pretty likely that the same people who support the people in Indiana would object to this second group, even though both are using the same justifications for not doing what is necessary for their job).

These people should know better

In today’s paper, I read this story. The actions of some people in it are absolutely mind–blowing and very much a threat to public health:

The B.C. government has temporarily backed away from a controversial plan to force thousands of provincial health workers to get a flu shot before they can work with patients.

Health care is the exact sort of industry where flu shots should be mandatory. The only way out should be a medical exemption, none of this personal choice bullshit. You would think that nurses and other health care workers would know better than to fall for anti–vaxxer bullshit. This is how we get (as reported in the article) more than half of all health care workers not getting a flu shot. But few things surprise me anymore.

And the position of the head of the Health Sciences Association (a union) is dangerous:

“[Members of the HSA (who are health care workers)] are entitled to that choice [to have a flu shot or not because they should make their own health care decisions] and they’re entitled to the privacy of that choice. Under this new policy people had to be identified as having had the shot, in fact the employer was publishing a list of people who had the flu shot. We just said that was a violation of people’s privacy.”

I agree that people have a right to privacy. But what you don’t have is the right to give the flu to someone who might die from it.

Birth control saves lives

According to a study in The Lancet, widespread availability of contraception in developing countries could prevent an additional 104,000 maternal deaths yearly. Furthermore, in places where contraception is already available, 272,040 maternal deaths were prevented. (More specifically, perhaps as few as 127,937 or as many as 407,134 maternal deaths were prevented.)

You see that? Birth control saves lives. No one in their right mind could possibly be opposed to saving 200,000 lives each year. This therefore means that those so–called pro–lifers will be all in favour of more widespread contraception availability in developing countries, right? (Crickets chirping….)

Spouse of the random stuff

In no particular order:

• Melissa on how the experience of Canadian versus American prenatal care helped change her views on universal health care.
• No surprise here. Some religious groups are attacking Melinda Gates’ campaign to raise awareness of contraception in the developing world. They call it a “blatant attack on morality.” As opposed to, you know, something really immoral, like oppressing women by denying birth control to them.
• A Guttmacher Institute report indicates that this year will likely have as many new restrictions on abortion as the previous year, and possibly more (via). However, there is also good news; for example, fewer states are attempting to cut funding for family planning services.
• Four ways the internet could go down.
• The American (heteronormative patriarchial) Family Association has announced a boycott of Google due to the latter’s LGBT rights campaign, Legalize Love (via). It will “test the meat of our convictions.” Then they’d better have really tough convictions, as they’re running out of companies that aren’t anti–LGBT.
• Canada has a new non–profit organization and advocacy group, Bad Science Watch, that will promote evidence–based policies and provide information to protect consumers from junk science (via). Let’s hope they’re successful.
• (Added in an update) What government does for you.

Pox parties are dangerous

Trigger warning due to graphic picture.

Anti-vaxxers who take their kids to “pox parties” are misguided and putting their children at risk. They have this bizarre belief that acquiring immunity to the varicella zoster virus is somehow safer or more effective than the vaccine. This is incorrect. The vaccine is effective at preventing chicken pox and is safer than the actual infection.

It’s not jus the fact that pox parties expose your kids to something that might kill them that makes them dangerous. You are also threatening them decades down the line. This is because of the way the VZV works.

The VZV is a kind of herpesvirus, and infections with herpesviruses can literally be described as lasting forever. When your body beats chicken pox and you recover, the virus is not eliminated. Rather, it goes latent and “hides” inside nerve cells. It can stay there for an indefinite time. Then, years or decades later, it reactivates, migrates down the ganglia, infects skin cells near the ganglia, and causes shingles (herpes zoster).

Need I mention that shingles is really painful and even disfiguring? Even when the outbreak is over, the pain can last for months or years due to nerve damage (this is known as postherpetic neuralgia). Also, what do you think happens if shingles occurs in a facial nerve?

If shingles breaks out near the geniculate ganglion, is causes what is known as Ramsay Hunt Syndrome type II. Besides the rash from shingles, it also has horrible ear pain, and potentially permanent unilateral hearing loss and facial paralysis.

And then there is herpes zoster ophthalmicus. That can cause permanent vision loss and debilitating pain. A picture of what this looks like is after the jump (graphic).