By Brent Dean,Florida Governor Ron

Copyright thenassauguardian

Childhood vaccinations are one of the great success stories of modern medicine. They prevent serious illness, impairment and death, causing life expectancy in human populations to increase significantly.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), immunizations prevent 3.5 million to five million deaths each year from diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), influenza and measles.

This success story has been challenged in recent years by an anti-science, anti-vax movement that seeks to discredit vaccines. The movement has embraced rumors and bad science, suggesting that vaccines do more harm than good. This is untrue, of course. The anti-vax movement persists with vigor, nonetheless.

The Internet and social media have given the anti-vax movement platforms to spread disinformation and lies about vaccines. The fearmongering is working, as there has been a noticeable decrease in vaccine uptake in recent years in many countries around the world. The consensus regarding vaccines as being a public good is breaking down.

The current situation in the American state of Florida is an example of this breakdown. Earlier this month, Florida announced its aspiration to become the first US state to end vaccine mandates. This includes the childhood vaccine mandates required for public school attendance.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo equated the mandates to “slavery” in announcing the plans.

“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body?” he said. “I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God.”

Dr. Ladapo is supported in this move by Florida Governor Ron Desantis.

It is unclear how far this scheme will go. Legislative intervention is required to remove some of the vaccine mandates. Thus far, Florida’s legislature has not endorsed this dramatic and dangerous change to the state’s public health policies and laws.

The potential change would have tremendous implications for The Bahamas. The majority of tourists who come to this country arrive out of Florida. Florida is also the main international destination for Bahamians who travel. Additionally, many Bahamian students go to Florida colleges and universities.

Eliminating the vaccine mandates would mean an increase in the occurrence of all types of diseases now kept under control by the immunizations. Florida would become the epicenter in the United States for outbreaks. These would spread quickly to The Bahamas due to our close connections with the state and its people.

This potential change in Florida is reckless and dangerous. Florida is a big state, with a population of more than 23 million people. If enacted, the vaccine mandate ending would cost lives in the state and nearby areas that would be impacted by the spread of these viruses and diseases.

There are current examples of what it looks like when vaccination rates plummet. There have been measles outbreaks in the United States, Canada and Mexico this year. Europe has also battled an increase in measles cases.

The success of vaccinations are, ironically, part of the problem. Humans in modern countries have little knowledge or memory of the pain, suffering and deaths these vaccine-reduced diseases cause. Hence, people have lost their fear.

The WHO notes, for example, that while measles is usually a mild or moderately severe disease, it can lead to complications such as pneumonia, diarrhea, secondary ear infection, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), blindness, and death. Measles can also produce immune amnesia – a pathological process that makes the immune system forget how to protect against infections, leaving the infected individual more vulnerable to other infections.

Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread global vaccination, according to the WHO, major epidemics occurred nearly every two to three years that caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year around the world.

All of this could be prevented by taking a simple vaccine course. The vaccine is safe, effective and has been proven over decades. Yet, people have fallen for the nonsense peddled by the anti-vax movement.

The Bahamas has its own vaccine hesitancy problem that makes us vulnerable if Florida ends its vaccine mandates and becomes a disease epicenter.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness held a press conference in April to discuss the issue of measles and vaccinations. The ministry launched a national immunization campaign in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

While around 86 percent of one year olds receive the first dose of the vaccine, only 60 percent go on to receive the critical second dose needed to complete protection.

The two-shot measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provides 97 percent protection against measles for life. A vaccination rate of 95 percent of the population is needed to provide herd immunity. The Bahamas is far from this rate when it comes to measles.

Vaccine hesitancy increased in The Bahamas during the pandemic. Anti-vax propaganda spread across social media and messaging apps added to the skepticism of an already anti-science mindset in our country. Too many Bahamians think that vaccines are dangerous just because of an un-sourced video they watched on Whatsapp.

The government is to be commended for trying to drive up the uptake of childhood vaccines. It will be a difficult fight, though, as so many of our people uncritically consume social media mind garbage on a daily basis.

With our own vaccine uptake problems, The Bahamas does not need Florida to pursue ending its vaccine mandates. Florida’s legislature is Republican controlled. Hopefully, the members of that body see the wrongheadedness of the governor’s proposed changes.

Childhood vaccines protect children. They protect the community. They are safe and effective.

Public health is a collective activity. We need the overwhelming majority to participate in vaccinations if the community as a whole is to be protected. If everyone does their own thing, then unnecessary infections will happen, harming and killing innocent members of the population.

There should be exemptions to vaccinations for people who, for example, have allergic reactions to the shots or who have other medical conditions that make immunizations dangerous. But there should be few exemptions beyond that to help ensure that a given population reaches herd immunity status.

While we watch and see what Florida does, right-thinking Bahamians here at home should make sure they and their loved ones are properly immunized. Diseases that we conquered are coming back. The best way to make sure you are not affected is to take the tried and proven vaccines that have kept us safe for so long.

• Brent Dean is a communications consultant. He is a former editor and general manager of The Nassau Guardian. He can be reached at brentdean1980@gmail.com.