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FEBRUARY 13, 2015
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More than 30 per cent of two-year-olds in Abbotsford are not up to date on standard recommended vaccinations
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Fraser Health authorities are concerned about the level of vaccination non-compliance in the region.
The vaccination debate Vikki HOPES
Abbotsford News
When Rachel Gammon’s two oldest children had severe reactions after being vaccinated as babies, she opted to discontinue their immunization schedule. Gammon, of Abbotsford, said both of her kids suffered flu-like symptoms – including fevers, coughs, fatigue and runny noses – that debilitated them for a week or two. She believed that immunization was a personal choice and parents shouldn’t be judged for whatever decision they made. But Gammon’s views have shifted since having a baby with health conditions. She and her partner, Andrew Taekema, have a blended family of six kids, including two that they had together. Their youngest, Joshua, was born in October 2013 with a congenital heart
condition that resulted in his fourth surgery last September. At that time, Joshua, now 15 months, received a donor artery to replace 90 per cent of his damaged one. He is now doing well, but his tentative health precluded him from having any vaccinations, leaving him more susceptible to the conditions they protect against, such as measles, chickenpox and mumps. Exposure to such illnesses can impact a child like Joshua, whose immunity is compromised more severely than an otherwise healthy child. And that has Gammon rethinking her views on immunization. “If I have a chance to give him (Joshua) even a little bit more protection, I’m going to do it,” she said.
Joshua will likely be given the go-ahead to begin immunization in March, and Gammon said her two older children will also have their vaccinations completed. The couple’s other child together and Taekema’s two kids from a previous relationship are all fully immunized. Gammon likens “herd immunity” – in which the majority of the population is vaccinated to protect more vulnerable people around them – as “taking one for the team.” Another Abbotsford parent, Laura Klassen, wishes more parents would take this view into consideration. She too has a child with health conditions. Her youngest son, almost 14, has a chronic kidney disease and was unable to receive any immunization for many years.
down on drug-trafficking in Abby’s downtown core
DISTRACTED DRIVING A6 Police launch second annual Valentine’s Day campaign aimed at distracted
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