Vaccines and Prevention

I was in my first week as a newly graduated doctor when I encountered a vaccine-skeptic – a patient who was convinced vaccines were dangerous and could weaken the human race. I remember thinking – as a doctor, I am supposed to take a detailed history, but I hope you forgive me if I switch off just for a little bit, because right now isn’t the time for this debate. You learn something at medical school and immediately try to tell people about it, but you can’t convince them – not easily, anyway. Especially if you have been indoctrinated with factual information along the lines of this: an estimated 1.5 million children die each year—one every 20 s—from vaccine-preventable diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia.