DPT: Vaccine Roulette By Lea Thompson

Lea Thompson was an investigative journalist who would lay the groundwork for the anti-vaccine campaign (Offit, 2011). When she released her film, DPT: Vaccine Roulette, the world of public health was forever altered (Offit, 2011). Especially back in the 1980’s, there was always a certain trust amongst doctors and patients. Parents would routinely bring their children in for the very important DTP vaccination without any second-guessing occurring. This vaccination, as with many other vaccinations, was crucial for protecting children from deadly infectious diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (Offit, 2011). However, when Thompsons’ documentary surfaced, many parents soon went into a frenzy worrying if they made a mistake by vaccinating

It was understandable as to why parents who viewed this documentary would soon be struck with fear and hesitance of the DTP vaccine. This fear-inducing media is what is still seen in modern society. Highly influential people, such as actors and actresses, will openly show their support of the anti-vaccine campaign through the media. They use their influence to spread the same fears they hold of vaccinations. Just like in 1982 with the DTP vaccination, many vaccines in modern society are being feared and therefore not being administered, as they should. This lack of vaccine administering allows the reemergence of infectious diseases to occur. These reemerging diseases pose a great risk to vulnerable populations and public health. It is in the best interest of public health workers to have anyone who needs to be vaccinated be vaccinated. However, the anti-vaccine campaign and its influential members do create a huge barrier for public health vaccination goals. Influential anti-vaccine campaign supporters, such as Lea Thompson, fuel the fire to these

In the introduction to the book, Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, Paul discusses a vaccine related event that occurred in Minnesota (Offit, 2011). In 2009 in Minnesota, a group of children contracted a type of meningitis that is caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenza typbe b better known as hib (Offit, 2011). The reason these children contracted this type of meningitis was due to their parents not having them vaccinated (cite book). The same occurrence of hib meningitis happened in four other places around the United States including: Pennsylvania, New York, Oklahoma, and Maine (Offit, 2011). These four states experienced outbreaks due to the same reason as Minnesota; parents chose not to vaccinate their children (Offit, 2011). The field of epidemiology is associated with the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events, which includes diseases (“Epidemiology”, n.d.). Epidemiology is also used to study how to control disease amongst other health problems (“Epidemiology”, n.d.). Epidemiologic research is used to better understand diseases, how they manifest, and how they spread. Epidemiologic research has assisted generously in the research and production of vaccinations for certain infectious diseases. When people disregard the findings and suggestions of epidemiologic