Thread:
In 1958, my mother was a NYC teacher. Early in the year, she was exposed to a student with Rubella ("German Measles").
Rubella is almost always a very mild illness. Most don't even know they have it. My mother had no symptoms. 1/8
https://t.co/6RRxU57kc5
Why do we care about Rubella (sufficient to require vaccination in all states)? Because pregnant women exposed to Rubella in their first trimester have a substantially increased likelihood of having a child w/birth defects/Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) or fetal demise. 2/8 https://t.co/JCkqhd5ELU
My mother knew she was pregnant and had heightened concern that was proved justified well after the September birth of my sister. It would not be for some time that my parents knew that 1) my sister was PROFOUNDLY deaf & 2) nothing worse had befallen her. 3/8
We don't have precise numbers for the 1958 Rubella outbreak (which typically happened every 6-9 years, though endemic in between), but we know that the 1964-5 outbreak (the last before introduction of a vaccine) led to 20K KNOWN cases of CRS & >2K newborn deaths. 4/8 https://t.co/W2mrpDJaqw
My sister retired this year after a nearly 40 yr career, having raised 2 beautiful daughters with her (also deaf) husband of 41 yrs. She is a fantastic lip-reader & benefits from technology (facetime & other video calling services, captioning, etc.) & signing. 5/8
This thread is to remind you that we don't always vaccinate children JUST to protect the child (There is no reason to vaccinate children for Rubella except for the excessive and serious risk to pregnant women). 6/8
Thanks to vaccinations, < 10 people get Rubella each year. Current vaccine is 97% effective.
Why do we vaccinate children, if pregnant women can get vaccine on their own? Because the vaccine is NOT 100% effective & people don't always plan well. 7/8
https://t.co/4Cc7331YYS
Public health is about taking measures to protect the community. It does not start with Covid. It will not end with Covid.
Get vaccinated: for yourself; For your family; For your friends; And for those you might never even know or like. 8/8