Biology Week 11: Vaccinations and Communites

Should vaccination be required?

The United States houses a profit driven healthcare system.  This leaves many uneasy about their health and who to entrust with its care.  Vaccinations have become a hot topic in the wake of falsified connections to autism and mysterious measles outbreaks in Southern California.  The decision to vaccinate our children should be a choice, though there may be merit in compulsory vaccination when dealing with spreadable, life altering illnesses like Measles, Pertussis and Polio.

If 90% of children within a given population are getting vaccinated then theoretically the community is protected via "herd Immunity."  However, what happens when that percentage drops below 90% as parents start opting out of vaccinating their children for personal reasons? Herd Immunity is threatened and individual decisions start to impact the safety of the community.  Should other states follow California by taking away basic human rights i.e education for non-immunized children?

For families that opt out of vaccinations fro religious reasons, this debate becomes tricky.  In my heart of hearts, I want to respect religious and cultural belief systems, though I can also entertain the possibility of compulsory vaccination if it protects us against avoidable outbreaks.  For folks who choose not to vaccinate because its trendy to rebel against convention, I have less patience.  For those consciously on the fence, the issue is truly difficult.  Ideally, we would find ways to educate the masses about issues like "herd immunity" empowering folks on fence to make more informed decisions.

Personally, I am for vaccinations that are "necessary" as they give the body a change to build immunities to severely damaging illnesses without becoming sick.  Because the body's adaptive immune response to a second antigen exposure is far more powerful and efficient then the first, it only takes a tiny bit to innoculate.   This is truly amazing in my mind.  I am still on the fence about the flu vaccine as the strains are mutating faster then the vaccinations can reach the people.  Is last years strain really protecting us this year? However, this investigation is inspiring me to get in the know about it before I knock it. I have never received a Flu vaccine, and after years of working in hospitality and school systems, I have rarely been sick in this way.  ::knock on wood::  Are my actions irresponsible to the well-being of my community? 

Another community-based issue, Forests and Tree Communication!

I have chosen to research the cooperative nature of forests and the ways in which trees selectively interact, exchange resources and send defense signals to enhance the collective survival. These exchanges  I first came into contact with this topic via Radiolab and the research of Suzanne Simard, a Canadian Ecologist with 30 years of research on the collaborative networking of Trees!  I feel this topic is a beautiful example of nature's wisdom and one that is deeply connected to the fundamental's of TCM.  Here is the introduction to my paper as it stands:

The majestic giants that make up our lush forests have a few secrets beyond their trunks and branches.  A new wave of research suggests that trees are far from passive, holding a keen ability to process incoming information, respond to their environment, locate food sources, identify potential threats and plan ahead for optimal survival. Interestingly, the intention behind this survival does not begin and end at their own roots, but seems to incorporate the survival of the forrest as a whole. It appears that trees are able to exchange nutrients and communicate with one another with the help of a network of hollow fungi roots nestled deep beneath the forrest floor.  In exchange for sugars, this so-called Mycorrhizal network connects to the tree roots forming an “internet-like” communication system that increases the vitality of the forrest collective.