Have I been lucky?

Hi,
My parents would never allow me to have inoculations at school (at the time, they just didn't believe in them)...
I'll be 72 in April and up to now, I have gone through life with very few illnesses. I've had, of course, the usual childhood ones, Mumps/measles/chicken pox.

I've never been in hospital, or had a flu jab...

I sometimes wonder, maybe my natural immune system hasn't been 'tampered with' and is therefore able to manage my day-to-day life?

Has anyone else gone through their life without these 'jabs' that we are expected to receive without question?

So many people seem to suffer from cold after cold, etc.

Like I say, maybe I've been lucky?
Perhaps my life would have been exactly the same if I had been allowed to receive the 'protective jabs'?

Malc.

Re: Have I been lucky?

Well we don't know do we - what I do know is 'we're just not made right'
We should have had simpler bits - far too complicated for my liking ..............

Re: Have I been lucky?

I certainly think there is something to this Malc....the less we are "tampered" with as in vaccinations for this and that the better in my book ....so yes I think you are very lucky ...or maybe fortunate more than "lucky"...long may you have good health
I myself dont suffer from colds and other flu type things much at all.

Re: Have I been lucky?

Yes - get rid of teeth for a start! A nice strong beak would be much less trouble!

But Malc, yes, you probably have been lucky. One of my good friends had her dad die from measles during an outbreak when we were very little and goodness knows how many people might have perished or been very ill from contracting tetanus or polio had they not had a routine vaccination.

I think the term where the vast majority is vaccinated is 'herd immunity' should you wish to google to find out more. If I've got it right, if the vast majority of a population are vaccinated then the 'outliers', the non-vaccinated, are pretty unlikey to contract the diseases, because there are fewer people in the population from whom they might get it (because the majority are vaccinated) . If fewer are vaccinated, the chance of the non-vaccinated getting the disease rise and rise
So, it's probably a good thing that the majority did not share your parents' views

Re: Have I been lucky?

You're right DM - TEETH - should have been everlasting with never the need for a filling

Re: Have I been lucky?

It's not very often I'm ill. I might get a cold every couple of years but it seems I've reached the age where bits have started falling off ! A cataract in both eyes and a small skin cancer (nothing to worry about.) I suppose such things are to be expected at my age.

Re: Have I been lucky?

Good for you Malc. I think I only had one injection as a kid, I forget what it was for exactly, but it was something to do with my Dad having TB when we were kids.
I've always enjoyed good health thankfully, but I still get the odd cold.

Re: Have I been lucky?

Absolutely, if everyone had decided not to have their Children vaccinated dreadful disease like diphtheria , polio and smallpox to name but a few would be prevalent and some of us may not be here now.

Re: Have I been lucky?

Im 73 think there was only one jab about when I was young the one they scratched your arm with. the jabs nowadays weren't about in the late 40s

Do remember very young children of my age at the time dying from ailments that most of us got and survived such as measles and whooping cough which were killers.

Re: Have I been lucky?

W.H.O figures show you were one of the lucky ones.

Measles

Key facts

Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.
In 2014, there were 114 900 measles deaths globally – about 314 deaths every day or 13 deaths every hour.
Measles vaccination resulted in a 79% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2014 worldwide.