Guest Viewpoint: Despite Brady Bunch episode, measles is no joke, so get vaccinated
Do you remember the episode of the Brady Brunch where all the kids get measles? April 22-29 is National Infant Immunization Week and I keep thinking about this storyline. Over the past few years, vaccine opponents have used this episode as evidence that measles is no big deal. After all, the Brady kids were fine. With measles cases increasing around the world, it’s important to remember what’s real and what’s not. As a public health professional and sitcom connoisseur, I can tell you that this episode doesn’t show the whole picture of what can happen when measles runs through a family.
To start, one in five people who get measles will be hospitalized. There are six Brady children and none of them had more than a low temperature and a few spots. A more accurate representation would show Mike and Carol rushing at least one of the children to the hospital with pneumonia or a severe ear infection. And avid fans like me will also remember that the Brady children are between 6 and 14 years old when this episode takes place. While measles can be dangerous at any age, children under 5 are especially at risk for serious complications, including brain inflammation, hearing loss, and even death. If Cindy or Bobby were a few years younger, the show could have turned from comedy to tragedy in an instant. Younger children are often sicker than their older siblings. They are especially vulnerable to illness because their bodies are still learning to protect themselves. Luckily, we have incredibly effective tools to help: vaccines.
Just like it’s easier to learn a language or to ride a bike, it’s easier for your immune system to learn how to fight infection when you’re young. Luckily the CDC develops immunization schedules for us to follow. Doctors, nurses, and parents, with the help of millions of kids, have already done the work of figuring out what vaccines to get and when so your child gets the most possible benefit from them. By boosting our children’s immune systems before they begin meeting others through daycare, school, sports, and activities, we are making sure they are prepared to fight off a disease before they meet it.
Because vaccines are so effective, we often take for granted how deadly the diseases they protect against are. Even Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia, has said her experience with measles as a child was much, much worse than her character’s. Before a measles vaccine was approved in 1963, newspapers were filled every winter with accounts of shuttered schools and grieving parents. The World Health Organization estimates that since the year 2000 alone, the measles vaccine has saved more than 57 million lives by preventing infections. Vaccines for other deadly diseases like diphtheria, polio, and haemophilus influenzae type b have saved millions more.
We cannot take for granted how important immunizations are for protecting our children. The best thing we can do for the youngest among us is make sure they are vaccinated.
Heather Ryan is the Health Program Director for the Broome County Health Department.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Despite Brady Bunch episode, measles is no joke, so get vaccinated
