Auchtoon!

When I was a kid I remember seeing a “man on the street” segment on TV interviewing people about the value of seat belts. One guy in particular had a very low opinion of them and made this case: “If my car ever plunges off a bridge and into a body a water, the time it would take to undo my seat belt might be the difference between surviving and drowning.” I had to think about that for a sec, but I imagined he was right — in that nightmarish scenario it would be awful to be trapped in a car rapidly filling with water.

At some point I mentioned this to my Dad as justification for not wanting to wear a seat belt. He put things into perspective for me. I don’t know if it was the straightforward, “Well that’s a pretty stupid reason not to wear a seat belt” that he started with, or the more nuanced explanation with words such as “likelihood” and “logical” that came after. But afterwards I was firmly pro-seat belt.

The medical community has realized that they need to have a “Dad Talk” with the citizens of Michigan regarding vaccinations. This from an MLive story this week:

“According to the 2015 National Immunization Survey, Michigan ranks 43rd in the U.S. for children ages 19 to 35 months, and data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry shows 54 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months and 29 percent of teens aged 13 to 18 are fully up to date on vaccinations.”

It is creating a health risk where cases of preventable diseases such as whooping cough are now making a comeback. Accordingly, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced this week a new campaign called “I Vaccinate.” to increase awareness and provide validated information.

Hopefully this measured, sensible approach will work. And if it doesn’t, there’s always irrational fearmongering….