Sunday, March 25, 2012

Vaccination Revisited

I see it all the time in public bathrooms: women washing their hands like they're scrubbing up to perform surgery, carefully not touching the towel dispenser, and using the paper towel to open the bathroom door. Even most grocery stores provide antibacterial wipes to wipe off carts before we use them. People don't want other people's germs around them.
Yet one of the biggest arguments when I got from callers making surgical appointments when I worked for boss man was about our hospital policy regarding current vaccinations on all surgical patients. If they weren't current, then we did them at an extra charge, and the clients were screaming.
Would you sit in a room with people sneezing without covering? Would you accept a drink or food from a waiter who you saw  take a taste before they set your food on the table? Would you shake hands with someone who just sneezed into theirs? Then why in all that's holy would you want your unvaccinated pet in for surgery with all the germs floating around the hospital?
As I explained here it is impossible to live in a bubble or keep our pets in one. Even humans get horrible infections in the hospital, as do pets. Exposure is everywhere. It has nothing to do with how clean or careful you are.
Vaccines aren't 100%  foolproof but they can exponentially increase the survival rate of a deadly disease. Getting vaccinations are cheap compared to the cost of hospitalization. Pretty cheap insurance worth having.

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