The President's message is written personally by the President each month and all opinions expressed within are his/her individual opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Academy, it’s affiliates, or it’s employees.
As family physicians, we know that prevention is key. We would much rather keep people healthy right from the start and avoid the development of serious or chronic diseases in the future that then require much riskier and expensive emergency care or invasive procedures that impede quality of life and drive up the cost of health care for us all.
On more than one occasion, my well-meaning but non-medical family members and friends have asked me, “Did you save any lives today?,” implying that we only make an impact when heroic measures like CPR or immediately lifesaving procedures are employed. This really strikes a bitter chord with me, and my answer to them is always, “Yes, as a family medicine physician, I save lives every day, many of which you will never know because I prevented that heart attack, stroke, leg amputation, serious infection or vaccine preventable illness from ever occurring in the first place.”
No matter which side of the political aisle you might be on, I believe that we can all stand united as family physicians in asserting that vaccination is an important public health measure that saves countless lives through prevention. The MMR vaccine and varicella vaccinations are both excellent examples of the overwhelming success that vaccination has been historically on a public health level. In fact, I remember having chicken pox myself as a child, but as a doctor I have never even seen a case of chicken pox clinically all thanks to the varicella vaccine.
Similarly and up until recently, measles was also not a great threat to our communities, but unfortunately now we all know that is not the case. This is so sad though, because it is so preventable! One dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective, and with two doses this increases to 97% with it being very uncommon for someone who is vaccinated to develop measles. For the few who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or who do not make a good immune response to vaccination, herd immunity from vaccination of those around them is of utmost importance to keep us all safe. Owing to a previous large uptake of the vaccine throughout our communities, measles was declared eliminated from the United States in the year 2000, a fantastic and resounding public health achievement. However, before the measles vaccine was licensed in our country in the early 1960s, there were close to 500,000 cases of measles per year, about 48,000 of which resulted in hospitalization, many with severe and lifelong health complications and with about 400-500 deaths per year, oftentimes for the most vulnerable populations including very young children and babies. Unfortunately, our state of Wisconsin ranks dismally low at 48 out of 50 in measles vaccination rates for our youth, which is a sobering statistic. We are a just sitting ducks for a future measles outbreak if we don’t remedy our problem with undervaccination.
With a rise in medical misinformation that for most of us is all too accessible through the internet and social media, and with the current political landscape further refuting the science of vaccination, it is no wonder that we are seeing increasing levels of vaccine hesitancy from our patients and in turn a rise in vaccine preventable illnesses. As family physicians, we cannot stand for this, and we need to be the voice of reason on the importance of vaccination and preventative medicine for the health of our patients and communities now and into the future.
On September 18-19, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is meeting to review scientific data and vote on vaccine recommendations. Nationally, the AAFP has drafted and submitted its formal testimony to the committee and are optimistic that our voice will be heard. Advocacy is of paramount importance with this perhaps being one of the most significant policy fights of our lifetime. Our engagement, testimony and stories as physicians carry great weight.
It's easy to get involved. The AAFP has an active Speak Out urging Congress to defend Vaccine Science and Public Health. They’re also collecting stories from members like you to share directly with lawmakers about your experiences with vaccines – the successes you witness, the challenges you face, and the vital role immunizations play in protecting patients. It takes just a few minutes to share your story. Here in our chapter you can support our advocacy work by joining the legislative committee to share your perspective and influence our positions on advocacy here in Wisconsin.
Thank you for all you do to support your colleagues and your patients! We understand and recognize all of the hard work that you do on a daily basis, and that motivates us to continue doing all we can to support you.
Be well and keep up the great work!
