Any responses?
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
I think it is wonderful what they are doing to fight horrible diseases among people who have little means of helping themselves.
Especially so when compare their generosity to the attitude expressed by the very wealthy CEO of a major drug company... 'Why should we develop medicines for people who can't even afford shoes?'. The only purpose for a medicine in that man's selfish and shallow mind is to generate money.
People in this country think diseases like Tuberculosis and Malaria are just dirty third world problems that respect a nation's borders and won't affect them out of respect for who they are. Diseases do not know borders or class distinctions.
I like what they are doing. It makes me want to buy some software.
You won't see Lyme on there, though. It is something Americans should be able to take care of for themselves if institutional greed and politics were not interfering.
Some things not even a billionaire fix.
Posted by Foggy (Member # 1584) on :
The LDA, ILDAS and Columbia Lyme Center need to appeal to the Gates foundation and other big $ directly for grants. Getting Gates or his wife's ear would be a good idea.
It's sad that we have chronic health problems such as Lyme that desparately need attention domestically. Some phillanthropists may not be aware of this.
Posted by SForsgren (Member # 7686) on :
Will be interesting to see what health problems start being seen in these countries where his foundation is supporting the use of vaccines in children....
Posted by daystar1952 (Member # 3255) on :
I am also concerned. At one point I had heard their goal was to vaccinate everyone. They must be smart enough to know the dangers of vaccines
Posted by hwlatin (Member # 4123) on :
The Gates Foundation has no interest in helping people here in the United States. His and their attitudes is that we are a wealthy enough country and dont need the help.
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
With all due respect, I would take my chances with vaccines ANY DAY over what some of those diseases can do to you.
Polio is a case where vaccines are being used. I think anyone not living in an alternate reality would have to admit that vaccinating against polio has been an overwhenming success. I remember going to school with kids stricken with Polio. It was a common sight, and it wasn't that long ago.
You have to weigh whatever real or imagined risk the vaccine poses against the horrible, crippling effects of the disease on hundreds of thousands of people.
How about Smallpox? That was a pretty dangerous vaccine that people died from once in a while.
But Smallpox was (is... some sick minds have kept it alive in liquid nitrogen.) a death dealing disease that spread rapidly and horribly disfigured its victims if they survived.
Forgetting what Smallpox was like can be likened to forgetting (or denying) that The Holocaust happened.
In recent years very selective vaccinations were used to stop a raging outbreak of a hemmoragetic strain of Rift Valley fever in Sub Saharan Africa.
I know it has become popular in some circles to bash vaccines in general, just as some segments of the medical establishment have become very anti-antibiotic. It becomes a philosophical issue, and no longer are the risks/benefits weighed objectively in terms of the patient's outcome.
In this country (USA) the risks posed by some vaccines may well exceed the risk of the disease itself. Risk versus benefit. Everything we do on any day has dangers. We need to decide which are acceptable risks in a given situation.
If you live in an area with a Polio outbreak in progress, and see children in your neighborhood being crippled for life, do you really need a calculator to decide if it is a good idea to have your children vaccinated?
Many of the programs do not involve vaccines at all though. Vaccines have not been and possibly cannot be made for some of the worst diseases.
One program involves giving children a couple drops of vitamin A orally a couple of times a year. Without it the corneas of their eyes turn to goo and they go permanently blind. I saw films of younger children holding broom handle sized sticks and using them to lead around their older siblings, who were already permanently blind because of the vitamin A deficiency.
They don't have access to a neighborhood health food store... they are doing good to find anything at all to eat... and most of the time it is just plain rice.
Tuberculosis that doesn't respond to medication of any kind is another one being targeted. That one is right on our own doorstep, we had better hope somebody figures out a way to deal with it.
I applaud what the Gates are trying to do, in a world where people can be so greedy and selfish. They are reaching down and helping less fortunate people.
What good are billions in wealth if the world around you is turning into a cesspool of disease?
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