Editor:
Many times I have read the letters from others condemning immunizations and I wonder, what can they be thinking?
Here are some facts from my experience.
One of my sisters died in the early 1940s of diphtheria. The last picture of her was taken on her 13th birthday, and three days later she was gone.
She was not immunized because the program was inefficient and the disease was prevalent. When I went to school, there were children older than me who had been stricken with polio. Thankfully, a vaccine removed that threat for people in the developed world.
In 1954, another of my older sisters contracted tuberculosis and passed it on to me. At the age of eight I was hospitalized for the greater part of two years. Fortunately, medications were developed that practically eradicated TB. I feel so fortunate to have recovered with no further problems.
I was hospitalized for so long primarily to protect the public from such a contagious disease. We are at risk of it returning, and like some other diseases, it may be antibiotic resistant. My sister lost part of a lung and died at the age of 67 of lung disease. I do not know if an immunization has been developed.
I regret that some parents choose not to immunize their children. Given my experience, I find that unthinkable.
Lynne Rempel, Gibsons
