Polio Survivor Encourages Parents To Prioritize Vaccination of Kids Now That Cases Are Increasing Globally

By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Aug 16, 07:17 am

A polio survivor from Winnepeg, Canada is urging parents to ensure vaccination of their kids against polio especially since cases have started to emerge from around the world.

Wesley Hazlitt felt the crucial need to call on parents and remind them that their children must be vaccinated against polio after he heard the news that the disease that has been believed to be eradicated has suddenly occurred in New York City, the United Kingdom, and Israel.

Hazlitt, whose biggest calling is to talk about the impact and danger of polio all his life, is well-aware that a lot of parents have missed getting their kids vaccinated for polio and other diseases during the pandemic. More so, parents' decisions were affected by some rumor and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine stating that polio vaccines are ineffective, which he negated proclaiming that the latter is highly effective, Global News reported.

The polio survivor, along with the Canadian government, is reminding parents to make sure that they catch up on any shots, whether polio, diphtheria, mumps or any other diseases, their kids may have missed during the pandemic.

"The fact is vaccines do work. It has saved millions of lives and prevented millions of cases of permanent paralysis in both young children and adults," Hazzlit proclaimed.

Surviving polio

Currently the president of the Post-Polio Network in Manitoba, Hazzlit expressed his fears and worries if the world will once again undergo a polio epidemic, especially since it has been increasingly difficult to find doctors and physiotherapists or occupational therapists with any knowledge of it, its impact and how to manage it.

"I survived polio, but now I fear others will needlessly suffer from it," he revealed. He continued by saying that he cannot imagine witnessing thousands of children on ventilators being kept alive and living in hospitals because of a virus that is actually easily preventable with a shot of a proven vaccine and booster.

Hazlitt contracted paralytic polio when he was 13 months old in 1953. He narrated that he did a lot of therapy. He had to learn how to walk and do things on braces and crutches and that growing up, he was excluded from a lot of things. He is grateful he survived, though up until now he is on a power wheelchair and utilizes multiple other equipment to manage daily, but he would not want others to go through what he has been through.

The representative of polio support groups in the countries Canada, the United States, and Australia wrote in an article for CBC News that he fears for the millions of children that are now at risk to get the virus because of the interruptions in regular medical care and of the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio plus the current anti-vaccine sentiments of parents.

Other Polio Survivors also Plead Parents to do Vaccination

The Post-Polio Network (Manitoba) Inc., a non-government organization that serves as a support group and information center for polio survivors in Manitoba, has also expressed its clients' concerns regarding the emergence of polio and the possibility of another epidemic.

Polio survivors are reminding parents that because of their disease they are living with a "multitude of issues." During their time, their parents did not have a choice.

The first poliomyelitis vaccine was created in the mid-1950s, but it was already too late to prevent the major outbreaks in Winnipeg and Manitoba. The vaccine did not arrive in time to give anxious and fearful parents the choice to vaccinate against the dreaded disease.

"We implore everyone to ensure that your children and you are safe - get vaccinated. Our parents didn't have a choice. You do," polio survivors expressed.

They also proclaimed that no child or adult deserves to live with a threat of a lifetime due to disability and a virus all because their parents chose to not get them vaccinated.