Doctors know there is a "herd immunity" in public health. That is to say, when a critical mass of people are healthy, all are protected. I read an alarming statistic today: only 56.2 percent of Missouri children are receiving immunizations, down from 80.6 percent in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The decrease is due, primarily, to a lack of public health funding. For instance, here in Kansas City, the Health Department no longer has the funding to search public school records for children who lack immunizations.
For a free enterprise system to work properly, there must be losers; people for whom bad decisions has led to failure. While free enterprise may work in many economic sectors, it definitely does not work in public health care. Disease and infection spread without regard to demographics such as income, occupational status and location of residence. For every child who does not receive immunizations; for every uninsured person who cannot afford a flu shot; for every homeless person who does not receive medication, there is a price to pay far beyond that single act.
If conservative Republicans are to take control of Congress as pollsters are predicting, we should listen closely to their plans for the future. A rollback of the new health care law, cuts in public health care funding, education and other "human infrastructure" areas will lead to disaster. That only half of Missouri children are receiving immunizations is a huge sign that trouble is on the way. The canary just died.
And, that is a view from Missouri.
