(PCM+) 12 Month Health and Wellness

by Kelli Northcutt | Contributing Writer

The following article appeared in the print issue of Ponca City Monthly magazine, which includes hyperlocal stories about Ponca City. Get full access to all online articles, videos, and content by becoming a paid subscriber. We offer free and paid subscription plans. Find rack locations to pick up your free print copy here, or subscribe here to get online access plus exclusive content.

National Immunization Awareness Month

In 2002, I had the opportunity to travel with the American Red Cross to Ghana, a small country in Western Africa, to view a mass measles vaccination campaign. Because I grew up in the United States, where measles was declared eliminated in 2000, I had no experience with the virus except for seeing the name of it written on my immunization card. Africa was very different though, recording over 450,000 deaths from measles in the year 2000 alone. Measles was a huge issue for children in Africa. If they didn’t die from the disease, many of them experienced the consequences of the virus, including blindness, inflammation and injury to the brain, severe diarrhea and life-threatening breathing difficulties. The difference for the great disparity between our two continents was the availability and widespread use of the measles vaccine. During that trip, I saw firsthand how vaccines prevent widespread disease and death and have been an outspoken advocate for the use of vaccines ever since.