Cycle to Walk Photo
On Tuesday, September 16th, Alex and I were honoured to join Ramesh Ferris and, along with Cpl. Dave Cheverie, escort him through the streets of Charlottetown on his cross-Canada Cycle to Walk.
This "better dead than autistic" attitude is not only extremely offensive, it is anti scientific fear mongering that is putting our children and out society at risk."More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children.
Many of these parents say they believe vaccines cause autism, even though multiple studies have found no reputable evidence to support such a claim. In Britain, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, measles outbreaks have soared, sickening thousands and causing at least two deaths."
Ramesh tells us "According to WHO calculations, the rate of immunization [against Polio] is presently low enough to put Canada at risk for at least localized outbreaks." “As long as a single child remains infected with the poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly amongst immunized populations. Between 2003 and 2005, 25 previously polio-free countries were reinfected due to importations.” - (WHO)
There are few children for who vaccines are contraindicated and those children, babies too young to be immunized and those for whom the vaccine does not work depend on herd immunity to keep them safe. Please, unless your Doctor advises against it, please immunize your children. It is absolutely NOT better to risk death by a disease that can be prevented by vaccine. Countless peer reviewed scientific studies have shown NO LINK between vaccines and autism. Your children deserve this high standard of scientific evidence. New age, pseudo scientific celebrities who depend on Google for their education should not be trusted with your children's lives.
"No single medical advance has had a greater impact on human health than vaccines. Before vaccines, Americans could expect that every year measles would infect four million children and kill 3,000; diphtheria would kill 15,000 people, mostly teenagers; rubella (German measles) would cause 20,000 babies to be born blind, deaf, or mentally retarded; pertussis would kill 8,000 children, most of whom were less than one year old; and polio would paralyze 15,000 children and kill 1,000."Smallpox -- a disease estimated to have killed 500 million people -- was eradicated from the face of the earth by vaccines. Polio stands to be the second disease eradicated from the planet.
Dr. Paul Offit MD, author of Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure
(Paul A. Offit, MD, is a pediatrician specializing in infectious disease medicine, an internationally known expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology, the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Offit has published more than 130 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety and is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine )
The US$200 million funding agreement between Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation marks another milestone in Rotary’s 20-year legacy of polio eradication work.
Rotary, a volunteer service organization of 1.2 million men and women, made a commitment to immunize the world’s children against polio in 1985 and became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative three years later. The other partners are the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.
Rotary’s primary responsibilities include fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment. To date, Rotary has contributed nearly $700 million to the eradication effort, an amount that will grow to more than $850 million by the time the world is certified polio-free.
[...]
Thanks to Rotary and its partners, the number of polio cases has been slashed by more than 99 percent, preventing five million instances of childhood paralysis and 250,000 deaths. When Rotary began its eradication work, polio infected more than 350,000 children annually. In 2007, fewer than 2,000 cases were reported worldwide.
But the polio cases represented by that final 1 percent will be the most difficult and expensive to prevent for a variety of reasons, including geographical isolation, worker fatigue, armed conflict, and cultural barriers.
That’s why it’s so important to generate the funding needed to finish the job. To ease up now would be to invite a polio resurgence that would condemn millions of children to lifelong paralysis in the years ahead.
The bottom line is this: As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, all children – wherever they live – remain at risk.
--Source
Follow Ramesh's Journey 
Back when we first arrived on the island, we were invited to visit MacQueen’s Bicycle Shop in Charlottetown to get the bike serviced. This morning we took it in for one last tune up, cable replacement, and brake alignment. I believe that now the hand cycle will handle the final 500 km of the Cycle to Walk cross-Canada tour with no problems.
Dr. Sean Wiebe of from the University of Prince Edward Island’s Global Issues class invited the team to speak with his students today. Just like yesterday’s class, students demonstrated lots of interest in the Cycle to Walk campaign and asked lots of questions. Thank-you to all of the staff and students at the UPEI for showing so much care and support for the team and the message of Cycle to Walk. Education about polio must continue both in and out of the classroom. We need to work together as a global community to eradicate polio once and for all.
11 per cent of Canada’s population has not received the polio vaccination. That means over 3.4 million Canadians are at risk of contracting the poliovirus. There are a number of reasons why Canadians are not receiving the polio vaccine, such as an ‘out of sight/out of mind’ attitude, miseducation that polio has already been eradicated, or myths that the polio vaccinations lead to side effects such as autism.
There is absolutely no scientific evidence that the polio vaccination is responsible for causing autism.
It’s important for parents to ensure that their children receive the three doses of the polio vaccine at two, four and six months of age. Even adults need to ensure that their immunizations are up to date – especially if travelling overseas. Anyone who has not received the three doses of the polio vaccine can be a carrier of the virus, putting others at risk of contracting polio.
This afternoon, I hand cycled through the streets of Charlottetown accompanied by a local PEI Hero by the name of Alex Bain. Alex is 20, and he lives with autism spectrum disorder. Both he and his mother Janet were so excited to join in support of the Cycle to Walk campaign and share the important message that people need to continue to receive the polio vaccine. Alex had absolutely no problems keeping up as he is known for his long distance marathon running. In 2006, Alex ran across Prince Edward Island – tip to tip – to raise awareness about autism and to celebrate ability. It’s reassuring and wonderful to know a person living with autism who is willing to put himself in the public and show support for the polio vaccine. Thank you so much, Alex, your support. It means a lot to me, and it was great to spend part of the afternoon with you. View Janet and Alex’s blog entry here.
Alex, Janet and Iwere kept nice and safe because of the great work of
Corporal Dave Cheverie of the Charlottetown Police. Thanks, Corporal Cheverie, for the lights, sirens, safety, and support.
We ended our day back on campus at the UPEI to speak at Campus Kids daycare. What a treat it was to be surrounded by such attentive, inquiring, smiling, and supportive young children. Thank you to Trish Daley, daycare staff, and all of the children. You truly brought a lot of joy into our day when you demonstrated so much interest to learn more about polio and the Cycle to Walk campaign.
It’s unbelievable, but our time is quickly coming to an end here in PEI. The team will catch the Wood Island ferry back to Nova Scotia tomorrow morning continue eastward on our journey. Thank you so much to our wonderful hosts, the Campbells and the Mathesons for hosting the team over the last couple of days!
Ramesh Ferris is greeted by Lt.-Gov. Barbara Hagerman as he makes a stop at Fanningbank. Ferris is a polio survivor and is hand-cycling across the country to remind Canadians that the fight to end polio is not over. Polio is slated to become only the second disease eradicated in human history. Guardian photo
Cycle to Walk Media Release
