Chicken Pox and its Vaccine

1. Do you agree that the chickenpox vaccine not receive top priority? If so, what disease would you like to see get more funding? If not, why?

Yes, I agree that the chickenpox vaccine should not receive top priority, but still be funded. However, I would prioritize funding intensive research on diseases that have no known vaccine such as SARS. The devastation it has caused should serve as a warning to us that there are still more unknown, yet threatening diseases out there.

2. Do you know of anyone who may have died due t complications from the chickenpox virus?

No. I do not know anyone who have died due to complications of the chickenpox virus.

3. Is there any hard evidence that you could find to get me to reconsider my decision to `kill` the funding for chickenpox vaccine?

Funding for the chickenpox vaccine should not be completely stopped as it can cause  other complications including, encephalitis, pneumonia, arthritis, Reye’s syndrome and in rare cases, meningitis (Fackler and Golonka, 2006), which should not be taken lightly.

4. What other vaccines (if any) may be used to help prevent chickenpox?

There is no other known vaccine for chickenpox other than Varivax, however, one effective way to prevent it is to avoid people who currently have the disease.

5. If funding for the chickenpox vaccine is pulled, do you think there would be a higher incidence of Shingles among older adults?

No, because based on studies, the occurrence for Shingles among adults is only 15% and there is a separate vaccine for it (Curtis and Rea, 2007).

Malaria and Its Vaccine

1. Should drug and vaccine research be done if financial gain is not probable?

Yes. Research for vaccines should still be done because lives are at stake. I believe that if researches talk to the right people and make them aware of the potential threat of a certain virus or disease, they should be able to get the funds they needed to develop a vaccine.

2. If so, who should pay for this research?

The government should provide initial funding for researches such as this one. However, millionaires, such as actors all around the world, most of whom have strongly supported health-related campaigns such as the AIDS awareness, should also give their share in funding for researches on vaccines.

3. Should the United States and other developed countries provide grants for research if their citizens will not benefit?

Yes. I believe that first world countries, such as the United States, should fund researches for vaccines even if it will not benefit their citizens because it will still benefit others. Besides, these developed countries would never know when a certain disease would break out in their own countries and the vaccine that they helped fund is actually the cure.

4. It all boils down to the question. . . Is health a right or a privilege?

Health is a right. It goes beyond money or social status. One of the government’s crucial roles is to ensure that laws, which benefit even the poor, are passed and implemented effectively.

SARS and its Vaccine

1. Do you agree/disagree that since there is currently a clinical trial vaccine for SARS that it should be a priority for funding, which can lead to further testing and approval for a safe vaccine? Explain.

Yes. I agree that funding for a SARS vaccine should be prioritized. I believe that while there is no proven vaccine that could effectively prevent or treat the virus, every country is at risk. Therefore, every country should contribute whatever they can to be able to create a SARS vaccine.

2. Are there any negative side effects in the clinical trial of the inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine? If so, what are they? Explain?

According to a report of the Vaccine Research Center in the US, so far, the trial vaccine has no serious side effects. Based on report, ten healthy individuals, aged 18-50 years old, who were administered with the trial vaccine, tolerated it pretty well (Vaccine Research Center).

3. Do you believe that there will be another SARS outbreak in the near future? Explain?

Yes. As long as there is not vaccine to cure SARS, there will always be a risk of future outbreaks. However, I also believe that if ever there will future outbreaks of SARS, it would be evolved or higher forms of the virus. There is a high possibility that this could happen since another virus, the Avian flu or Bird flu, is believed to be an evolved form of a previous virus.