Ophelia Dahl on the Vaccination Debate
Posted on Feb 6, 2015
Ophelia Dahl, co-founder and executive director of Partners In Health, discussed with broadcaster Katie Couric this week a letter Dahl’s father wrote 27 years ago about the importance of vaccinations. Roald Dahl penned the letter a quarter-century after his 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, died of measles.
“Some people are willing to walk hours and hours barefoot to get their children vaccinated. And then, in other places, people need to be persuaded to vaccinate,” said Ophelia Dahl. “I’ve seen it played out in places like Haiti, where I’ve known kids who have died for lack of vaccinations and from preventable illnesses …. [If] you don’t get vaccinated, you’re much more vulnerable to these childhood illnesses.”
She continued. “If you’re acquainted with some of the figures ... that involve hundreds and thousands of children dying of an illness like measles … then you have to see this as a trend that needs to be stopped.”
