Soap Box: Epidemic in the Freezer

Greetings again, from the blog currently in the freezer due to unforeseen priorities, but a lot has happened while Wonders of Life Eterna last posted during the holiday season. Some of us have heard of the day when the measles epidemic was first reported in Disneyland (Anaheim, California), and due to a surplus population of the unvaccinated, an epidemic is projected to be dramatically high.

And the debate is ever so high. Debates along the lines of vaccines being the root of debilitating diseases through to conditions (the autism-vaccine link has yet been destroyed thanks to safer vaccine developments), through to parents being overprotective of their children for the above reasons, and through to religious reasons. And with all this hitting the fan, as well as the world well fighting the war on Ebola (which has since ravaged, but remains contained in West Africa), this leaves Wonders of Life Eterna wondering...

How on planet Earth will Wonders of Life ever spread the message of vaccination? In this case, it would be a good idea to backtrack to the glory days of how Disney educated the masses on how to keep clear of infectious diseases, in the quest for better health. In this case, I might embed a few videos as cases in point.


Earlier (if my memory serves correctly), I have made mention of the early film "How to Catch a Cold", which focused on two characters - the Common Man, who is infected with the common cold, and Common Sense, the human conscience equivalent of none other than Jiminy Cricket, who educates Common Man on many aspects on the common cold - how a worn out body means someone is susceptible to catching a cold, through to how a cold can infect a neighbourhood in minutes, and how the body can fight off the cold, provided it is able to rest. Up in the 80s, the film was remade, this time with Goofy being the primary conscience for the young boy seen battling the common cold. Although campy by today's standards, I believe that the message remains the same... we are no match to common colds... or worse.

With regards to what would Wonders of Life would do on the subject of immunity, as well as the ongoing fight against disease, the more fitting question would be... what would B229 do? Body Wars could have expanded from being just a thrill ride to a whole-scale institutional exhibition on body systems and biomedical technologies (even though we have Frontiers in Medicine) to help open up the message to everyone. Also the premise of watching the immune system at work could be a great backstory for Body Wars as well; if the white blood cells dissolving a splinter on the ride were a sight to see, wait till we start watching them eat, attack and eventually build up resistance against attenuated (weak and useless to cause harm) viruses and pathogens from an effective vaccine treatment. Now that would be a thrill ride worth boarding (and being sick all over again). Even Captain Buzzy would be welcome to introduce us to the immunity crew as part of an open day exhibit, what do you think?

If you have any more ideas that would give Wonders of Life the immune boost it needs, you are welcome to leave a comment below. But since the vaccination debate is already heated up as it is, please be nice.