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NOVEMBER 1, 2019
AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
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VACCINE INGREDIENT
FUNFACTS PART ONE
There is a constant stream of misinformation about vaccines and their safety swirling around in the online world. Vaccines contain poisonous heavy metals. They contain cells of aborted babies, along with antifreeze, weedkiller, and virus germs of the very disease they’re supposed to protect us from. What’s the real truth? We asked our resident pediatrician, Dr. Caroline, to sort through it all just for us. Here is Part One of her two-part series. Vaccines all contain an active ingredient, the component responsible for the primary immune response we want. The main ingredients in every vaccine are the inactivated, chopped up pieces of virus, bacteria, or toxin which essentially trick the body into thinking it has been infected with the organism. The body responds by launching an immune response that produces antibodies against the invader. Of course, there is no actual invader in the case of a vaccine, since it contains only deactivated — a polite word for dead — viral cells. However, courtesy of the data download provided by the vaccine, the immune system now has the enemy’s number and will remember that specific target should the body actually be exposed to the disease or virus down the road someday. This is why vaccines work, and why we give them. Getting a vaccine is basically like deep-cleaning your house in preparation for the in-laws coming for dinner, but then dinner gets rescheduled for another day. The house is still spotless, though, and ready for company. Please see VACCINE INGREDIENTS page 2
IT’S A LONG STORY n this very day 204 years ago, a baby boy was born a hundred miles up the road from Augusta. Nothing seemed particularly auspicious about this particular baby, but he would become a medical pioneer whose discovery has directly affected your life and mine. Who was this man? Well, he was born in Danielsville, Georgia, on the aforementioned November 1, 1815, if that helps. And he died at age 62 in Athens, Georgia, on June 15, 1878. Or something like that.
Actually, his Athens tombstone says he was born on Nov. 1, and a larger historical graveyard marker nearby says Nov. 3. As for his date of death, some sources say June 15, some June 16, others June 19. One thing we know for sure. He lived and he died. And in between, he became a doctor, one of tremendous importance. You’ve probably heard his name: Crawford Long. It’s a well-known name in these parts: for more than 70 years there was a Crawford W. Long
Please see LONG page 3
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