I Smell A Diaper Boycott...

This is what is on packages of Pampers these days. The first thought that came to mind: wow, that's really neat. And then: hmm, wonder how long it will take before the anti-vaxers boycott Pampers?

Salma Hayek is the spokesperson for this campaign (I suppose she and Jennifer Garner are not part of Jenny McCarthy's playgroup). Apparently, similar campaigns have been going on outside of the U.S. and Canada for a couple of years. According to the press release:

The immensely successful program, which launched in 2006 in the UK and expanded in 2007 to other countries in Western Europe, has helped provide UNICEF with funding for more than 25 million life-saving tetanus vaccines. The goal for the North American campaign is to provide at least 27 million vaccines, which would bring the total global donations to more than 50 million vaccines.

And, further on:

"Childhood immunization is routine in the United States, but each year 140,000 infants and 30,000 women in developing countries die from tetanus—a life threatening, but preventable disease which can be contracted during childbirth," said Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "While significant progress has been made—last year Egypt and Zambia marked the elimination of tetanus—the disease is still a threat to women and children in more than 45 countries. I applaud Salma and Pampers for joining UNICEF in the fight against tetanus and helping us to move closer to our goal of completely eliminating the disease."

Those Tetanus stats are astounding, and makes me even more glad those vaccines are readily available here for me and my family. Think about it: 140,000 babies and 30,000 women dying EACH year. But, those figures won't matter to the anti-vaxers. They'll claim there are different ways to prevent tetanus other than shots, I'm sure. Or, they simply won't even make mention of this campaign or of those statistics. That would only hinder their case--because it highlights why vaccines are necessary, life-saving, and overall a very good thing.