Diphtheria, a once vanquished killer of children, is resurgent

Scope of the Article / Geography

• Commenters note the piece is about diphtheria resurging in Africa (esp. Somalia), but discussion quickly shifts to vaccine attitudes in wealthy countries.
• Several argue that while non‑vaccination in the West is often survivable thanks to strong healthcare, the same behavior in low‑income countries can be deadly.

Personal Choices & Pediatric Advice

• One parent describes a US pediatrician giving a firm pro‑vaccine lecture; they followed the standard childhood schedule but skipped COVID vaccination for their healthy child, aiming to “minimize” total shots.
• Others see this as textbook vaccine hesitancy, even if the parent accepts most vaccines.

COVID Vaccination for Children: Risk–Benefit Debate

• Some argue COVID is “not a tail risk” due to death, myocarditis, long COVID, organ damage, and mental health impacts; they cite studies of post‑infection complications in children.
• Others say for healthy children current strains pose very low absolute risk, while vaccines have non‑zero side effects (e.g. myocarditis), so the benefit–risk ratio is now marginal.
• Several note that many European countries no longer routinely vaccinate healthy children/young adults for COVID, using that as evidence that broad pediatric vaccination is unnecessary.
• There’s disagreement over how well vaccines prevent infection vs. only reducing severity; some sources show similar peak viral loads, others show reduced infection probability and shorter infectious periods.

Community Protection & Transmission

• One side stresses vaccinating children to protect immunocompromised people.
• Critics counter that vaccinated and unvaccinated infected people can have similar viral loads, and milder symptoms may lead vaccinated people to circulate more, so community benefit is disputed.

Measles, RSV, Polio & “Manageable” Disease

• Strong pushback against framing measles or RSV in rich countries as “mostly an inconvenience”; commenters highlight ICU stays, long‑term complications (immune damage, deafness, asthma), and impact on vulnerable children.
• Some warn that erosion of trust in routine vaccines could bring back severe diseases like polio.

“Minimizing Vaccines” vs. Medical Risk–Benefit

• Many emphasize that every medical intervention has a risk–benefit calculation, but argue that for established childhood vaccines the benefit overwhelmingly dominates.
• Others criticize absolutist claims like “there is no downside to any vaccine” as scientifically wrong and counterproductive.
• Several push back against the notion that “medicine is inherently good”; instead, context and indication matter.

Global Trust, Politics, and Gavi

• Commenters worry Western anti‑vaccine rhetoric signals to poorer countries that vaccines are dangerous, undermining campaigns where consequences are far more severe.
• A late subthread links US defunding of Gavi, allegedly driven by anti‑diphtheria‑vaccine ideology, to difficulties financing boosters in places like Somalia.