La rubeola?

Today I did my first Charla at a kindergarten and pre-kindergarten for parents on rubella. I think that they got a big kick out of it and I think that maybe a few more people will go get shots for our having done a charla. A charla is a little talk with a group about an issue- in my case a community health issue. We're doing community projects in groups for the Peace Corps training projects and the one guy in my group, El Gringo is way more of a blind jumper-inner than even I am. I have been accused of overzealously and blindly pursuing a goal more than once, but this you gotta see to believe. So, four of us went to visit the school to take them this poster about a free rubella vaccination campaign about a week ago and he asked if we could do a charla which would have been great, if he had mentioned to us that he was planning to do that. I was even more frustrated when the charlas that they requested were 1. Telling teachers about how to teach children with special needs and 2. We go to the school to give vaccinations. What you say? I know nothing about special ed and you would never let me get a syringe near you? Yes, you're right. El Gringo totally suggested to the teacher that both of these were doable things. He was alone in that conversation- big mistake. So we had a group that was willing to have us but they had pretty unrealistic expectations of what we could do. I mean it isn't inconceivable that we could find someone to provide these things to the school, but no kind of thought was given to sustainable or feasibility. In any case, this resulted in me and another guy going to talk to the teacher about a more reasonable topic and us talking out and me writing a couple of skits- one was about a pregnant woman getting vaccinated. Later, I happened to read in a brochure that pregnant women shouldn't go get vaccinated. So thank goodness I rewrote that one before we gave it.

It ended up being lots of fun, but I definitely learned a few thing. I am actually grateful to El Gringo for being willing to take the risk, but I do feel like I fixed a problem he created... I'll need to think about that a little more.

Fun facts about rubella from the CDC:

Rubella is a respiratory disease caused by a virus

Symptoms:
Rash and fever for two to three days (mild disease in children and young adults)

Complications:
Birth defects if acquired by a pregnant woman: deafness, cataracts, heart defects, mental retardation, and liver and spleen damage (at least a 20% chance of damage to the fetus if a woman is infected early in pregnancy)

Transmission:
Spread by coughing and sneezing

Vaccine:
Rubella vaccine (contained in MMR vaccine) can prevent this disease.

You do NOT need the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) if:
You had blood tests that show you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
You are a man born before 1957.
You are a woman born before 1957 who is sure she is not having more children, has already had rubella vaccine, or has had a positive rubella test.
You already had two doses of MMR or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine.
You already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure.

You SHOULD get the measles vaccine if you are not among the categories listed above, and:
You are a college student, trade school student, or other student beyond high school.
You work in a hospital or other medical facility.
You travel internationally, or are a passenger on a cruise ship.
You are a woman of childbearing age.