Last week our speaker was PAG Lindsey Cancino who spoke to the club on Polio and the Rotary Foundation.  We learned about the disease and how it affects person's who get it.  Some person's develop issues with their lungs and some are even paralyzed.  Others get the disease and do not experience symptoms until years later.

One of the new innovations helping to combat the disease are oral vaccinations.  The Polio vaccine is also normally given in the MMR vaccine and most people receive it as children.

There have been some setbacks with a few outbreaks causing recent numbers to be higher, but PAG Lindsey encouraged us not to see Polio in the rear view mirror because the fight is still on and we are close to eradicating the disease from the earth.

 

We got a breakdown of the amount of money Rotary International and its partners have already spent combatting the disease and the estimated amount needed to eradicate the disease over the upcoming years.  We were all encouraged to donate to Rotary's Polio eradication efforts.