A visual argument for vaccines, in five tweets:

1/ A ward of polio victims, incarcerated inside "iron lungs" in 1950s America. Many are children, their lungs paralysed, unable to breathe unaided. Thanks to vaccination, no-one has caught polio in the UK since the 1980s.

2/ Roald Dahl with his beloved daughter, Olivia, who died, aged 7, from measles. He wrote:

“'Are you feeling all right?' I asked her.

'I feel all sleepy,' she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead."

3/ 82,500. The number of measles cases in Europe in 2018. That is 3x as many as in 2017, and an astonishing 15x as many as in 2016.

Last year, measles caused 72 avoidable deaths in Europe. Many victims were children.

4/ Cervical cancer. The latest research shows that in the last decade, the new HPV vaccine has caused an astonishing 90% fall in rates of pre-cancerous cells in vaccinated young women.

5/ Smallpox. A horrific disease, now eradicated, thanks to vaccination. Its mortality rate was 30% - and even higher in babies. Survivors had extensive skin scarring. Many were left blind.

Every parent worries about deeply what is best for their children. But last year, according to the WHO, vaccines saved the lives of 2-3 million people. May we never return to the dark, dark days of polio and measles wreaking havoc on the lives of our children.

Reliable, evidence-based, sensible information available here on the pros and cons of all the common vaccines: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/?tabname=all-about-vaccinations