Rotarix

Two days ago, Gabriel - our youngest 8 weeks - had his vaccination for Rotarvirus. The vaccine was Rotarix which is an oral form. The nurse said that he was the first to actually enjoy the taste of the vaccine.

For those who've not experienced the wonders of Rota, it provides a form of gastro-enteritis with extreme diarrhea and vomiting. Lovely. I put it only a single step below food-poisoning on the list of things never to have, and only because with food-poisoning I thought I might die, whereas with Rota I thought I'd like to. Remarkably, the symptoms (when Flavia and I both got it) lasted only a day or two, but since we didn't know when it would end, it felt like it would last forever.

I am a strong believer in vaccination, and have difficulty seeing the alternate viewpoint. More than 500,000 children under five years of age die from rotavirus infection each year.

Gabriel, despite his vaccine, is doing brilliantly. He has started goo-ing and generally trying to make his wishes known. Previous experience (older sister Lilly, 3 yrs in two weeks) suggests that this process is only going to get more forceful....