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Hello and welcome to The Excerpt, I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Sunday, May 12, 2024. Whether someone has or hasn't been vaccinated for COVID-19, the measles or even polio has become a controversial topic.

It's not new, resistance to vaccines as well over a century old.

What is new and what's grabbing headlines right now

are the outbreaks of measles and other vaccine preventable illnesses that are spreading globally.

The CDC recently reported that nearly a third of all US measles cases since 2020 happened

in the past three months.

Hesitancy around vaccines has even spilled over to pet owners

with some not vaccinating their animals against rabies.

Both medical professionals and government agree that vaccines are good for us.

So why do some people remain unconvinced? Our guest today is Aina Pinckney, a passionate speaker speaker who travels around the country advocating for vaccines.

Thanks for joining us, I know.

Oh, I'm so happy to be here to talk to you about the fact that nobody should suffer from a vaccine preventable disease because the pain and disability can last a lifetime which is my story.

And I know that this issue is personal for you so I'm going to ask you to share your story with us.

On Labor Day 1944, I was 18 months old, and my father came in to take me out of my crib and I couldn't stand up.

And when he touched my forehead and realized that I had a high fever, in that nanosecond he understood

that the polio epidemic that was sweeping New York City had come to Brooklyn, New York,

and that was the beginning of a lifetime of disability that I have struggled with.

So tell us really how your life changed with polio, your opportunities, your goals.

What do you want people to know about your journey?

I think the most important thing is that we tried so hard to pass for normal for so many years

...