Yet ANOTHER scientific study refuting the (non-existent) "evidence", aka paranoia, concerning vaccination and autism. Yet, somehow, I doubt this will do anything to change the minds of those who are hellbent on convincing the world that vaccinations are a scourge on humanity. The hardcore anti-vaccine crowd (not the concerned parent, the hardcore wackos) has done so much damage to public health measures in this country. They're as ill-informed and agenda driven as those PETA nuts who protest the use of animals at medical research institutions and make physical threats against those who perform the research. The larger question is - why does there continue to be such a vocal minority in this country that REFUSES to understand science?
http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/moreevidencethatvaccinesdontcauseautism
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I hate that our tax dollars have to go toward constantly re-proving the same thing over and over again, just because of the obnoxious minority. Who will never agree anyway, they'll just scream "Conspiracy!" "Big Pharma!" "George Bush!" "Anecdotal story as evidence!"
ReplyDelete"George Bush" - That's great Heather.
ReplyDeleteHmm.....
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a really interesting question.
Part of the problem I think is caused by the new found access to mountains of information online. Not all of this information is credible, and many people are unable to filter information in a way as to prioritize reliable sources.
Also, in a culture that values diversity and contrasting views, we sometimes allow for viewpoints to get airtime that are completely without a reasonable basis. Being even handed in these cases just makes matters worse.
Cases in point:
Birthers- Obama was born in Hawaii, seriously people, how many times does this silly idea that he is not American have to be debunked?
9/11 was facilitated by Bush- again, seriously? Talk about left-wing nut jobs, I am not a Bush fan, but get real.
Both left and right have wacko conspiracy theorists, which get dangerous attention as potentially plausible concerns. No wonder people are willing to believe a conspiracy to harm kids through vaccines.
For example
Why is there even a debate about climate change? All the credible scientists that are in the field seem in agreement to me. Now, if it is man caused or not, sure that can be debated.
For the same reason that my Grandma, my Dad and my Aunt all forward me the OVERLY SERIOUS "WARNING" emails that float around about how people with aids are mounting blood covered needles under gasoline pump handles so that when unsuspecting people grab it to pump gas they get poked with aid-infested bloody needles.
ReplyDeleteWhoever thought of that is kind of AWESOME:)
But I am sure that he really regretted sending out that fake email after he got back 50 copies of it from concerned family members:)
You're right Kyle. Everybody knows that it was Obama who facilitated 9/11 and it was Bush who was born in Kenya. And neither one of them are vaccinated because vaccinations are a government ploy to keep us dumb so that we all give in to the global warming alarmists' plot to destroy the American economy. And Hillary Clinton is a US spy drone. Actually, that last one might be true.
ReplyDeleteHuh? I thought Clinton was a Muslim, and Obama had an affair with Bush's Kenyan daughter, while Bush managed to be the first female president of the US.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I didn't get my facts straight.
Ok, in seriousness...there is definitely a huge problem with people believing the weirdest things. I don't claim to be thoroughly knowledgable in matters of the world or anything, but when my US relative, who lives in Germany, asks me whether certain mass emails she gets about Obama (or similar things) are true, I wonder where reason has gone.
ReplyDeleteNow, with the whole vaccine/autism thing, that was something I didn't believe in even in my most confused hour on this topic. Here is why, and I'd like to know how reasonable my logic was on this matter.
When I looked into autism, what I found was that autism had gone up mainly in boys, and mainly in the US. That fact alone, that it was majorly US boys that were affected, immediately made me suspicious. If the MMR vaccine is responsible, which is administered world-wide to both girls and boys, shouldn't you have similar spikes in autism around the world? I mean, how much more random can a sample get then world-wide administration to pretty much every child? So, that really made me think that the MMR vaccine can't be the cause. Add to that data that couldn't find a connection either, and...you wonder why anyone thinks there IS a connection.
I'm sure there are a lot of kids with autism who's autism developed shortly after their MMR vaccines. I'm not willing to dismiss parents observations. But, just because one event took place right after another event, doesn't mean they're connected. Just because a thunderstorm starts right after I slam a door doesn't mean door slamming causes thunderstorms.
I think the problem is that we have too many fear mongers. Fear has never been a good advisor, in my opinion - not in politics, not in parenting, not in medicine, not anywhere.
Well the issue of autism rates rising only in US boys may or may not be a reason to disregard a link between MMR and autism. There are differences in the way vaccines are prepared in different countries and differences in the preservatives/additives that are used. So, in theory, if the MMR vaccine and autism were linked you could potentially see a rise in autism only in the US if it so happens that the causative agent is only used in US vaccines. Also, it is possible that the additive might only affect males in that way so it would then be possible that only US males are affected. I'm not sure if any of those differences exist for the MMR vaccine specifically so that may not even matter. But it's a possibility. Regardless, the kind of logic that you use Fran is (unfortunately) too advanced for much of our population it seems. We, at least in America, seem to be more easily persuaded by things that strike at emotion and, sadly, fear rather than those things that require logic, reason, and straight thinking. It's a huge drawback to 21st century American society.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess that's why we need experts on those matters. I had no idea that the MMR vaccine can be slightly different from country to country. I figured it's the 'same reciple cooked in different pots' (which, of course, would then still leave room for someone applying the 'recipe' wrongly and then causing a reaction such as autism...but that still wouldn't explain consistent patterns in just one particular group).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree - people are prone to go more for emotion rather than logic. And I prefer logic to emotion. Maybe that's why I clash with so many people. Haha...