Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver by noteworthy at 10:50 pm EST, Feb 4, 2007
This ought to stir things up; the thing is, I'm not really interested.
Allen is sympathetic to parental fears regarding the dangers of various vaccines, though he remains skeptical that scientific studies of these dangers, no matter how rigorous, will open many minds. At this point, he writes, much of the “antivaccinist” leadership is composed of countercultural types who view life through the prism of conspiracy theory: the government lies, the drug companies are evil, the medical profession is corrupt; trust the Internet instead. A fair number oppose traditional medicine in favor of homeopathy, believing that vaccines weaken the immune system and that sickness is a natural part of life. “We treat our children like machines that are never supposed to slow down or let us miss a day of work,” a mother told Allen. “We never allow them the soulfulness of being ill.”
To a large extent, says Allen, this antivaccination impulse is fueled by an ignorance of the past. Vaccines have done their job so well that most parents today are blissfully unaware of the diseases their children are being inoculated against. The end result is a culture that has become increasingly risk-averse regarding vaccination because people have greater trouble grasping the reward.
RE: Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver by flynn23 at 5:28 am EST, Feb 5, 2007
noteworthy wrote: A fair number oppose traditional medicine in favor of homeopathy, believing that vaccines weaken the immune system and that sickness is a natural part of life. “We treat our children like machines that are never supposed to slow down or let us miss a day of work,” a mother told Allen. “We never allow them the soulfulness of being ill.”
wtf?
There's NOTHING soulful about polio or rubella. In fact, there are many movements afoot to try and boost productivity and reduce sick days, for both children and adults. With a ton of evidence based medicine behind how and why to do it. It's this constant drive for ever increasing productivity which is the engine of our economy and has raised the infant mortality rate, lifespan, and prevented countless disease.
Now granted, I had a long row with my child's pediatrician about her inoculations because of Thiomersal being used in them. We were able to secure non-preservative bearing doses and I can sleep a little easier because of that. But I hardly think that vaccine should NOT be administered for these kinds of killers. Then again, I also had chicken pox twice in my life.
RE: Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver by Hijexx at 2:27 pm EST, Feb 5, 2007
noteworthy wrote: This ought to stir things up; the thing is, I'm not really interested.
On the contrary, I find this very interesting and would like to read this author. I've heard about the dangers of mercury, thimerosal, live viruses, etc. over the years but have never really given it much scholarly focus. This guy sounds like he has done his homework.
I assume you posted this to complement the thread I started on Friday about Texas Governor Rick Perry's edict requiring 11 year old girls to be vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease. I have since attempted to state my position in more clear terms here:
I like to believe that I do not see the issue through the lens of conspiracy theory in the strictest sense. I do believe, with respect to the particular case happening in Texas, that Governor Perry is in bed with Merck and issued his Executive Order for the benefit of Merck, not to address any public health crisis. I have attempted to state facts that highlight conflicts of interest, non-transparency of political contributions by Merck, the absense of evidence proving cervical cancer is an escalating epidemic, and evidence proving that cervical cancer rates are actually on the decline and do not affect a significant portion of the population.
