Simone Grant 4/21/15

Vaccines are getting a bad rep and fuelling

a sick debate.
In 1997, a British surgeon named Andrew Wakefield
published an article suggesting that the measles,
mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) increased autism in
children. The study had ethical violations, errors in his
procedure, and money somehow exchanged hands;
once it was reviewed, Wakefield lost his medical license
and the paper was removed.
Unfortunately, the damage was done: it sparked fear into parents in
developed countries, and since then there has been a movement to
avoid the MMR vaccine in the hopes that it will prevent autism, called the
anti-vaxxer movement. Since then, there have been huge numbers of
studies to prove that autism is not caused by or related to the MMR
vaccine, but the proof lies on deaf ears, and anti-vaxxers have only
grown in number, evidenced by the 340% increase in measles cases from
2013 to 2014 from a disease that the US had almost classified as
eliminated.

Vaccines have been around for a long time, and the skepticism
surrounding them has been around for at least as long. Since the 1970s
when Edward Jenner created the first official smallpox vaccine, critics
have expressed concern over side effects of putting foreign material in
their bodies. Some psychologists say that this paranoia over vaccines
stems from a mistrust of authority, others say that those who against
vaccines are narcissistic and unwilling to consider others, and still others
claim that its the way the information first enters the scientific rumor mill
that cements the anti-vaxxer mentality. In all three of these cases, offering
scientific facts and reason serves only to drive anti-vaxxers deeper into
their own movement, as proven in a study by the University of Bristol.
Personal accounts by parents dealing with these diseases in their own
children seems to be the most effective way of changing the minds of
anti-vaxxers, as it convinces those who are wary of authority, science, or
the government (in other words, plenty of anti-vaxxers, with a correlation
of .52) that vaccines are worth the extremely small chance of
complication and opens their eyes to the deadly consequences that they
wouldnt ordinarily consider.
The government is beginning to take action against anti-vaxxers as well.
Recently, the governor of Australia has passed a law that prevents
parents from receiving childcare benefits and welfare if they refuse to
vaccinate their children. A NY court case also prevented unvaccinated
children from attending public schools in 2014, in a location that used to
allow it. But anti-vaxxers will not back down that easily, and the debate
will certainly continue.
Sources
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The History of Vaccines: An Educational Resource by the College of Physicians in Philadelphia. History of
Vaccines. The College of Physicians in Philadelphia, Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all>.
Mooney, Chris. If You Distrust Vaccines, Youre More Likely to Think NASA Faked the Moon Landings.
Motherjones. Motherjones, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/10/vaccine-denial-conspiracy-theories-gmos-climate>.
King, Robin L. Inside the Mind of Anti-vaxxers. Thestar. Thestar, 23 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.thestar.com/life/2015/02/23/inside-the-mind-of-anti-vaxxers.html>.
Health Guides: Understanding Vaccines. PublicHealth. PublicHealth, Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/>.
Cole, Nicki L. Everything You Need to Know About Anti-vaxxers. about education. about eduation, Web. 13
Apr. 2015. <http://sociology.about.com/od/Current-Events-in-Sociological-Context/fl/Everything-You-Need-toKnow-About-Anti-Vaxxers.htm>.
Digital image. Aisquared. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Digital image. Businessinsider. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.