The Vaccination Debate

I will admit that I am reflexively turned off by a few different things, multi-level marketing, and big-government are in my top three. However, there is one that tops them all. It's not easy to define because it ranges across political affiliation, religion, and all other demographics. What is this issue? Well, it's not an issue it zealotry. Every once in a while I am confronted with someone who is so insanely devoted to their little idea that they have ceased to think rationally. They accept those who build up their fervor un-questioningly, yet shun anyone who dares to question the veracity of their claims. This ugly little monster has reared its ugly head again, and I decided to spend my lunch addressing the issue.

For most people vaccinations are a nothing, something that we don't spend a lot of our mental energy thinking about. Most of us look at it as a given that we will have our children vaccinated against deadly diseases, but look at a flu shot as something that we may or may not get each year. It's not a terribly sophisticated position, and that's because it means so little to us. Unfortunately there are people among us who get worked up into a frenzy over the slightest mention of vaccination. Since I am aware anyone in the latter category has passed beyond the point of reasonable discussion, this is for those of you who are wondering what the issue is, and want to understand some of inner workings. I have taken the most common objections to vaccinations that I have heard and done some research. I am disregarding any unsubstantiated claims, all the numbers I get will be backed up by data from reputable institutions.

1. So let's get started with this claim: Vaccinations are not the life saving medicine we have been told. I've heard this claim a thousand different ways. Some state that even though diseases died down after vaccinations were created for them it wasn't the vaccinations that did that it was the change in climate, or change in hygiene of the population. I'm sure that modern hygiene has gone a long way to curbing diseases, there is definitely something to be said for sanitary living conditions, and proper nutrition increasing our resistance to disease, but numbers from every institution that I searched showed that immunizations have done a much greater job then hygene. Here is a graph showing the reported incidents of measles from 1920 to 1995.
   

In 1963 the vaccine for measles was licensed for use, and by 1965 is was in wide production and distribution. Does anyone notice what happened after that? Well that cliff isn't conjecture, this is according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and if you find them to be to biased a group I can't help you. This is one example, anyone willing to do a little research will find that this is not an isolated case, the same story has been told in relation to rubella, pertussis, and diphtheria.

1. Claim: Vaccines have more severe side effects than the disease itself. Many people who say this have bought into some very dubious claims made by the anti-vaccine groups. Most of these claims rely heavily on the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) and seem to believe that every issue reported to VAERS is directly linked to the vaccine. As with any medication there are some possible side-effects. If you get a shot you may experience muscle soreness in the limb to which you received the shot. Of course the anti crowd will cling to the worst reported events, even if they cannot be laid at the foot of the vaccine. Here is a sampling of some typical vaccine related health risks, against some of the typical risks of getting the disease itself. I think it speaks for itself (numbers are combined from the CDC, and US Public Health Service).
   

Disease-Related Risks	Adverse Effects ofVaccination
Measles Pneumonia: 1 in 20 Encephalitis: 1 in 2,000 Death: 1 in 3,000 Mumps Encephalitis: 1 in 300 Rubella Congenital Rubella Syndrome: 1 in 4, (if woman becomes infected early in pregnancy)	MMR Vaccine Encephalitis or severe allergic reaction: 1 in 1,000,000
Diphtheria Death: 1 in 20 Tetanus Death: 3 in 100 Pertussis Pneumonia: 1 in 8 Encephalitis: 1 in 20 Death: 1 in 20	DTP Vaccine Continuous crying, then full recovery: 1 in 100 Convulsions or shock, then full recovery: 1 in 1,750 Acute encephalopathy: 0-10.5 in 1,000,000 Death: None proven

1. Claim: Vaccine preventable diseases have disappeared from the US, so there is no reason to vaccinate children.
   

I took this verbatim from Quakwatch.com because it said everything I wanted to say about this issue

"It's true that vaccination has enabled us to reduce most vaccine-preventable diseases to very low levels in the United States. However, some of them are still quite prevalent—even epidemic—in other parts of the world. Travelers can unknowingly bring these diseases into the United States, and if we were not protected by vaccinations these diseases could quickly spread hroughout the population, causing epidemics here. At the same time, the relatively few cases we currently have in the U.S. could very quickly become tens or hundreds of thousands of cases without the protection we get from vaccines.

We should still be vaccinated, then, for two reasons. The first is to protect ourselves. Even if we think our chances of getting any of these diseases are small, the diseases still exist and can still infect anyone who is not protected. A few years ago in California a child who had just entered school caught diphtheria and died. He was the only unvaccinated pupil in his class.

The second reason to get vaccinated is to protect those around us. There is a small number of people who cannot be vaccinated (because of severe allergies to vaccine components, for example), and a small percentage of people don't respond to vaccines. These people are susceptible to disease, and their only hope of protection is that people around them are immune and cannot pass disease along to them. A successful vaccination program, like a successful society, depends on the cooperation of every individual to ensure the good of all. We would think it irresponsible of a driver to ignore all traffic regulations on the presumption that other drivers will watch out for him or her. In the same way we shouldn't rely on people around us to stop the spread of disease; we, too, must do what we can."

http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromotion/immu/immu06.html

1. 
   
   Claim: Vaccines cause Autism. Autism is a chronic developmental disorder characterized by problems communicating, socializing, and limited or repetitive interests. No one knows the cause of autism, and the parents of autistic children deserve all of our sympathy and support. Boys are 3-4 times more likely to be autistic, and though most autistic children are mentally retarded, about a quarter of them are not. The experts believe that autism is a genetic disorder, and studies have found brain abnormalities in structures that start to grow during the first few weeks of pregnancy.
   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   Let me ask you a question, and be a little bold about it. If you were the parent of an autistic child, and knew that your child would never get to live a normal life. Never get married, have children, and that you would be taking care of them for the rest of your life. Would it be easier to a) Accept that you or your spouse passed down this genetic defect to your child, or b) blame the MMR vaccine…? I think the answer is obvious. I don't blame these parents, I blame the people pushing this nonsense. If they really cared, then they would put their energy into autism research, not scare mongering.
   

   
   

   
   

OK, I've given four and there are a lot more, but the real issue is that people are spreading this nonsense. There are many people who will believe anything, I like to call them the 12Percenters, statistically 12% of people believe in insane theories. Pick a conspiracy theory and you will have 12% or less of the population that believe it is true. Case in point, 12% of the U.S. population believes that Elvis is still alive, and I bet we'll have similar numbers for Michael Jackson.

So who exactly are the people waging the attack against immunization? I think the term "the usual suspects" works here. Most of them are practitioners of homeopathic or allopathic medicine. These are people who don't believe in 90% of western medicine, and think that herbs or moon stones are better at treating cancer than chemotherapy and other "traditional" methods. Of course their real claims are that if you lived the lifestyle they suggest then you never would have gotten cancer in the first place. While these people may believe their hype, and honestly believe what they are preaching, most of them have a degree from a correspondence school. This is about the same as getting religious guidance from someone who became a minister after sending $500 to an online church. I believe the most important thing to do is research yourself, research the people who are making the claims also. Remember, not all M.D.s are created equal. Also, ask your DOCTOR questions, if the doc thinks you don't deserve to have your questions answered, find another doctor. Above all, ignore youtube videos with outrageous claims. I could make a video that would star Mother Theresa as Jiminy Cricket, it doesn't mean she was.

Mike

P.S.

My biggest disappointment in this was the relationship between Chiropractors, and the anti-vaccine movement. I've respected the Chiropractic profession for years, but their throwing in with this nonsense is very disturbing. Read more Here.