TGG009: What's going on with vaccines?
FOCUS OF THE WEEK: Vaccines
Tha Warmup
Vaccines are one of humankind’s greatest accomplishments.
While vaccine skeptics have been around as long as vaccines themselves, their message has been amplified in recent years thanks to Donald Trump.
The number of measles cases in the United States has risen to its highest annual number since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
While the vast majority of parents are doing the right thing and getting their kids properly vaccinated, a study found that 10 percent of parents delay or skip vaccinations and about 1 percent don’t vaccinate at all. These numbers seem low but their impact is massive.
To understand the controversy surrounding vaccines we must examine the roots of the modern anti-vax movement, how science got pushed aside, and what the implications are for us all.
Jog My Memory
While the measles is not the only disease Americans are trying to bring back, it’s currently the most prevalent one. Its symptoms start out mild: runny nose, watery eyes, low fever, cough. Eventually a rash breaks out on the face and spreads. While most people fully recover, some end up with pneumonia, brain damage, or deafness. It can be deadly if left unchecked: in 2017 alone, it caused more than 110,000 deaths globally. The virus is so contagious that if one person has it, then anyone close to that person who has not been vaccinated has a 90 percent chance of getting it. That’s more infectious than “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. Just look at what happened within Minnesota’s Somali community, where in 2016, measles vaccination rates fell to 42 percent. In the United States in 2016, there were 70 cases of the measles. Come 2017, there were over 70 reported cases of the measles just in Minnesota – more cases than there were in the entire country the year prior.
Digging In
Facts Are Just Strong Opinions, Right?
Remember "Saturday Night Fever" and the Vietnam War? While Nixon was covering up the Watergate break-in, vaccine skepticism was taking root overseas. In the 1970s, a study came out in the United Kingdom linking the whooping cough vaccine to seizures and other serious childhood side effects. Though the study was debunked, whooping cough vaccination rates in the UK plummeted from 80 percent to about 30 percent. Then a handful of documentaries came out also pedaling misinformation. In the U.S., strong resistance began forming within liberal populations like Berkeley and Washington State, where many residents already distrusted Big Pharma and drug companies. These communities advocated for a “philosophical exemption,” meaning the right to send your child to school without vaccinations based on philosophical beliefs. This movement gained such momentum across the U.S. that today, parents can send their little Tommy to school without vaccinations if they have this exemption.
Then in 1998, researcher Andrew Wakefield published a study in the medical journal “The Lancet” claiming the measles vaccine causes autism in kids. Jenny McCarthy quickly picked up the idea, ranting about the dangers of vaccines on the show she hosted, “Singled Out.”
That study by Wakefield? Gets totally trashed. It turns out Wakefield fabricated data, accepted money from parties who wanted him to conclude vaccines are dangerous, and violated basic research rules (i.e., the jerkoff paid kids at his son’s birthday party for their blood samples). The study gets retracted and Wakefield’s medical license is revoked.
But it was too late. The Tea Party was all over the idea, as it plays into the whole “the government can’t tell me what to do” thing. Alex Jones gets on board. And then there’s Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed vaccines are linked to autism. But before we take medical advice from a man whose diet mimics that of a 5-year-old who’s been left to his own devices at an all-you-can-eat Royal Caribbean buffet, let’s talk about the science.
Breaking Down Common Fears
Most people today won’t say they’re entirely against vaccines. They’ll say “I’m pro safe-vaccines,” meaning they’re against vaccines containing the mercury preservative thiomersal (believing the mercury causes vaccines). Is this fear warranted? Nope. The mercury found in some vaccines is not the same kind that’s harmful in fish. What’s more, it’s been removed from vaccines for infants as a precaution. And most importantly, numerous large studies have debunked the idea.
Other parents say, “I’m pro vaccines, but I think they should be more spread out.” While kids today do get more shots than they used to, the number of antigens (substances that induce the immune response) has greatly decreased. Spacing out vaccinations is really dangerous. The CDC explains, spreading out shots puts children “at risk of developing diseases during the time that shots are delayed.”
And many parents just feel lost in a sea of conflicting information. Look, I get it. Any scroll through Facebook will leave you convinced that everything causes cancer and you’re probably about to die. By nature, scientist lingo is very careful when it comes to drawing research conclusions. But as Seth Mnookin, author of “The Panic Virus” explains, “When a scientist says, We have no evidence that there’s a link between vaccines and autism, what they’re really saying is, We are as positive as someone can humanly be that there’s no link."
Ask Yourself, WWBND (What Would Bill Nye Do)?
Diseases like the measles can be kept under control by herd immunity, the concept that the more people vaccinated, the harder it is for a disease to spread. When everyone participates in the process, we can all reap the benefits of protection. You might think to yourself, I’m just one person making a choice for my child. But that’s just not the case. By ditching a vaccination, you are putting at risk babies too young to be vaccinated, those who are sick with diseases like leukemia whose immune systems cannot handle vaccinations – some of society’s most vulnerable populations. Don’t be a d*ck.
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You —
So I ask you to stick to what we know to be true: that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Debunked studies, misinformed celebrities with microphones, and Facebook memes created an atmosphere of confusion. But we have to stick to the facts. Let’s start focusing on all the good vaccines do. No one is Tweeting, “Didn’t get polio today! Send it!” But it’s important to be thankful. Rather than lose sleep every night over whether their child will fall to yellow fever, parents today are blessed with the beautiful expectation that their child will live a full, happy life. I vote we all start thanking vaccines for the miracles they provide. Want to take action? While the government can issue fines and keep people in their homes, it can’t actually force anyone to get vaccinated. So tell others about all the interesting stuff I just told you. Equip parents with knowledge so they can make informed decisions. Oh, and vaccinate your kids.