Vaccine deniers: a strange nexus of education and superstition

March 30, 1:05 PMLA Parenting ExaminerL.J. Williamson

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According to the lead story in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the danger of disease outbreaks, particularly measles and mumps, is on the rise as more parents decide not to vaccinate their children.  

This story is rife with irony; most social ills typically affect those living in poverty disproportionately, but in this case, the biggest risk exists in affluent areas.  

The vaccine fear phenomenon is a strange nexus of education and superstition.  Vaccine deniers are intelligent enough to question conventional accepted knowledge about vaccines, but not quite knowledgeable enough to understand the science behind vaccines, and what research has uncovered about the debate, and to understand what sources of information are reliable and why, or what constitutes hearsay, anecdotal evidence, and rumor.

Instead of trusting the results of peer-reviewed studies, vaccine deniers trust only their mistrust of entities such as the government and pharmaceutical companies, thereby putting us all at risk.   

Actress Amanda Peet’s characterization of vaccine deniers as “parasites,” although harsh, is a fairly accurate assessment of the reason why vaccine deniers are skating by on herd immunity – immunity we in the “herd” have gained through vaccination.  However, I certainly don’t consider Amanda Peet any more of a scientific authority than anti-vaccine fear monger Jenny McCarthy, despite Ms. McCarthy’s impressive scientific credentials as an MTV star and Playboy model.  

Some facts to consider about vaccines and the rumor that they are linked to autism:

• Even years after suspected preservative thimerosal was removed from vaccines, autism rates remained steady.  If thimerosal was indeed the culprit, then we would have seen rates go down after its removal.
• The original 1998 journal article, published in The Lancet, that suggested a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism, was withdrawn.  
• The article was withdrawn because it was discovered that the lead author of the study received money from lawyers intending to sue vaccine manufacturers, which a Lancet editor described as a “fatal conflict of interest.”
• No other subsequent studies have confirmed the link suggested by the original 1998 study.
• If a pregnant woman contracts rubella, it can result in brain damage or death for her unborn baby.
• Prior to the availability of a vaccine, measles caused 450 deaths and 4,000 cases of encephalitis in the U. S. annually.
• Measles can lead to pneumonia and inflammation of the brain.