Necronic
Staff member
Vaccines are one of the modern miracles of science, and have eliminated or helped contain some of the most dangerous diseases known to mankind. Its hard for people under 40 to appreciate how much things have changed. Most of us don't know someone with polio, or remember what it was like to be afraid of swimming pools. Or the times that parents would have scores of children because many wouldn't survive past 10. Dave knows what I am talking about.
Vaccines have been one of the true success stories of medicine. That story, however, may be getting re-written right now. Partly this is due to increasing costs and decreasing responsibility by the insurance industry, and that's a battle that will need to be fought at the government level. It should have been an easy fight, because the costs of vaccines pale in comparison to the long term costs that infection, or even worse, a wide-spread epidemic can cause.
The other problem has to do with one incredibly irresponsible and unethical doctor: Andrew Wakefield. In 1998 he published a paper linking Autism with the MMR vaccine. In it he used parental anectdotes of dates do determine links for the onset of the illness and the vaccination. The paper was eventually discredited and retracted but the damage was already done.
Since this paper came out there has been a massive drop in the vaccination rates in first-world countries, which has been linked to multiple epidemics. Regardless of how many times the scientific community discredits this link, people are still concerned about getting vaccines for their children. Instead they opt for the risk that their child could catch the disease and then spread it to other children, which is happening more and more.
And now here we are, on the path to loosing one of the greatest medical victories of all time. All due to one highly discredited paper and the irresponsible media that was willing to sew it's poison but unwilling to retract it. In the most medically advanced country in the nation it is appalling to know that we are seeing a reduction in vaccines.
I appreciate that parents have a special right to irrational concerns when it comes to their children. It's not bad parenting that lead to this. Really it is a mix of good parenting, poor education, and gross negligence by parts of the medical community and media.
I guess the reason I am writing this is that I think it is a big enough issue to present it to anyone who may have children, and am willing to thoroughly explain the issues at hand. This isn't to come across as a know it all, but as a person who sees a serious problem and wants to help. If anyone has ANY questions or comments about this please mention them. If you do think that vaccines cause autism or are a bad idea for one reason or another, please say so. I'm not going to "Chaz" you.
Also, in case anyone is interested, Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who started all of this, lost his medical license for this as well as performing chelation therapy, colonoscopies, colon biopsies, and spinal taps on children with autism. Often without the consent. And one of those children almost died.
Vaccines have been one of the true success stories of medicine. That story, however, may be getting re-written right now. Partly this is due to increasing costs and decreasing responsibility by the insurance industry, and that's a battle that will need to be fought at the government level. It should have been an easy fight, because the costs of vaccines pale in comparison to the long term costs that infection, or even worse, a wide-spread epidemic can cause.
The other problem has to do with one incredibly irresponsible and unethical doctor: Andrew Wakefield. In 1998 he published a paper linking Autism with the MMR vaccine. In it he used parental anectdotes of dates do determine links for the onset of the illness and the vaccination. The paper was eventually discredited and retracted but the damage was already done.
Since this paper came out there has been a massive drop in the vaccination rates in first-world countries, which has been linked to multiple epidemics. Regardless of how many times the scientific community discredits this link, people are still concerned about getting vaccines for their children. Instead they opt for the risk that their child could catch the disease and then spread it to other children, which is happening more and more.
And now here we are, on the path to loosing one of the greatest medical victories of all time. All due to one highly discredited paper and the irresponsible media that was willing to sew it's poison but unwilling to retract it. In the most medically advanced country in the nation it is appalling to know that we are seeing a reduction in vaccines.
I appreciate that parents have a special right to irrational concerns when it comes to their children. It's not bad parenting that lead to this. Really it is a mix of good parenting, poor education, and gross negligence by parts of the medical community and media.
I guess the reason I am writing this is that I think it is a big enough issue to present it to anyone who may have children, and am willing to thoroughly explain the issues at hand. This isn't to come across as a know it all, but as a person who sees a serious problem and wants to help. If anyone has ANY questions or comments about this please mention them. If you do think that vaccines cause autism or are a bad idea for one reason or another, please say so. I'm not going to "Chaz" you.
Also, in case anyone is interested, Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who started all of this, lost his medical license for this as well as performing chelation therapy, colonoscopies, colon biopsies, and spinal taps on children with autism. Often without the consent. And one of those children almost died.
or other people too little.