Today on CNN there was an article about the combination MMR + varicella (aka chickenpox) leading to an increase in febrile seizures a week after the vaccine was given. The article told me that it was published in Pediatrics, so I went over to look at the math and make my own conclusions on the matter. It wasn't posted yet. So I went back to the article and made the mistake of reading some of the reader comments.
Some of them were ok. Some of them were from concerned parents. Some of them were plain wrong. So I started posting my own thoughts and replied to people that I thought were overreacting a bit. Didn't have much else to do.
It took only minutes before people began to attack me. I was crazy, these people thought, to believe everything that Big Pharma wanted me to believe, to put our children in danger. I was uneducated and unable to think critically, one person said before going on a rant about how ONE MILLION PEOPLE could not be a coincidence. "BALONEY!" another said, saying that they had gotten all the various diseases and they were fine. It was better to get the diseases naturally. They then went on to say that I must have gotten all my vaccines and then made the stretch that I must go to my doctor for every little thing, "no wonder why healthcare costs are astronomical".
I'm not sure what to do. I kept posting, explaining to the person who thought I was uneducated that I have a degree in biology (microbiology) and stretched my epidemiology education to say that I have my masters - with, what we are talking about, pretty much do already. I explained to people how vaccines work, that it's the same as being exposed naturally except that you don't get sick. I told people that yes, I did get all my vaccines, and I get the flu shot every year, and I go to my doctor for my annual physical and that's about it, cause I can deal with other illnesses at home. One person complained about aluminum - people who usually complain go on and on about the heavy metals in vaccines and list aluminum as one, forgetting that aluminum is one of the lightest metals around. I cited ATSDR for that person, showing that it wasn't as dangerous as they made it out to be. Another complained about thimerosal, and I explained the differences between ethyl and methyl mercury and the bad rap that thimerosal got.
But when people are so devoted to their beliefs, no amount of science in the world will change that. Is this a failing of the educational system in giving science the right amount of credibility? Is this because some of the science involved is far beyond the average comprehension of an American adult? Is it because people love to blame Big Pharma for everything?
I believe that I will be helping organize a flu clinic for the fall in a small town, and I'm wondering if I will have to face this in the organizational process. If I need to disseminate information in a simple, intelligent way to convince people that this is perfectly safe and is helping not just themselves but all the other people who are unable to get vaccinations and are at high risk for serious illness or death from some of these diseases, flu included.
I wish that this wasn't such an issue, but then again, if it wasn't, then I might not have as much of a field to get into. :/
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