News/Commentary

Wired Magazine

“This isn’t a religious dispute, like the debate over creationism and intelligent design. It’s a challenge to traditional science that crosses party, class, and religious lines. It is partly a reaction to Big Pharma’s blunders and PR missteps, from Vioxx to illegal marketing ploys, which have encouraged a distrust of experts. It is also, ironically, a product of the era of instant communication and easy access to information. The doubters and deniers are empowered by the Internet (online, nobody knows you’re not a doctor) and helped by the mainstream media, which has an interest in pumping up bad science to create a “debate” where there should be none.” (Emphasis added)

This is one paragraph from a gripping article from Wired, a magazine about technology and related issues.  Titled “An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Is Endangering Us All,” it the story is about the anti-vaccine movement in general. There has been a theory among opponents to vaccines that they cause autism although there is not evidence to support that conclusion.

However, the response to this story and to the writer has been so vitriolic, in this writer’s view,  it now is the equal of a number of other “hate-based” movements. That is extraordinary given the topic.

The roots of trouble cited in this article are not in dispute.

- Yes, Big Pharma has blundered in many ways and many times, so many this class of company does not enjoy the confidence of people charged with manufacturing what are classified legally as “ethical products.”

- Yes, mobs behave badly because they are composed of frightened or hate-driven people. There is nothing new about mobs. What is new is that mobs now know how to use the power of the Internet to exponentially increase the impact of their fury against anyone who supports vaccinations.

- Yes, the mainline media has contributed to the dissemination of this set of beliefs about the alleged dangers of vaccination simply by interviewing opponents. There are enough of these opponents, and their voices are so loud, it would be foolish not to examine why these opponents to vaccines feel as they do. Whether or not reporting has fanned the flames or merely reported the fire is beyond this judge to decide. The writer of the piece clearly believes that regular news coverage has had a flame-fanning effect.

The response to the article and to the author has been stunning and vicious. Wired has followed up with several summaries of reader reactions.

When people are afraid, it is easier to do nothing, to hope that the odds will favor them. There is no clinician who has not seen fear on the faces of people who are having to make tough treatment choices. The CDC leadership has been very clear that they understand the fears people have about this and that their role, as they see it, is to provide facts in hopes of helping people grapple with their real fears.

In this pandemic, people have been comforted by the many mild cases reported. They have been in the great majority. Things have been getting tougher lately. More people are more sick. The misery index is going up fast. The word-of-mouth among patients is changing. “I’ve never been that sick,” is a sentence starting to make the rounds in some places.

With this week’s report of the increase among deaths of children, again, parents should consider whether or not they need to re-think their position if they have opposed vaccinating their children.

The CDC is not perfect, nor would its leaders claim it is. But its leadership will not stand up and say over and over, yhis is the “most tested vaccine” we have ever approved if that is not true. To vaccine-doubters, that may be a meaningless statement, of course because testing is beside the point to them.

To parents who have only been worried that the vaccine was not tested enough, perhaps the CDC’s reassurance will help.

Conclusion:

One thing is for sure. Most parents want to do what is best for their children, whatever their positions are. No one can doubt that their fears are real.

At some point, as adults responsible for small people, we have to acknowledge our fears and move through them and onto facts. I have been scared for a child in my family in another situation. Yes, I hesitated, thinking perhaps it was not as serious as it seemed. Anyone responsible for a child who has not had doubts is not paying attention.

However,  the facts are that the science here is solid, that vaccines save lives and the life one shot saves may be that of a child you love or a pregnant woman in your family.

Source: Wired, October 19, 2009