The New York Times published an article on February 1, 2015 about the how a long-ago discredited vaccine study continues to affect how the public perceives immunizations, particularly those for "childhood" diseases. Go to the following URL: http://nyti.ms/1z3vHen. View both the video and read the article. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to critically evaluate this news article supporting your argument as appropriate.
This is an extra credit opportunity worth up to two (2) points. Students need provide an evaluation of at least 50 words which must be posted as a comment to this posting no later than Friday, February 6th by noon to be eligible for extra credit points.
Amber Mullins
ReplyDeleteThe debate on the safety of vaccinations is something that really makes me angry. Not only are you putting your own child at risk by not getting them vaccinated, but you are also endangering others around your child. Many people believe that vaccines cause autism because of a doctor who is now stripped of his license! And what about children who do not get vaccinated and still have autism? History proves the effectiveness of vaccines and now with this epidemic of parents refusing to vaccinate their children these diseases are now on the rise, and it can get much worse! Something that really made me think is when they say “how did we get to a point where personal beliefs can triumph over science?” The answer I keep coming back to is uneducated journalism. The general public believes anything they hear on the news when you should do your own research. There are always two sides to every story and the media will report the side that will get them the most views.
I strongly think that all children should be vaccinated. As with every procedure, there are risk and benefits, and there will always be a percentage of the population that will experience the risk. As the video and article point out, there is often confusion with the syntax scientist use, and the way the general public uses those statements to formulate a faulty belief. The result of opinions arising from fallacious arguments and examples has lead to the reemergence of infectious diseases. If the outcome supports the purpose for the greater good, then I think it is something that everyone should do.
ReplyDeleteMore fuel for the fire just published this morning the Washington Post:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/chris-christie-remarks-show-vaccines-potency-in-political-debate/2015/02/02/f1c49a6e-aaff-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html?hpid=z1
I think with measles cases being so low in the past years, people have lost all sense of urgency and forgot the seriousness of this disease to the extent of believing the results of a discredited study and anecdotes and fearing the inexistent outcome of the vaccine instead of the disease itself. Certain people's lack of scientific knowledge and reliability on public opinion, and in a way politics (Believing that they have the freedom to make the decision whether to vaccinate or not) as mentioned in the washington post article, is putting their own children and other people at risk of infection which could be very easily avoided. Parents are not doctors or scientists, they don't understand the science behind the human body or vaccines the same way health professionals do and they should not be allowed to risk lives, beginning with their childrens' because of their ignorance in this matter.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the other two responses. Nowadays, people thrive on the thought that they know best for their children, yet all their information comes from the media and celebrities; pretty much getting all of their health information from everyone who doesn’t have a medical license. I agree a statement in the first video that says, “They’ve become a victim of their own success” which was in regards to vaccines because this is completely true. I am ashamed to live in a time where people would rather believe false evidence than countless amounts of studies. Also, the second article posted in regards to the two possible republican candidates, and their thought that vaccines should not be mandatory makes me really angry. I am not one for politics, but leave it up to the politicians to get parents to change their minds. No parent wants to hear that someone other than them knows best for their child. They want complete control, and that is what those candidates are offering. Vaccines should be mandatory, and the thought of them not being mandatory is absurd.
ReplyDeleteThis article for me highlights that there isn't really a simple answer. I can understand both sides of the arguement because I've seen it. Ever since I can remember my mother, who has no medical background at all, has been telling me that I almost died from getting the MMR vaccine when I was 12 months old and I'm allergic to it and I'm never getting the second round; when what really happened is I had a mild reaction to the vaccine and she overreacted. Now I work as a phlebotomist in a hospital that is dealing with a measels outbreak scare and I haven't been vaccinated yet...It scares the hell out of me to think that I could be a casue of this disease sreading and I didn't have a choice in the matter. If I could go back and change things and get the vaccine I would. If parents would just stop and read the facts about the vaccine for themselves and not only listen the misguided accusations made by Andrew Wakefield and the media manipulation by Jenny Mccarthy, then maybe this outbreak would not be happening. Scientists may understand that the vaccines are safe but there needs to be someone to explain it to the lay person as well in a way that won't confuse them or cause scrutiny in the scientific community.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read about these types of topics i always try to understand both sides, but as I read this article I can not find a reason why you would not want to give your child vaccinations. The cases where people say that it made their kids have autism is way less likely to happen than to not have the vaccine and obtaining a disease from it. You are not only putting your childs life but also everyone else around them at risk. I believe that it is true that media plays a big role in peoples decisions on if they should give their children vaccines, and sometimes it baffles me because people only go off of the medias word instead of doing their own research. If they were to do their own research than I truly feel like people would understand the importance of getting vaccines
ReplyDeleteI think Seth MacFarlane said it best when there was the ebola scare a couple months ago, "Oh, uhhhh-- you misheard me. I said I'm against wax beans." --the anti-vaccine kooks when the Ebola vaccine becomes available." Not that people who are against vaccines are kooks, as he put it, but I agree with the thought. The big issue with people not getting vaccines right now, is indeed related to the autism scare, but also related to the fact that there isn't much fear for the diseases any more, like the article said. If it was something relevant, a disease that is, people would be standing in line like it was Black Friday for the vaccine. Much like people when H1N1 was a big issue a couple of years ago. In my opinion, other children shouldn't be put at risk because of parents choosing not to vaccinate their kids. I read an open letter to the mother whose kid had measles endangering her cancer-stricken child's life. Vaccines shouldn't be an option, no exceptions, it's too dangerous to have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteThe ant-vaccine movement in this country is disturbing for a couple reasons. one reason is because people are willing to believe what one crazed mother believes than all of the scientific evidence in the last fifty years or so. Another reason this is disturbing is because of the willingness of the media to continue the illusion of the story in this issue. Sensationalized news should not happen when it concerns human lives. If the news would start portyaing vaccines as only helpful with side effects such as a temporary rash or bruise then the entire country would change their opinion. The U.S. government should also step in with large awareness campaigns championed by the surviving children who have received their vaccines. The culture surrounding vaccines needs to change now.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, before I watched this video and read this article I didn’t know where I stood with vaccines. I did think that they were a good idea. However, I have also heard from intelligent people that vaccines cause autism. At the time I thought maybe they were right, that there was a link between the two. After watching this video and reading the article I firmly believe that children, and adults need to be vaccinated, and that it is not linked to Autism. It broke my heart that a new born baby died, because their mother spread a disease to them. Vaccinations are not only good for oneself, but for the community as a whole. I liked the part that said that 94% of people need vaccinated to stop the spread of disease. I know someone who will not let visitor see their new born baby, unless they have had vaccinations. This is a smart idea, since the baby cannot yet be vaccinated. We need to stop broadcasting stories, and start broadcasting science.
ReplyDelete-Breanna Gwirtz
I found this to be very interesting to watch. It is hard in this day and age to decide if someone should get vaccinated or not. You hear so many different stories of what can go wrong, and the side effects they can have, and now it seems that there is a slight possibility that even after the vaccination that it could still come back.
ReplyDeleteThe vaccination for measles came out around 2000 and wiped out measles from the United States (or so we thought). Here we are fourteen to fifteen years later and it has returned. It was stated that somewhere around 600 cases were reported in the United States in 2014.
However not only has measles made a strong come-back but cooping cough has as well.
It is interesting to hear about what can actually cause some of these things to occur. Take measles for example, a certain percentage of people need to be vaccinated (herd immunity). You can’t control what other people in your community do, which makes people wonder if there at a higher risk (it makes me wonder anyways).
Whenever I hear the name Jenny McCarthy my blood boils. This woman frequently is quoted as saying that her son is her evidence that vaccines cause autism, which I believe was pointed out in the video as being absurd. But the reason this bothers me is by saying that she believes this and then encouraging other people not to get their child vaccinated she is in my opinion saying "Having a child with autism is worse than having your child die from a preventable disease." If my pediatrician had said to me "This vaccine will absolutely make your child autistic, but make sure she doesn't die from measles" I would still vaccinate my child. My daughter is autistic and it is difficult and I struggle with her sometimes. But I will take every hour of therapy and every temper tantrum in public and every other crazy, inconvenience I have to deal with over not having her. Aside from that, its not just a decision fro your child, its a decision for every unvaccinated child that your child comes into contact with. Many children with diseases like leukemia are immunosuppressed and must be cautious about who they come into contact with. In places like southern California this can mean no school or daycare. The article pointed out that the people making this choice are wealthy and educated but it seems they are not educated enough.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that people will go with their own opinion on a matter they don't fully understand. Before making a decision to either vaccinate or not vaccinate your child, there should be more research done by the parent. I respect the decision not to vaccinate however, there is a point where other parent's decisions affect the rest of the population as in the concept of herd population. Also, the media is largely to blame for the misinformation given. This all goes back to the study published which claimed the MMR vaccine caused autism. Once a piece of information of this caliber gets out, it is hard to retract the statement and get people to believe it is false. Personally, I see no reason to not vaccinate children especially when it has to deal with diseases such as these that are much more threatening than the common cold.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that people will believe anything they see on the internet or the news. Just because one child happened to get autism because of the vaccine, MMR, doesn't mean that all children will. Jenny McCarthy has no right to say that her child was diagnosed with autism because of the vaccine. I'm actually taking a statistics class right now, and my professor says over and over again that you can't make any assumptions. Not only people, but the media will twist stories in the worst ways, just to make a popular story. I really think that parents should have their children vaccinated, so that the spread of measles will decrease again and so that people will start to have faith in science instead of their own beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it is ignorant, naive, and unsafe to not vaccinate your children. You are putting your children and other children at risk for easily preventable diseases. I think the reason that the number of cases of diseases which we once thought had been wiped out have gone up so high is the lax and skeptical attitude of many Americans. Unfortunately, so many people have put their trust into public icons like Jenny McCarthy (who has no scientific or factual evidence supporting her claims against vaccination) instead of actual physicians and scientists.
ReplyDeleteToo many parents today are receiving their "scientific proof" from unreliable sources, like personal stories and celebrity interviews, that have no actual data or evidence to back their claims. I think people are easily convinced of things when they feel empathetic or see passion from somebody strongly arguing their beliefs like in the Jenny McCarthy case; however, it is vital to weigh the pros and cons of vaccines from a strictly scientific view point. No one should be dying from a preventable disease; I do not think vaccines should be mandatory, simply because that would not go over well, but people really do need to better educate themselves before jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst about something that is truly beneficial. There is no proof that autism is caused from vaccines and with the recent outbreak of the Measles I would hope that more and more parents would chose to have their children vaccinated for the overall health of their communities.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the article that vaccinating your children is very important and should be done. I believe it is a selfish act to not vaccinate. I understand, that there are religious views to why people don’t vaccinate but what I don’t understand are those parents who believe the vaccination could cause something like Autism when there is no real evidence supporting that. All parents believe they know what is best for their children but when there is scientific evidence to disprove their claim to not vaccinate; those parents should know/realize they are not doing what is best for their children.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.today.com/health/my-son-has-autism-not-anti-vaccine-2D80475778
ReplyDeleteI came across this and found it an interesting read. It's also ironic that I found it after reading the article from the New York Times. It's about one mother's view on who's son who has autism and vaccinations.
After reading the article and watching the video I feel infuriated and disappointed in American culture because it just shows that many people are more interested in the opinions of celebrities and false data then they are in the scientifically sound research. As other people have said history has shown that since vaccines have been introduced the number of cases of diseases such as polio, measles etc. have almost disappeared. But now since parents are refusing to vaccinate the number of cases are now starting to skyrocket. Also like any type of medicine vaccines are not without their share of side effects, however this should not scare of weary parents as they need to realize that the good will outweigh the bad in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the main problem in this topic is communication. The general public is not educated enough in science to understand how doctors and researchers think and talk, and this leads to many misunderstandings and room for ignorant people to twist words around. Another problem is that there are times when things do coincide, such as a child getting vaccinated, and then being diagnosed with autism. Saying there is a connection between the two is just a futile attempt of parents trying to find something to blame for the tragic circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI agree in thinking that most people who don't get their kids vaccinated are doing so because they are extremely naive and lazy. It's easy to believe something you read on the Internet because many people have become so accustomed to not paying attention to who the source is. People make SO MANY claims and have so many controversial opinions on the Internet but that doesn't mean the reader should believe them all. I remember the first time I read an article claiming vaccinations were the cause of autism and they made it so convincing it almost had me sold. So I did some more reading on my own and realized there isn't really enough evidence to make that kind of claim. And now after watching this video and reading the article that confirms my realization even more. If I hadn't done the extra reading then I would also fall into the naive category of many parents not vaccinating their kids today. That's the problem, people are too lazy to go digging for real info. And unfortunately it only makes it worse that celebrities like Jenny McCarthy are endorsing not vaccinating..it's easy to not question someone whom you idolize as many do with celebrities these days.
ReplyDeletehttp://wkbn.com/2015/02/04/childhood-immunizations-down-by-11-percent-in-mahoning-county/
ReplyDeleteHere is an article that hits a little close to home..
I don't think I ever really put too much thought into whether or not vaccinations are necessary, but after viewing this article, I am definitely a strong believer in getting vaccinated! As far as the measles argument goes, it seems as though people are only hesitant due to the belief that the vaccination will cause autism. I think such a thing is a little extreme to assume considering the doctor who "discovered" this was completely discredited. I also think the whole Jenny McCarthy argument is just ridiculous and is the media's way of popularizing the subject and creating controversy. I do not think the view of a celebrity outweighs the actual evidence of a health professional. Not being vaccinated is the reason measles resurfaced in the first place. So not only will these vaccinations protect us from an outbreak, but can prevent an outbreak altogether.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I was actually shocked as to how many parents of the United States would place faith in celebrities and the media, when addressing the safety and well-being of their children. The media has contorted and twisted what the public believes. The whole controversy about the study linking vaccinations and autism was completely discredited. Vaccinations are meant to heal, and are based on facts of medicine from doctors and researchers that have put enormous amounts of time and effort into creating these vaccines for the good of the public. With the trend of refusal of vaccines, and the dramatic increase in cases of medical concerns such as the measles as discussed in the article, should be an indicative of a urgency to cease ostracizing children from a healthy, vaccinated group of people. Eventually, diseases that were properly handled through vaccines will resurface due to a ignorant mass of parents who blindly follow whatever they hear on the news from people who have not an inkling of the science behind vaccines, and not follow scientists with years of background in the field. The hostility stemming from invalid claims against vaccines must come to an end, or people will be placing innocent lives in danger: lives ranging from their own children or the plethora of people their children come into contact with.
ReplyDeleteAll of your comments were thoughtful and well done. Thanks for participating. I will post another topic soon for comment.
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