abendgules: (fierce)
[personal profile] abendgules
in cartoon format - to mark the day Andrew Wakefield is struck off the register in the UK.

ETA: some commentary about framing the argument - eventually, it's not about who has the most science on their side - it's about how parents *feel* about deciding to vaccinate or not.

Date: 2010-05-24 11:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] armillary.livejournal.com
Already seen it, but huzzah anyway. Dying from measles is so 20th century.

(jabbed by MMR and only mildly autistic... or was that excentric?)

Date: 2010-05-24 12:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amykb.livejournal.com
LOVE the comic!

I hate the fact that the anti-vaccine people think they have the right to endanger the community and to push their false beliefs on other people. They seem to have forgotten that measles can kill and mumps can cause sterility--and even if they don't (and I am old enough to have had the both before there was a vaccine), measles are miserable, and so are mumps! I wouldn't wish that on any child.

The fact is, these people endanger my life. I do not have an immunity--I have had measles 3 times. For some reason, my system will not develop an immunity. I can't even count the number of times I have had rubella. I lived in fear through both of my pregnancies, because those diseases can cause serious birth defects if the mother contracts them.

Date: 2010-05-24 02:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] armillary.livejournal.com
There are also those people who can't receive vaccinations for medical reasons - allergies and reduced immune system efficiency come to mind. Their protection against diseases relies on everyone else getting their shots.

Date: 2010-05-24 07:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elfie-chan.livejournal.com
This is why anti-vaccine propaganda makes me furious. Not only are those who do not vaccinate putting their own children at risk, they're putting other people, people who have no choice in the matter, at risk.

And it's based on faulty research! I'm glad he's been struck off. Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot of time to reverse the effects, if they are ever completely reversed.

Date: 2010-05-24 02:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ethnowoman.livejournal.com
The controversy is certainly alive in North America in the sense that lots of my parenting books mention it ("There is no proven link between the MMR vaccine and autism")

Even if there had been a teeny tiny link between the two I would probably have still had Bug vaccinated because my own father was an anti-vaccine crackpot and I almost died from preventable disease when I was a toddler.

It's a good cartoon. It's odd that the medical community waited ten years to check his ethics procedures, especially considering the PR around the issue.

The cartoon mentions that celebrities who endorsed this "research" contributed to the rise of MMR. To me that's like basic Darwinism... if a person chooses their medical advice based on a person's acting ability (and presumably makes other dumb decisions) then their family trees will eventually just die out. The right to be dumb is everyone's basic right as a human being.

Date: 2010-05-25 10:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bend-gules.livejournal.com
Limiting your own life is one thing - imposing that limit on your kids, and their entire kindergarten class by lowering the herd immunity is another.

Unfortunately, we as readers are ready to believe conspiracy theories (MDs are in Big Pharma's pocket/ 'they' don't want you to know the truth, etc) in part because sometimes there *are* coverups in the pharma industry, and/or tragic mistakes (like thalidomide).

And sometimes medics don't help themselves by relying on scientific arguments, when what parents want is reassurance.

And we love to support the underdog and the martyr, which is how Wakefield is viewed by his supporters.

Worse, this appeals to some parents' sense of 'health rights' - that they're making healthy choices for their families. The fact that they expose their kids to more 'toxins' by driving a car than in having vaccines is ignored.

If only the medical PR could turn it around, and make *getting* vaccines as the healthy choice you're making for your family, then they'd be onto a winner.

Date: 2010-05-26 02:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dubhease.livejournal.com
Wow. Hard to believe it all started with this one guy. I'm glad he's not allowed to practice any more.

My best friend has a masters in microbiology. She had it out with her chiropractor a few years back when the chiropractor tried to give her the anti-vaccine stuff she was giving to all her clients. Seriously? Being a chiropractor qualifies you to advise people about immunology because ...?

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