Two books tell the story of the panic over vaccines.
By PETER BEARMAN
Do vaccines cause autism or other neuro-developmental disorders? Scientists know that vaccines don't, but the idea lingers everywhere -- on talk shows and blogs and in conversations between parents and their child's pediatrician. It lingers because many people in this country and elsewhere think that vaccines just might not be good for us.
In two books that tell the story of the panic over vaccines, Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Seth Mnookin, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, argue that bad people pursuing careers or fame or ratings or God knows what became purveyors of falsehoods that duped otherwise decent people into thinking vaccines could harm their children. That duplicity has led parents to make bad decisions -- not to vaccinate their children or to vaccinate them on a non-recommended schedule -- which turn out to be potentially deadly not just for their own children but for others.
Showing posts with label Anti-Vaccine Movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anti-Vaccine Movement. Show all posts
A case against vaccinations - The Herald Journal: Opinion
To the editor:
The premise behind vaccination is that advance exposure to a disease prepares the body with a load of antibodies that will prevent the attacking disease germs from taking hold. However, there are problems associated with this protocol.
The premise behind vaccination is that advance exposure to a disease prepares the body with a load of antibodies that will prevent the attacking disease germs from taking hold. However, there are problems associated with this protocol.
The Roots of the Vaccine Panic
Two books tell the story of the panic over vaccines.
PETER BEARMAN | March 16, 2011
Do vaccines cause autism or other neuro-developmental disorders? Scientists know that vaccines don't, but the idea lingers everywhere -- on talk shows and blogs and in conversations between parents and their child's pediatrician. It lingers because many people in this country and elsewhere think that vaccines just might not be good for us.
Two books tell the story of the panic over vaccines.
PETER BEARMAN | March 16, 2011
Do vaccines cause autism or other neuro-developmental disorders? Scientists know that vaccines don't, but the idea lingers everywhere -- on talk shows and blogs and in conversations between parents and their child's pediatrician. It lingers because many people in this country and elsewhere think that vaccines just might not be good for us.
Author spotlights vaccine safety
By Mark Lardas
Correspondent
Published March 20, 2011
“Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All,” by Paul A. Offit, Basic Books,
A man took his infant son in for a vaccination. That night, the child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Could the shot have caused his son’s death?
In this case, it did not. When the man got to the doctor’s office, the line was too long. He took his son home without getting vaccinated, intending to return the next day. But suppose he had waited? Forever after he would have wondered if maybe — just maybe — that shot had been responsible.
“Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All,” by Paul A. Offit, uses this story to illustrate the difficulties of assigning responsibility for problems caused by, or assumed to have been caused by, vaccines.
Correspondent
Published March 20, 2011
“Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All,” by Paul A. Offit, Basic Books,
A man took his infant son in for a vaccination. That night, the child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Could the shot have caused his son’s death?
In this case, it did not. When the man got to the doctor’s office, the line was too long. He took his son home without getting vaccinated, intending to return the next day. But suppose he had waited? Forever after he would have wondered if maybe — just maybe — that shot had been responsible.
“Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All,” by Paul A. Offit, uses this story to illustrate the difficulties of assigning responsibility for problems caused by, or assumed to have been caused by, vaccines.
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