For example: All you have to do is type the word "vaccination" into google search. There are no biased modifiers in there such as "vaccine bad side effects" that would push you towards one of these unsubstantiated websites. What you'll find (thankfully) is that at the very least the top three results are reasonable sources. However, without even scrolling down on the page you'll find this gem:
http://www.naturalnews.com/vaccination.html
Now, you will find laid before you, tons of loaded articles touting that the media are paid off by the CDC not to tell you about all the bad bad bad things scientists have been up to in making vaccines. I'm not kidding, open up a few of those bad boys.
The good news? If we can't argue with people about how the science is crap, I hope at least we can convince them to look more carefully at their sources. Here's a nice summary of things for them (and you) to consider when looking at anything you're not familiar with:
As a brief example, in an article on this website entitled (and don't you just love this) "How many of these vaccine facts do you know?", a list of statements are included from various "research" articles. First, you'll notice that most of those are actually news media articles, but more importantly, go ahead and pull up the abstracts for the actual journal articles. I think I found that nearly all of them were improperly interpreted, or the statement was taken out of context and ignored key parts of the study (such as, sample size of 4 children in the same family, etc).
Discussing this subject with people who are scared has been difficult for me, and I hope that if they follow these guidelines, perhaps they can convince themselves of the actual facts, much in the way that scientists do.
I too find myself struggling to explain these false ideas to my younger sister. I would first like to start with a little background so you understand where I coming from. My mother is a medical doctor and has always been good at explaining to my sisters and I how important vaccinations are. So when we were growing up we were very aware of the importance of vaccinations and how there are little bugs everywhere. Recently my sister had a child in which she refuses to vaccinate, he is over a year old and has not received a single vaccine. Her husband and his family are very against vaccinations among other things. They have convinced her that the government is not only responsible for HIV, but they also use vaccines to control population growth and that we have put secret ingredients in vaccines so we can test things secretly on humans, on top of the typical myths that people believe. She also believes that we hold the secret to cure cancer but won't let it out because we are too busy making too much money on cancer treatments instead. Since I do biomedical research, obviously she and I no longer see eye to eye on such subjects. I understand this is kind of extreme thinking and people are of course allowed to have their own opinions but this has been a very touchy subject for my mom and I to talk about with her. So in my efforts to convince her that she should at least think about getting my nephew vaccinated I went searching. And like you, I came across many of these websites claiming many things about vaccines without credibility or logic, at least in my opinion. I was very surprised how easy these websites were to find. But despite my efforts, my nephew remains unvaccinated and vulnerable. It is a struggle for both my mom and I, I'm not sure how we will convince her but I'm hoping that at some point something will click and she'll realize that many of these ideas may be a little extreme. I guess I liked how Dr. Cohen talked this subject in class - we now live a world where people don't remember these bugs and the severity of disease they cause and so people are no longer worried about catching them and thanks to vaccines incidence has decreased. But I really don't think people understand that there are microbes everywhere and they will do what they want to do if we allow them to. I hoping one day these websites will be harder to find or sadly maybe something needs to happen where people realize why we started to make vaccines in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange to me how their are still views against vaccinations. However, there are individuals who are titillated by conspiracy no matter the subject. Thus why our televisions are saturated by reality shows of the lost Sasquatch and doomsday preppers. Luckily we do not see any mainstream content that helps further the negativity around vaccinations. I followed your instructions and googled "vaccination" and was pleasantly surprise that at least the top four are somewhat unbiased. But it is unfortunate that there are any influencing opinions on the web or otherwise that do not articulate fact along with subjective point of view, especially around a subject so crucial to the health of society as a whole. I have always had my own conspiracy theory that nuclear weapons is not what will create the massive destruction but rather biological warfare which leads to flesh eating zombies. I am of course exaggerating but none the less, viruses, bacteria, infections and diseases have outlived most and hopefully the health care industry can continue to make strides with engaging the public in just as interesting fashion as a special on the truth about mermaids.
ReplyDeleteIt is not only on the internet that people get their misinformation. My mother once worked for a chiropractor who had BOOKS about how vaccines are bad for kids, and had them free for reading in his waiting room. This chiropractor would also talk about vaccinations with patients, urging them not to have their friends or kids vaccinated. My mother and him got into so many arguments about it that she eventually quit! But people can sometimes latch on to certain things...
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