Monday, November 5, 2018

Why We Might Be Approaching Discussions with Anti-Vaxxers Wrong

  Since the mid-90's with the MMR hypothesis, there has been a debate around the idea that vaccines cause autism. ("Do Vaccines Cause Autism?"). This has lead to a lot of debate around the world. Which is correct -- are we really putting our kids at risk by getting them vaccinated? Independent of evidence to the contrary, people want to desperately cling to the things they believe -- whichever side of this issue they are on. That idea is called confirmation bias.
Despite how much we've been hearing about and from anti-vaxxers, they still remain a minority in the population. ("The Tyranny of the Anti-Vaxxers"). What if we, as the majority, have been approaching conversations around this issue all wrong? Due to confirmation bias, anti-vaxxers aren't likely to change their beliefs any time soon. These are the issues that "The Tyranny of the Anti-Vaxxers" approaches, through the lens of the Italian Parliament. The Italian Parliament recently removed the requirement that parents need to vaccinate their school-aged children in order to attend school. ("The Tyranny of the Anti-Vaxxers").

Where do these beliefs about vaccines and autism, and the actions they inspire, as in the case of Italy's Parliament, come from? A study was published in The Lancet that looked specifically at the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine. It followed some observations that some children that were given the vaccine later were also diagnosed with autism. It turns out that this study was widely flawed: it contained a very small sample size, was funded by sources that motivated the scientists, via large sums of money to give dishonest results, and has been widely replicated since to show universally that the findings were false. ("Do Vaccines Cause Autism?")

Vaccines also can't make you sick. Some claim that they have become sick because of a vaccine. While you may have been sick before, and only began showing symptoms after a vaccine has been given, the vaccine itself cannot make you sick. This comes down to how vaccines are designed. The viruses or bacteria used are genetically modified to impair their ability to make you sick -- unlike if
you were to encounter the same virus outside of the administration of a vaccine. Wild versions of the same virus aren't genetically modified in the same sorts of ways.

All of this to say, whether in the placebo effect, or in the vaccine debate, beliefs are powerful forces. They often effect the ways we perceive the world around us, as is the case here.

Do Vaccines Cause Autism? (n.d.). Retrieved from           https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/do-vaccines-cause-autism

The Tyranny of the Anti-Vaxxers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/09/11/tyranny-anti-vaxxers-13296

Posted by "Chandler Kupris" (3)

9 comments:

  1. This topic has received media attention sporadically throughout the years, with one person passionately believing that viruses do cause autism and a whole craze forms around it. It's incredible how quickly inaccurate topics can get so much attention. I myself didn't know about the genetic variation placed upon viral vaccines and that information is very helpful. I think the main thing is that people don't understand everything that goes into something like a vaccine and that unknown scares people and leads to falsified information to be passed easily since people don't have enough information themselves.

    -Maddie Powers

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    1. Yeah Maddie I think there's a lot of truth to that. The unknown does scare a lot of people, for sure. I think as scientists, we can use what we know to help educate people so that stuff like this is known to them. I think we have a responsibility there as far as this stuff is concerned.

      Posted by "Chandler Kupris"

      Delete
  2. I think that this is an extremely important topic to discuss and further explain! Many people still believe that vaccinating your children correlates with your child having autism and there have been studies to prove this incorrect but people still continue to not vaccinate their kids for this very reason. It is crazy to think that people are so scared of their children having autism that they will expose them to viruses that could be deadly. More people need to be educated about the benefits and consequences of vaccinating and not vaccinating your children.

    Posted by: Katarzyna Mosio

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I think that's where we can come in, as people that are educated in science. I think it would be great to really use what we know, and use this as an opportunity to teach people that might not have the background we do. It can be easy when you don't have a science education to just believe whatever you hear, or whatever sounds right. I think we can do a lot to help that not happen.

      Posted by "Chandler Kupris"

      Delete
  3. I have always wondered where this idea originated from and knowing it makes the situation even worse. A scientist who decided to manipulate the results of a study all for some money. The exact opposite of what a scientist should be doing, but he was clearly in the wrong field if he cared more about money than facts. Unfortunately, money seems to be a common theme when it comes to fake news.

    -Matt Murdoch
    -

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    1. Yeah, unfortunately this kind of thing is too common. Hopefully, spreading the truth, and helping people to see the effects that spreading these kinds of damaging lies can have, will help prevent this kind of thing from happening again.

      Posted by "Chandler Kupris"

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