Antivaccination movement

News

• “Vaccines Work. These 8 Charts Prove It.” by Kiera Butler (Mother Jones; 2014.04.21) – http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/04/how-many-kids-die-vaccine-preventable-diseases
  • More kids die of vaccine-preventable diseases every year than the entire population of Philadelphia—but that’s a lot less than just 30 years ago.

  

• “My Interview With a Pediatrician Who Thinks Vaccines Are ”Messing With Nature”” (Mother Jones; 2014.03.30) – http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/pediatrician-believes-vaccines-are-messing-nature
  • Dr. Stacia Kenet Lansman (YouTube) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sktR7CrkOcI
• “Health conspiracy theories are popular” by Kim Painter (USA TODAY; 2014.03.19) – http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/19/health-conspiracy-theories/6602775/
• Nearly half of American adults believe the federal government, corporations or both are involved in at least one conspiracy to cover up health information … Conspiracy theories on everything from cancer cures to cellphones to vaccines are well known and accepted by sizable segments of the population … The findings reflect “a very low level of trust” in government and business, especially in pharmaceutical companies … They also reflect a human tendency to explain the unknown as the work of “malevolent forces,” …
• The online survey of 1,351 adults found:
  • 37% agree the Food and Drug Administration is keeping “natural cures for cancer and other diseases” away from the public because of “pressure from drug companies.”
  • 20% believe health officials are hiding evidence that cellphones cause cancer.
  • 20% believe doctors and health officials push child vaccines even though they “know these vaccines cause autism and other psychological disorders.”
  • Smaller numbers endorse theories involving fluoride, genetically modified foods and the deliberate infection of African Americans with HIV.
  • 49% believe at least one of the theories and 18% believe at least three.
• … similar numbers of people believe political conspiracy theories …
• Where do people get this stuff? When it comes to health, sources include friends and family, but also celebrity doctors online and on TV …
• Those who believe at least three health conspiracy theories are less likely to use sunscreen, get flu shots or get check-ups and are more likely to use herbal remedies and eat organic foods. … “people who embrace these conspiracies are very suspicious of traditional evidence-based medicine,” …
• “Philadelphia meningitis death tied to Princeton outbreak” by Ashley Hayes (CNN, 2014.03.18) – http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/health/drexel-meningitis-death/
• “Kristin Cavallari: ‘I’ve Read Too Many Books’ To Vaccinate My Child” by Joseph Erbentraut (The Huffington Post; 2014.03.14) – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/kristin-cavallari-vaccinations_n_4965047.html
• “Pro-vaccination efforts, debunking autism myths may be scaring wary parents from shots” by Thomas Kienzle (CBS News; 2014.03.03) – http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pro-vaccination-campaigns-debunking-myths-may-scaring-wary-parents/
• “How Many People Aren’t Vaccinating Their Kids in Your State?” by Tasneem Raja and Chris Mooney (Mother Jones; 2014.02.17) – http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/vaccine-exemptions-states-pertussis-map
  • In some places, dodging your children’s immunizations is as easy as checking a box.

  

• “How Vaccine Fears Fueled The Resurgence Of Preventable Diseases” by Michaeleen Doucleff (NPR; 2014.01.25) – http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01/25/265750719/how-vaccine-fears-fueled-the-resurgence-of-preventable-diseases

  

• “Map of the Day: The High Cost of Vaccine Hysteria” by Kevin Drum (Mother Jones; 2014.01.20) – http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/01/map-day-high-cost-vaccine-hysteria
  
• “If You Distrust Vaccines, You’re More Likely to Think NASA Faked the Moon Landings” (Mother Jones; 2013.10.02) by Chris Mooney – http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/10/vaccine-denial-conspiracy-theories-gmos-climate
  • A new study finds that conspiracy beliefs tie together those who deny climate change, refuse vaccines, and question GMOs.

  

• “The Real Reason Kids Aren’t Getting Vaccines” (Mother Jones; 2013.05.27) – http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/05/vaccines-whooping-cough
  • Forget Jenny McCarthy. This shot scandal is much scarier.
• “Adam Serwer on Bloggingheads.tv: Why the HPV Vaccine Debate Matters” (Mother Jones; 2011.09.19) – http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/bloggingheadstv-adam-serwer-daniel-foster-science
• “Vaccines and Ideology” by Kevin Drumm (Mother Jones; 2011.04.27) – http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/vaccines-and-ideology\
  • “More Polling Data On The Politics of Vaccine Resistance” (Discover; 2011.04.27) – ,a href=”http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/04/27/more-polling-data-on-the-politics-of-vaccine-resistance/”>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/04/27/more-polling-data-on-the-politics-of-vaccine-resistance/
• “Did the Anti-Vaccine Movement Help Create a Whooping Cough Epidemic?” by Suzy Khimm (Mother Jones; 2010.06.24) – http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/06/vaccines-california-whooping-cough-epidemic
• “Lancet Retracts 1998 Study Linking MMR to Autism” by Sonja Sharp (Mother Jones; 2010.02.02) – http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/02/lancet-retracts-1998-study-linking-mmr-autism
  • “The Lancet retracts study on MMR jab and autism” (YouTube; 2010.02.02) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx_0zDfl-CE
• “Breaking: Vaccines Still Don’t Cause Autism” by Sonja Sharp (Mother Jones; 2009.07.22) – http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/07/breaking-vaccines-still-dont-cause-autism-measles-still-causes-measles
  • If you don’t watch Oprah or read HuffPo, the theory goes like this. An ethylmercury-based preservative thimerosal (which was removed from all vaccines in the early 2000s) is retained by young children who then exhibit symptoms of mercury toxicity, the true cause of autism. Alternately, the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, when given in tandem as MMR (the only form of the vaccine currently available) overwhelms the systems of sensitive children, causing intestinal distress, which causes autism. Sound odd?
• “Vaccine Skeptics vs. Your Kids” by Arthur Allen (Mother Jones; 2008.09+10) – http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/vaccine-skeptics-vs-your-kids
  • Immune to reason, are vaccine deniers putting children at risk?

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Concequences

• Vaccine-Preventable Outbreaks (Interactive Map) – http://www.cfr.org/interactives/GH_Vaccine_Map/index.html#map

  

Autism vs MMR vaccination – a nonexisting link

• “Thimerosal in Vaccines Questions and Answers” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) – http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/vaccines/questionsaboutvaccines/ucm070430

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Related:

• “Denialism of science” – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/denialism-of-science/
• “Climate change – or not” – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/climate-change-or-not/
• “We don’t need stinking renewable energy …” – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/we-dont-need-stinking-renewable-energy/