A recent outbreak of measles has many worried. We thought the disease was essentially gone; but it is making a fast comeback, with over 600 cases in the U.S. in the last year. So why are so many choosing not to vaccinate their children? People are led to be afraid of vaccines. In a video on the New York Times website, they beg the question: how did we get to a point where personal beliefs can triumph over science?
Some believe that vaccines cause autism, a claim that actress Jenny McCarthy has been a part of making popular. She claims her son became autistic as a result of the vaccination. Her proof, her “science” as she says in an interview with Oprah, is her son. But we can’t take these stories and accept them as scientific proof. And we tend to do this a lot when we’re talking about celebrities.
There is also the issue of the way the science community is communicating. Seth Mnookin, teacher at MIT and author of “The Panic Virus,” says,“there’s the language of science, and then there’s English.” In the language of science, phrases like “to the best of our knowledge” must be used when presenting their conclusions, but people have trouble accepting these phrases, since they are not definite. We need to become better at listening to the science community and not taking everything they say and spinning it off as a news story.
About 94% of the population must be vaccinated in order to keep measles from spreading. We need to keep in mind the affects disease has when it spreads. Though some think it is a personal choice not to vaccinate their child, they really are in danger of harming the larger population by allowing it to be spread.
I think it is very interesting that you included the part about the celebrity. Many people read about these people, so when they say something of importance, it is not uncommon for eeryone to believe them. I also think that the idea of giving your child autism is more frightening than the possibility of getting the actual sickness, so many people are choosing to take the risk. However, I agree that by doing this the public is also taking the risk of aiding in the spread of the disease. I think that everyone needs to trust the studies that falsify that the vaccine leads to autism because it can help in the long run.
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