The Great Vaccine Scare Epidemic

Let's face it, we are all afraid. And the media feeds on our fears by constantly suggesting new things to fear -- food, water, air, toys, etc.

Although the media's obsession with things to fear may be a topic for a future post, the topic of this post is the unwarranted fear of childhood vaccines.

A recent article in the L.A. TImes, "California schools' risks rise as vaccinations drop," reported that more and more parents of children in affluent areas of California are choosing not to vaccinate or to to selectively vaccinate their children.

The problem, of course, is not just that the unvaccinated children may contract serious childhood diseases (e.g., measles, mumps, rubella) that have been for the most part eradicated in this country, but that if unvaccinated children contract a childhood disease, they may pass it on to other unvaccinated people, including infants before their scheduled vaccinations and pregnant women.

Why are these parents choosing not to vaccinate their children and, therefore putting other children and adults at risk?

Who better to ask then those eminent scientists, former Playboy Bunny and "actress" Jenny McCarthy and actor Jim Carrey.

According to these two public intellectuals, and contrary to every scientific study so far, autism is caused by vaccines. They have even founded an organization to promote their agenda, called Generation Rescue. And Jenny McCarthy has been on Larry King Live (with Jim Carrey) several times spouting her bizarre theories and, of course, hawking her books. She claims that she made a pact with God that if he (God) cured her son, she would crusade to help other parents.

Jenny McCarthy also claims, with no scientific support, that children diagnosed with autism can recover from their autism. Even though her own son apparently received ABA treatment, she claims that he was recovered through biomedical treatments, in particular, chelation. Gee, I guess the ABA was irrelevant. And if you don't believe Jenny or Jim, there are numerous testimonials on their website from parents. Who better than parents to determine what causes autism or what treatments are effective. After all, don't we look to parents of kids with cancer for the most effective treatments?

So, where do Jenny and Jim and other parents get their phobia of vaccinations?

From that famous scientist, Andrew Wakefield, the researcher who first claimed in a Lancet article that there was a causal link between the MMR vaccine and intestinal disorders that led to autism. In 2004, however, all of the authors of that study and the Lancet itself retracted their claim.

But it was too late; the damage had been done. Measles had once again reached epidemic proportions in Great Britain because parents were refusing to vaccinate their children, and with the assistance of other celebrities (e.g., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who believes there is a cover-up at the highest levels of the government and health agencies), the great vaccine scare epidemic reached the shores of the U.S.

Now we see that mostly affluent parents are not vaccinating their kids and the result will likely be a resurgence in childhood diseases. Ironic, isn't it, that the most affluent, and presumably, most educated people have been so easily persuaded to believe in something that has no scientific support. And, irony of all ironies, their children may be some of the ones who suffer most.

Of course, it is sad that their irrational decisions may result in great harm to other children, in particular those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or to pregnant women who, if they contract rubella, can pass it on to their fetuses causing brain damage or death.

This new age, in which otherwise intelligent people question the basic scientific methods that have reduced so much human suffering in the world, or the motives of scientists or public health officials, resembles the early middle ages more than the age of enlightenment.

So much the worse for these unenlightened people and for the rest of us.