Dear Anti-Vaccine Concern Troll

I left a version of this comment on TPGA Facebook. But it bears repeating. Because there are still too many people who do not consider themselves "anti-vaccine" yet argue that vaccine risks are too high. Here's why they're wrong. Dangerously, badly wrong.

Dear Anti-Vaccine Concern Troll,

By attempting to distance yourself from "anti-vaccine militants" you are Concern Trolling whether you are aware of it or not. Here's what's what:

1) Vaccines save lives. 

2) Most parents are not old enough to remember all the sickness and death that vaccines prevent, therefore anti-vaccine agitators take vaccines for granted and feel free to rail against them. 

3) There are rare cases (due to allergies, specific immunodeficiencies) where people cannot be vaccinated, but they are (again) rare and the rest of us need to stay vaccinated to keep those folks (and babies too young to be vaccinated) healthy.

4) Vaccine reactions are real but extremely rare and do not include autism (autism is genetic & by the way: stop demonizing Autistic people like my son). Consider: you could use a risks/benefits analysis to argue against people riding in cars, but with cars the risks are statistically much more outsize, and few stop riding in cars even though we're aware of the risks because we value the benefits too much. Which is how it should be with vaccines! However (again) vaccine benefits have become nearly theoretical, in the US at least.

5)  Now vaccine-preventable diseases are resurfacing and people are getting sick and dying, in part due to well-meaning but dangerously misguided people like you. So, no. Again, no. 

If you need a longer and more in-depth debunking of anti-vaccine blather, here's the best summary I've read of late: Dr. Rachael Dunlop's Six things to say when you're faced with anti-vaccination rhetoric. Share it with gusto:

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/anti-vaccination-rhetoric-what-to-say/

And who can resist Buffy reminding us that vaccines are not just for kids -- adults need to stay up on their tetanus, diphtheria, & pertussis (tdap) boosters to protect babies in their families & social circles:  

And to close, please note Seth Mnookin's caution about vaccines and social responsibility, in the Boston Globe:

"...parents who don’t vaccinate their children tell you they’re making a purely personal choice. This is, of course, technically true, in the same sense that driving after having a few beers is a personal choice. As the mother of the 10-month-old hospitalized [with measles] in San Diego said, if people want to make that choice, they should go live on an island with its own schools and doctors: 'Their own little infectious disease island.'"

If you want all of our kids to stay healthy and safe, do what you can to counter anti-vaccine concern trolls.

Sid the Science Kid: A Vaccine Hero

I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw Kim Stagliano's latest opinion-unsupported-by-evidence essay about "vaccine safety" on HuffPo, because the object of her disapproval is Sid the Science Kid and his 2009 episode Getting a Shot: You Can Do It! Here is what Ms. Stagliano had to say:

"The vaccine safety community doesn't have big gun PR firms to coax the media into doing our bidding. There's no government support via PBS programs like New Sid the Science Kid Flu Vaccination Special Episode Now Available for Free Download on Flu.gov, enticing kids to get vaccines as if you're selling breakfast cereal."

Here's what the episode is actually about:

"In this special episode, Sid explains how vaccines work and shows millions of children what they can do to prevent the spread of the flu," said [Health and Human Services] Secretary Sebelius. "Sid will be a great messenger as we continue to find new and creative ways to reach out to children, adults, and families about how to stay healthy during flu season."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research worked with the Henson Company and its partners to create a special episode of which premiered on PBS on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, with subsequent airings on Nov. 19, Nov. 27, and Dec. 21.

It's been a vaccine-y week here -- the comments at my Shot of Prevention: Why My Child With Autism Is Fully Vaccinated post have been closed at 583, as we kept getting the same two people sputtering at us, with the same tired, outdated misinformation. I'd like to again thank Amy & Christine from ECBT.org for republishing the post, and Liz, Emily, Chris, Tom, SJ, Ellen, Dee, Jen, Kev, Squillo, and everyone else who calmly jumped in with the evidence. If you have the time, the comments are a good read -- and would make an excellent study piece for anyone interested in how conspiracy theory proponents think.

Also, BlogHer syndicated my recent pertussis post, which the editors retitled The Pertussis Epidemic and The Anti-Vaccine Movement. The comment stream there is good reading too, because it contains fresh voices from parents both within and outside the autism community who are vehemently pro-vaccine -- because they are pro-healthy, protected, non-critically-ill children.

I'm going to be chuckling about the Sid-pummeling all week long -- it's almost as awesome as Jerry Falwell railing against Tinky Winky the Teletubby for promoting the homosexual agenda. Almost.

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Full disclosure: Leo's godmother developed and executive produces Sid (and the also-controversial Dinosaur Train). But we didn't know about the Flu episode until it had already been produced.