| Science, it is not just for breakfast anymore. |
[Jun. 5th, 2011|09:46 am] |
(I started writing this the other night, right before my cat decided to try to die for no apparent reason. It has been patiently awaiting my attention in my client ever since. I am going to try to finish it now.)
Most of us are familiar with the Wikipedia Chaos Vortex which can cause us to lose hours of our lives; that link-clicking orgy which can begin with a simple search to check the date the Golden Gate Bridge was completed and lead to taking a wrong turn at the breed standard for toy poodles, only to leave us adrift in a sea of cross-dressing Nazis. It happens.
The thing is, I navigate the Watch Instantly selections on Netflix under a very similar principle. Especially documentaries.
As you can imagine, this leads to some somewhat random viewing selections.
I should mention, as well, that the Wikipedia and Netflix phenomena are, for me, tied in together. This is an affect of watching my Netflix on the Wii and being in possession of a laptop. James is getting quite used to me watching something and then disappearing into a whirlwind of Googling (which involves stopping by Wikipedia, generally to glance-and-grab names and such I need to refine my research elsewhere), eventually emerging to locate something else - possible related to the original search, possibly not - on Netflix. Sometimes, he even managed to keep up... or do a really good job of faking it.
Last night's selections included a typically assorted mix, until I eventually stumbled over something having to do with Vaccines. This reminded me that this particular subject is actually on the list of Things That Really Bother Me.
I do realize that there are a lot of people who might be surprised by my stance on this, and for the most part I do tend to keep it to myself. I know a lot of my friends are against vaccinating, and for the most part I just stay out of those discussions. I have also been slowly weighing and testing my own opinions about it, as to be sure of my conclusions.
My default stance on many things is pro-personal-choice, even if it is not what I would choose. In most things, I will defend vehemently someone's right to be wrong, just as I defend my right to tell them I believe they are wrong. I am also known for believing some "non mainstream" ideas, and it is no secret that I do not think that medical science is infallible or that it should not be questioned vigorously. Critical Thinking is Good. If someone's personal beliefs and choices do not affect me, those close to me, or society as a whole, then I think their business is just that: their business.
And therein lies the problem I have been having with this whole vaccination issue: It does affect all of us.
One of the reasons it has been on my list of Things I Have Been Thinking About, as Something That Bothers Me, is that I have been coming across more and more articles talking about the rise in incidences of vaccine-preventable diseases. There have been increasing outbreaks in first world countries. Now, given my concerns about certain possibly apocalyptic outbreaks of theoretical diseases, I kinda pay attention to things like "How The CDC deals with Disease Occurrence". And... to be honest... whatever else you think about the CDC, they are anal retentive like whoa. All of the major vaccine-preventable diseases are on their mandatory reporting list, and they do track these things, as well as following up and reporting in an active effort to contain it. However, it is still happening more and more.
The main issue, of course, is that it has become trendy to not just question medical advice, but to outright reject it, without a balanced application of critical thinking. There is also a largely selfish approach which comes, really, not from any lack of caring... but from a lack of understanding and a whole lot of misinformation. A lot of decisions are being made based on the ideas that A) the decision not to vaccinate one's child does not affect anyone else, because they can just make sure their child is vaccinated (and therefor "immune") and B.) that the risks are not that big a deal because we're talking about simple childhood diseases that aren't that worrisome to start with.
The problem is that neither of these things are actually true.
I have done the research. As a parent, I have looked into all of the concerns. I looked at the risks, the dangers, all of the scary stuff people were worried about... and all I found was science that refuted it and no science that supported any of those concerns. And you know... while I am all about the fact that medical professionals are often wrong, I am really big on science. Science is good. So... one of my questions is this: What the Hell is everyone else basing their decisions on? I mean that sincerely. What have I missed?
Because all I can find is a lot of misunderstanding about the way immunizations work, the way the immune systems work, the way "herd immunity" works and how it affects a population. There is also a scary lack of understanding of the diseases that vaccinations protect against and what their actual affects and risks are... and why finding vaccines for them was considered so important and such a triumph. Anyone who thinks that things like measles are not a big deal did not spend enough time hanging out with and talking to old people, hearing just how big a deal they were and just what awful problems they could cause. Most people don't even know what some things, like Hib, even *are*, much less why they might be a concern. Ironically, this entire lack of understanding and sense of safety against these things only exists because most people have chosen to vaccinate, but that safe bubble that those not vaccinating take for granted is now in danger... because more and more people are feeling complacent enough to not vaccinate.
Why does this bother me, personally? Well... I am immuno-suppressed. I have a school age daughter. With more people putting their unvaccinated/under-vaccinated children in school or other group activities (and so forth), *I* can actually be in danger of these diseases, regardless of the fact that I am probably the most vaccinated person ever in the history of forever. (Odd story... for some reason they lost my shot records - ALL of them - several years in a row when I was a child. The solution was to revaccinate me every year before school started, since that documentation was required. Funny thing... it didn't kill me. None of my health issues have anything to do with those shots. And I'm not even mildly autistic, I can assure you.)
Because I was immuno-suppressed, my daughter is actually one of the few children who *had* to get an alternative schedule to her shots, since I was primary care provider and exposing me could be an issue. This means that until she was caught up, she was among the higher-risk group at a young and vulnerable age. There are a lot of children and adults out there with immune system issues - whether naturally or because of medical treatments/medications/whatever. Also... nothing works 100%. It was never supposed to have to, since the idea is to strengthen the *whole*.
(Oh... also... I'm pretty sure most adults have no idea that they are supposed to get boosters for certain things, and that not getting them puts them at risk for things that can make them sick but put small children and infants at risk for much more severe and possibly deadly infections. Just sayin'.)
So... yeah. I don't get it. I would love for someone to share any actual facts and sources they have. I mean that. I would love to understand where this is all coming from, since it is, really, making the world a scarier place for all of us. |
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