Bad Science
Don't know if you heard about this but there was a doctor that published research that linked autism to measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. Something about trace amounts of mercury or some such nonsense. Well this physician has been totally debunked, defrocked, and now people want his head for defauding people. (Here's a link to the story)
I've come to realize that too many people hear a story and then take it as gospel without doing more research or getting more facts. I saw a story on TV where one family didn't vaccinate their kid and he ended up in the hospital, all due to the fear cause by this very bad science.
However, the worst part was some woman still defending the study. She claimed it "saved her family!" And just how did it save her family? She didn't say, but I'm guessing her reasoning is that she didn't get her kids vaccinated and they were not diagnosed with autism. Right?
NOOOOOOO!
It does NOT follow that just because you didn't get your kid vaccinated and they didn't develop ANY given condition that the vaccine causes that condition! There are too many variables involved! That's like saying I wore my helmet riding and I didn't get hit by a car therefore wearing helmets prevents you from getting run over. Never mind that the reason I didn't get run over might have something to do with the Screaming Yellow jacket I'm wearing, the fact I use a mirror on my bike, that I only ride in daylight, or just that I was damn lucky.
To make it even more personal, both my kids got vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella. One was diagnosed on the autism spectrum and the other wasn't. So did the vaccine cause autism or not? People can be really stupid.
I've come to realize that too many people hear a story and then take it as gospel without doing more research or getting more facts. I saw a story on TV where one family didn't vaccinate their kid and he ended up in the hospital, all due to the fear cause by this very bad science.
However, the worst part was some woman still defending the study. She claimed it "saved her family!" And just how did it save her family? She didn't say, but I'm guessing her reasoning is that she didn't get her kids vaccinated and they were not diagnosed with autism. Right?
NOOOOOOO!
It does NOT follow that just because you didn't get your kid vaccinated and they didn't develop ANY given condition that the vaccine causes that condition! There are too many variables involved! That's like saying I wore my helmet riding and I didn't get hit by a car therefore wearing helmets prevents you from getting run over. Never mind that the reason I didn't get run over might have something to do with the Screaming Yellow jacket I'm wearing, the fact I use a mirror on my bike, that I only ride in daylight, or just that I was damn lucky.
To make it even more personal, both my kids got vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella. One was diagnosed on the autism spectrum and the other wasn't. So did the vaccine cause autism or not? People can be really stupid.
Comments
I spoke with my doctor about my concerns and to her credit she didn't laugh in my face. She said if we chose not to have him vaccinated she would be more concerned about him contracting the diseases that the vaccinations prevented more than she would worry about autism.
She also said it certainly hadn't been proven that there was causation. She said 24 month vaccination happened to be around the same time when the kids were old enough to be diagnosed with autism.
This is a great piece of writing that people need to be aware of.
People can be really stupid.
How true...I like to pretend I'm not most of the time!