A Wired Cover Story That Jenny McCarthy Won’t Like
With all the concern about swine flu, not to mention the regular flu (hey, remember that?), conversation about the potential dangers of vaccinating our children is bubbling up again.
Jeanne posted an item earlier this week, pegged to a story on Slate, about how non-vaccinated children can have a potentially negative impact on children whose immune systems are compromised by leukemia or other conditions. Shelley Abreu also wrote this piece right here on Babble about why parents should not be afraid to get their children an H1N1 flu vaccine.
But one of the most candid, no b.s. media reports on the anti-vaccination movement has to be the cover story of November’s Wired magazine. Let’s put it this way: when Jenny McCarthy reads it, she will not be pleased.
The story — entitled “An Epidemic of Fear” — very clearly states that vaccines do not cause autism, a fact that is at odds with the messages that come from McCarthy, her organization, Generation Rescue, and similar organizations, like Austism One.
To break it down further, writer Amy Wallace clearly states that there is no scientific evidence of a cause-effect link between vaccines and autism. She also notes that the idea that vaccines are no longer necessary is a falsehood; in fact, they only seem unnecessary because they’ve succeeded so well at eradicating disease. And she points out that, while allergic reactions to vaccines do happen, they are so rare that they are statistically insignificant.
One of the sidebars that accompanies the story even goes so far as to identify “the misinformants,” the well-known people who have crusaded against vaccinations and, in Wallace’s estimation, planted seeds of doubt where they don’t belong. Among those misinformants? McCarthy beau Jim Carrey, Joe Scarborough, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and, yes, McCarthy.
The piece makes some very convincing arguments and is worth a read. I’m particularly curious to hear how people who consider themselves “anti-vaccine” react to this story. Did reading it change your mind, or do you think the Wired article doesn’t present a full enough picture of the issue?
Image: Wired magazine
Related Posts:
Related Posts:- Issues! What You Know About Jenny McCarthy and Autism is Wrong
- Dateline Takes on Autism and Vaccines
- Parents Claim a Cure for Third of Autism Cases
- The Herd Immunity is for Him
- What Happened to the Lunch Box?
Tags: autism, autism and vaccines, Autism One, flu vaccine, Generation Rescue, h1n1 vaccine, h1n1 virus, Jen Chaney, Jenny McCarthy, swine flu vaccine, vaccinations, vaccine
14 Comments
[...] to his practice. She has a child with autism, so she has chosen to follow the (disproven) logic that the vaccines were the source. She’s opting out on vaccinating her second [...]
Docs Fire Parents Who Won’t Vaccinate | Strollerderby commented on Oct 25 09 at 3:47 pmGGsmama commented on Oct 24 09 at 5:57 pmI am completely befuddled as to why anyone thinks Jenny McCarthy is an expert on anything medical.
Dr. Offit, however, kudos to him- being an immigrant from a country whose children still get polio (!) I can appreciate his work and the urgency to safeguard the masses.
Ali commented on Oct 25 09 at 1:25 amWho to believe? Hmm, a hooker who slept her way into showbiz, had a kid misdiagnosed with autism and is now sleeping with an actor. Or the hundreds of doctors and scientists who developed and studied vaccines.
Lisa commented on Oct 25 09 at 11:54 amThe doctor who made the initial link between vaccinations and autism was determined to have faked the data.
It’s all a hoax.
GP commented on Oct 25 09 at 4:19 pmThis is the bit from the Wired article that really hit me, talking about a Dutch study that demonstrated “the risk of contracting [a] disease was lower if you were completely unvaccinated and living in a highly vaccinated community than if you were completely vaccinated and living in a relatively unvaccinated community.” And as Wired explained, “Because vaccines don’t always take. What does that mean? You can’t minimize your individual risk unless your herd, your friends and neighbors, also buy in.”
People who don’t vaccinate their kids are both selfish and stupid.
Laure68 commented on Oct 25 09 at 8:07 pmI agree with all the comments. Like GP said, parents who don’t get their kids vaccinated are selfish and stupid. I used to try and not say such harsh words, but at this point I am fed up. This is why vaccination needs to be mandatory. People can be swayed so easily, thinking they are rebelling against “authority”, while they are really blindly following a bunch of wackos who use smoke and mirrors to convince people, since there are no logical reasons to refuse vaccination.
Rosana commented on Oct 26 09 at 10:14 amI do not care what un-vax parents have to say. They have the right to not vaccinate their kids and I have the same right to vaccinate my kids and since I feel they are more safe been vaccinated, that is what I am going to do. So the the hell with you.
GP commented on Oct 26 09 at 11:27 amYeah, but the problem with the “live and let live” with this is that those who don’t vax increase everybody’s risk.
Rosana commented on Oct 26 09 at 11:57 amWe can only hope they can understand that. Hopefully Kim Kardashian will be pro-vaccination (after she has her first baby) and we can send against Jenny McCarthy to send this message out because I do not know what else needs to be said for them to understand that.
Knitty commented on Oct 26 09 at 3:46 pmI don’t think parents should have the “right” to not vaccinate their children because their stupid decision endangers ALL of our children. Unfortunately there’s going to be a lot of needless deaths before vaccination becomes mandatory.
mommiedear commented on Oct 26 09 at 4:50 pmI think it is scary to suppose that vaccines cause autism or early death or any of it! But only time and case studies can prove it one way or the other. Sadly I don’t want my chidl to be a case study. On http://www.truuconfessions.com moms will have varied opinions about it.
Robyn commented on Oct 27 09 at 12:10 amI don’t think it matters whether vaccines cause autism. They’re still not safe, as they include aluminum, formaldehyde, and all sorts of other chemicals that I don’t want near my child, let alone in him. It aggravates me when the focus is on autism. I’m more concerned about asthma, diabetes, ADHD, allergies, and the numerous other issues that have continued to increase as vaccines increase.
I can’t give an infant milk, nuts, eggs, or berries, but I can inject him with aluminum, phenoxyethanol, bacteria, viruses, and tons of adjuvants? Right.
The government shouldn’t be making medical decisions. Parents should be doing so with their health practitioners. No one would advocate that all medications are good for all people. Nor are all vaccines good for all people.
Laure68 commented on Oct 27 09 at 12:43 amugh, I know I shouldn’t take the bait, but…
Robyn’s attitude is one reason why I think vaccines need to be mandatory. There is so much anti-vaccine propaganda with no basis and people can be so easily fooled.
I’ll take one point - formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is naturally present in an infant’s body. (And in all our bodies, for that matter.) The amount in vaccines is miniscule compared to what is already in an infant’s body.
Saying that certain diseases have gone up while vaccines have increased is a non-starter. People smoke less now, so maybe, according to this logic, smoking had a prophylactic effect on these diseases?
We are all exposed to more of these “toxins” on a daily basis than what we get in vaccines. The anti-vaccine groups use this “toxin” reasoning to scare people, because it is vague enough and scary-sounding enough to fool some people. Thankfully most people can see through this, but it only takes a small percentage to endanger herd immunity.
lisa commented on Oct 27 09 at 12:22 pmI have gone from the “live and let live I can see how people might be scared to vaccinate” to a “ok, how can you look at the research and not seriously take Jenny MacCarthy’s anectodal non-data as the end all, be all bible truth.” It scares me how pseudoscience is ruling the day. I guess this is no surprise given the number of people who argue for creationism in schools when there is no argument in the science world, much less, most religious groups. The latest issue of Skeptical Enquirer also has a really good article on vaccinations. It also discusses and debunks the issues brought up by Robyn.
Look at the data folks. Laure68 brings up some valid points. There is no proof — none — of any links. I know parents want to make the best decision for their children, but come on people. THINK CRITICALLY.
