How much do the kooks and quacks who deny vaccination lie to you – and what are the consequences?

There they were at least 10 outbreak of measles throughout the twenty counties already present this year, it is an alarming and astonishing increase. How different it was from 2000 when health officials boasted that the United States had officially “eliminated” the disease with few known cases. How? A highly effective vaccination program that has made herds immune.

The number of reported infections has increased about 17 times on average over the past four years, according to the CDC. The increase has caused almost half of those infected to be hospitalized, especially children.

Why the unprecedented increase? Health officials blame an increasing number of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children against measles and other preventable childhood diseases. A staggering 80% of measles cases this year have occurred among people who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status.

The rise of the epidemic of disinformation

This trend is largely influenced by politicians and “influencers” on television and social media who spread false information that undermines confidence in vaccination in general, including routine childhood vaccinations.

KFF Health News examined the common practices of people who refuse vaccines, highlighting why such information is wrong and dangerous.

A common misconception spread by vaccine skeptics – especially Republicans according to research – is spreading the false scientific claim that vaccines are unnecessary and should not be prescribed because the diseases they prevent are too dangerous or too rare to be found. he can worry.

They mention two reasons. First, many accuse public health officials and the media of spreading fear of measles and other diseases. Second, many Libertarians believe they stand for freedom.

“It is not a vaccine in itself, it is an order [that’s the problem],” said Rep. Kathy Edmonston of Louisiana, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. Republicans borrowed the phrase from the pro-choice movement. Recently he said: “We are against the government telling us what to do with our bodies. (Surprisingly, Edmonston has a 100% points. from the anti-abortion organization Right to Life Federation.) That’s what Dr. and I. Barbara Pfeffer Billauer of the American Council on Science and Health called it recently. the brute“freedom to cause harm.”

Measles remains a serious threat. According to the CDC, it kills about 2 in 1,000 infected children. Although this may seem like a small, tolerable risk, it is important to note that a very high percentage of children with measles end up needing to be hospitalized for complications such as pneumonia. One in ten children with measles develop an ear infection that can lead to permanent hearing loss; and the measles virus can too destroy a person’s existing immunitymaking it difficult to recover from other common diseases.

In the past 50 years, measles vaccines have saved the lives of nearly 94 million people, mostly children, worldwide, according to April. World Health Organization review. In addition to the benefits of vaccines against polio and other diseases, since 1974 vaccines have saved the lives of more than 154 million people worldwide.

Despite these statistics, some skeptics argue that vaccine-preventable diseases are no longer a threat because of their scarcity in the US. due to widespread vaccination.

The ‘You Don’t Know Anymore’ Trope

Ever since vaccinations began, some sections of the public have looked on with suspicion. In the 1800s, skeptics claimed that smallpox vaccines caused people to become paralyzed and grow parts of animals (because the vaccine was derived from the cowpox virus):

The latest variation on that old theme is what I call “blatant, blatant, unsubstantiated lies.” Examples include the association of vaccines with conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and immune system disorders, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Some claims are absurd, such as that vaccine recipients have become “magnetized,” or that vaccines contain microchips that enable the government to track vaccines.

Anti-vaxxers have even made up their own minds about vaccinations, allegedly from reputable medical institutions. A recent example was the American Heart Association’s public warning that

…false information about the COVID vaccine and heart failure caused by the Society may be spreading. Misinformation has been erroneously linked to a recent scientific paper on cardio-renal-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

Their comments continue:

The American Heart Association’s 2023 Cardio-Kidney Metabolic Health scientific statement, as described in a news release, presidential counsel and manuscript, does not include any references to the COVD-19 vaccine or vaccines of any kind. (emphasis added).

The safety of vaccines is taken seriously by manufacturers and federal regulators. Because vaccines are given to many healthy people – unlike other drugs and medical devices – they are among the most studied medical interventions. Extensive clinical trials test vaccines during development and after approval for safety and efficacy.

In clinical trials of the Salk polio vaccine in the 1950s, 623,972 school children were vaccinated with the vaccine or a placebo, and more than 12,000 people participated in clinical trials for the latest measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

To assess long-term risks, researchers carefully analyze multiple datasets for risk indicators. A Danish study of more than 657,000 children found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, and another. study 805,000 found no evidence to support the claim that multiple vaccines can damage the immune system. However, cranks like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and other members of “Disinformation Dozen” dismiss these carefully crafted studies.

The ‘Too-Much-Too-Soon’ Trope

Some anti-vaxxers promote the unwise idea that parents should delay or skip vaccinations for their children, resulting in preventable and potentially life-threatening diseases. The CDC’s immunization schedule is designed to protect children at their most vulnerable and reduce the risk of harm. For example, the MMR vaccine is not given in the first year of life because the mother’s antibodies can interfere with the immune response. The second dose is recommended around the kindergarten age because some children do not develop a strong response to the first dose, and schools are a Petri dish for childhood diseases. Delaying the MMR vaccine for more than 10 years increases the risk of negative emotions.

The ‘They Don’t Want You to Know’ Trope

RFK Jr., one of the most deluded and vocal of anti-vaxxers, has compared Florida vaccine-averse Dr. Joseph Ladapo to Galileo, saying the latter’s rare views were unfairly suppressed. . A better analogy would be to compare Ladapo to Edwin Goodwin, an uneducated mathematician who convinced Indiana lawmakers to try to help science and engineering to define the value of pi as in 3.2. (Pi = 3.14159…, and like Ladapo and Kennedy, he was an idiot who didn’t know what he didn’t know.)

In his first campaign speechKennedy’s assistant, Nicole Shanahan, presented a link between vaccinations and autism that many agree with. principles of the anti-vaccine movement. He also said that discussions about the risks of vaccination are scrutinized and that government agencies hide data on side effects and deaths due to commercial influence.

There is no proof of that. If anything, the FDA, where I’ve spent 15 years, is extremely dangerous. Federal agencies are transparent about the side effects of vaccines and the federal government has compensation program for people who can show evidence of injury from certain vaccines.

The end

The increasing number of measles cases in the United States, not to mention the possibility of another outbreak of COVID later this year and the possibility of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 bird flu, underscores the need important to deal with vaccine misinformation. The benefits of vaccination are vast and well documented, saving millions of lives worldwide every year. As misinformation continues to undermine public trust in vaccines, it is important to counter false reports with strong scientific evidence and clear communication from health authorities and others.

Vaccination remains one of the most effective tools in protecting public health, and maintaining high vaccination rates is essential to preventing the re-emergence of preventable diseases.

Henry I. Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, is a Glenn Swogger Distinguished Fellow at the American Academy of Sciences and Arts. He was the founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology. Find Henry in X @HenryIMiller