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Yesterday's Times on non-vaccinating parents:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html
Being relatively crunchy, I've had to deal with the anti-vaccine brigade, and my dislike runs deep. I'm not a scientist, but I have a basic understanding of science and research. Many of these anti-vaxers don't. They think they do, which is the problem. They do their "research" on the Internet (MDs from the University of Google). it all sounds very authoritative, but they don't have the background to be able to sift the junk science from the good. The endless chorus is, "if you just do the research..." That is, if you do THEIR research, and read THEIR sources... But I've seen it. Its
In many cases, it's a symptom of a deeper problem--skepticism about science and medicine, the rise of the 'self-educated' (see above) and distrust of what the medical profession says (see the quotes about "studies the mainstream media doesn't report"--of course, they're often not reported because they're not reliable, see above again!
I don't have much love for acquiescent doctors, either. Bob Sears is being somewhat disingenuous about his practice. It has a reputation for being "vax friendly". (Interestingly, the father--who doesn't take new patients--is pretty strongly in favour of vaccines in his books.) He's out there advocating separate MMR even though there's no evidence in favour and it decreases take-up rates (more visits to forget). I don't think doctors should badger patients or strike families off their list for not vaccinating, but when you have 40% of patients not fully vaccinated, you need to look at the information you're presenting. He's not even trying to change their minds, which should be his job as a responsible physician.
The one area where I do feel some sympathy is in how parents feel they're talked to by the CDC, AAP et al. These groups still take a high handed, "we know best" approach. They don't address all the concerns parents have, or the misinformation handed out by anti-vaccine campaigners. The one lesson that the "University of Google" phenomenon should be teaching the medical profession is that they need to be better at communicating and explaining themselves. They need to get over the idea that they're dignifying their opponents or giving their theories credence if they take the time to explain why they're wrong. I've looked for websites that debunk anti-vax claims. There really doesn't seem to be a well done site that seriously and thoughtfully explains why the anti-vaccine claims are wrong. (I would love one, because it would be great for all those new parents heading down the road of crunchiness. I'd like to stop them from going on the "Bad Science" detour.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html
Being relatively crunchy, I've had to deal with the anti-vaccine brigade, and my dislike runs deep. I'm not a scientist, but I have a basic understanding of science and research. Many of these anti-vaxers don't. They think they do, which is the problem. They do their "research" on the Internet (MDs from the University of Google). it all sounds very authoritative, but they don't have the background to be able to sift the junk science from the good. The endless chorus is, "if you just do the research..." That is, if you do THEIR research, and read THEIR sources... But I've seen it. Its
In many cases, it's a symptom of a deeper problem--skepticism about science and medicine, the rise of the 'self-educated' (see above) and distrust of what the medical profession says (see the quotes about "studies the mainstream media doesn't report"--of course, they're often not reported because they're not reliable, see above again!
I don't have much love for acquiescent doctors, either. Bob Sears is being somewhat disingenuous about his practice. It has a reputation for being "vax friendly". (Interestingly, the father--who doesn't take new patients--is pretty strongly in favour of vaccines in his books.) He's out there advocating separate MMR even though there's no evidence in favour and it decreases take-up rates (more visits to forget). I don't think doctors should badger patients or strike families off their list for not vaccinating, but when you have 40% of patients not fully vaccinated, you need to look at the information you're presenting. He's not even trying to change their minds, which should be his job as a responsible physician.
The one area where I do feel some sympathy is in how parents feel they're talked to by the CDC, AAP et al. These groups still take a high handed, "we know best" approach. They don't address all the concerns parents have, or the misinformation handed out by anti-vaccine campaigners. The one lesson that the "University of Google" phenomenon should be teaching the medical profession is that they need to be better at communicating and explaining themselves. They need to get over the idea that they're dignifying their opponents or giving their theories credence if they take the time to explain why they're wrong. I've looked for websites that debunk anti-vax claims. There really doesn't seem to be a well done site that seriously and thoughtfully explains why the anti-vaccine claims are wrong. (I would love one, because it would be great for all those new parents heading down the road of crunchiness. I'd like to stop them from going on the "Bad Science" detour.)
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