There is a large group of people in the US that believe vaccinating your kids can cause autism. While the majority (I don't know the exact number, but its a very BIG majority) don't believe this--because the science says its safe--and vaccinate their kids, many refuse because of a very small sample of studies that link vaccines and autism. Those studies have been debunked and there is no proof that vaccines can cause autism in any child. Yet, since Jenny McCarthy says vaccinating causes autism, people listen.
The part that really pisses me off with this is that ignorant people who don't even understand what a vaccine is are putting other people's kids in danger. (I still don't know what to say about the smart people who don't vaccinate their kids.) Kids can die from things like diphtheria, rubella and
the measles. That's why we invented the vaccines to wipe them out in the first place! How did we do that, you ask? We used Science. But, just like with global warming, climate change and ocean pollution, there is a large group of people that dismiss the overwhelming evidence--obtained through decades of study, testing, retesting and new testing and refining methods and duplicating conditions to make sure its legit--because they "just don't believe in science". I bet most of these people don't even know what a vaccine is.
I am not a scientist (been waiting to use that) but aren't vaccines just weakened or dead strains of a certain harmful virus? When given the shot and exposed, doesn't your body create antibodies that fight that weakened virus, killing it? So when you get exposed to the real, full-fledged virus in the real world, you body is prepared to fight it off without getting infected because the anti-bodies already exist? Yup, that's how it works, folks! No where in this equation do powerful drugs or dangerous substances come into play. There isn't anything that can restrict or harm a child's development. Don't believe me? Well, how many kids end up autistic after having the measles? None. You know what measles
can do to kids? It can cause blindness, brain inflammation, pneumonia and death. Now that would affect a kids development for sure, don't you think? But viruses don't cause autism, weakened into vaccine form or otherwise.
The War on Science continues. People choose to ignore the facts because they think scientists are fame-mongers that make things up to get in the spotlight. But, they miss what is right in front of their faces. What about the smartphone they have? Where did that come from? Oh, right. Science made that happen. And the car they drive, or the SUV they speed around in with the kids in back on the way to soccer. You can thank science for that, too! The non-stick frying pans and wall to wall carpet? Science strikes again! Science put a man on the moon, created all the preservatives and food dyes in all the pre-packed food people buy, found ways to make electricity from the Sun, made it possible to sail ships across the ocean and capture images on a film so you can have pictures of you and your kids growing up. Our world is the outcome of thousands of years of science!
But, forget all those hard-working experts that have worked tirelessly over the centuries to create the world you live in today. They don't know what they are talking about. But Jenny McCarthy does. She knows more about Science than those who study it. So does Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin. He wants to study the effects wind turbines have on human health. Apparently, a bunch of people in the Midwest are getting colds and Governor Walker thinks wind-turbines are to blame. I'm not sure if this illness or condition has a name yet, but I think Wind-Turbine Syndrome fits. Since when does common sense and education lose out to fear and bullshit? When did we start ridiculing scientists and their hard work? Why are we putting our global health at risk over unsubstantiated claims? Did I miss something or is this the Dark Ages? Pretty soon, if things don't change, we might have to start putting scientists under house arrest for blasphemy.
Vaccinate you kids before they get other kids sick. It's the right thing to do, for your kids and everyone else's. And, for the record, Wind Turbine Syndrome isn';t a real thing; I just made it up for this article. Renewables are safe, so buy solar panels and invest in wind. But most of all, for the love of all things on the planet, stop the War on Science.
Correction: Apparently, Wind Turbine Syndrome IS a real thing. I did not coin the phrase. So I wanted to clear that up. You can read up on a recent study about whether Wind Turbines affect health or not at this link from Phy.org
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