Are anti-vaccine people conspiracy theorists generally?

[Emergent]

I have an old friend from years ago who I now keep in touch with on Facebook. Her posts are fascinating in the amazing variety of conspiracy theories, some outrageous, some maybe partially true. She's a big believer that cannabis oil will cure just about anything and that information of course is being suppressed by the drug companies and the government.

She blames many, if not all, health problems on vaccines. She also subscribes to some disturbing anti-Semitic ideologies, blaming the network of high powered Jews, led by the evil Rothschild family.

I swear, the internet has turned slightly eccentric people into extremists. 30 years ago this woman was into macrobiotics, native Americans, and New Age philosophies.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

The only thing that has shown to significantly increase vaccination rates is mandatory vaccine laws. It is the right thing to discuss all treatments with patients in a professional manner and in a way they will understand. We also have to be realistic and realize that most patients who refuse to vaccinate have already made up thier minds long before they come to thier healthcare provider. They are then just looking for an excuse to validate thier decision. That decision can be as simple as saying "they don't listen to me or they don't want to take my information off the internet seriously".

Recently in Australia, parents lost their rights to receive goverment child support subsidies if they refuse vaccinations. It worked as a miracle. Parents of 200000+ kids suddenly forgot about their personal views and their uncompatible incongruencies with scientific facts and/or magically overcame their concerns and fears when they just got to know a simple, unambigous thing: no jab, no muneys on account, period.

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[klone, MSN, RN]

So why you feel so heated about what vaccines I choose for myself or my family makes no sense.

Like I said, I really do not care what vaccines you choose for yourself or your family. I do care that you may believe and be perpetuating incorrect information based on your OPINION, which is not rooted in science.

I'm not hostile, I just like to swear.

As CRNA said above, this isn't an opinion discussion. You either accept the science, or you don't. You clearly don't. Whatevs. I was originally trying to have a rational discussion and explain why what you were saying doesn't make sense, but when you did the message board version of putting your fingers in your ear and saying "Lalalala Ican'thearyouIcan'thearyou" I started to get a little frustrated. I'm over it now. Peace out.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Show me the statistics that say the flu vaccine is 100% effective. And it is opinion. It's my opinion that the flu vaccine is not worth getting if I am not asked by an employer to do so.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

If you noticed, I stated I don't spread my opinion . Cursing is classy.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Show me the statistics that say the flu vaccine is 100% effective. And it is opinion. It's my opinion that the flu vaccine is not worth getting if I am not asked by an employer to do so.

No one has EVER claimed the flu vaccine is 100% effective. It IS more effective at preventing influenza than NOT getting the vaccine.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Show me the statistics that say the flu vaccine is 100% effective. And it is opinion. It's my opinion that the flu vaccine is not worth getting if I am not asked by an employer to do so.

You are using a logistical fallacy here. Nothing is 100%; no science says anything is 100%. That doesn't mean it is not important or significant.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

I can't find the link right now, but the new vaccine schedule even though it has more individual shots actually contain about 10x less antigens than the shots/vaccines we had as children. The vaccines today are much more selective.

https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/Documents/Vaccineschedule.pdf

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

You are so damn hostile.

If you only once see that half-eviscerated woman asking her oncologist "why did you treat me if you knew that I MIGHT be suffering like this to the end of my life?" or a 5 years-old writing, in a huge wobbling kiddish letters, a note to Santa asking him to please let grandma (who is hooked to vent, drips and artificial kidney after pneumonia brought up by flu and pneumococcus) come home for just one day on Christmas instead of all other gifts, or a man who attempted suicide because of pain brought by shingles but ended up with broken neck (so, now he's a quad and the pain is still here with him), you'll have very little warm feelings for anyone doubting something that could reliably diminish risk of all those, and more of them, ever happening.

And, yeah, what you choose for yourself and for your family matters for me and my family, as well as for others around you. I spent a year praying God every day so that no person like you accidentally appears near my child who was born very premature. She couldn't be vaccinated for medical reasons for longer than "normal" kids and a "common", "natural" measles could easily kill her, just like it almost killed me in my childhood and left me with severe asthma.

You cannot live in society and reap its benefits while being free from responsibilities it applies. If you want to risk your own life and those of your loved ones, please for all means go for it - but do it alone and do not put others in danger. You do not know near whom you stay in line in amusement park and then share hotel room, pool or airplane. Chances are, it is a baby for whom your nursing colleagues beat chances of "living" vs. "dying", or someone who is living with another person's heart beating in his chest. Do these people deserve to die from measles of chicken pox (preemies and transplant recipients have complicated issues with live vaccines) just because someone else "made a choice for family"?

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

You are using a logistical fallacy here. Nothing is 100%; no science says anything is 100%. That doesn't mean it is not important or significant.

Yes I understand this. However the effectiveness of the flu vaccine vs some others are quite different, which is why I feel the way I do for for my own vaccination choices.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

Show me the statistics that say the flu vaccine is 100% effective. And it is opinion. It's my opinion that the flu vaccine is not worth getting if I am not asked by an employer to do so.

I never claimed the flu vaccine is 100% effective, and no general population vaccine is likely to ever be 100% effective. The only type of vaccine that would likely ever be 100% effective is based on individual genes.

I'm hardly being hostile. I cannot help it that you refuse to believe in the science behind the flu vaccine. There are thousands of legitimate sources that will show that getting the flu vaccine saves thousands of lives and billions of dollars in the US alone each year, but somehow your "opinion" is a legitimate as all the scientific data?.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I'm hardly being hostile.

I'm pretty sure she was talking to me on that one.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

Here is the question no one has ever been able to explain to me, if you don't believe in science then why are you a Nurse/healthcare professional? I realize scientific opinion can change, but vaccinations aren't one them. The flu vaccine alone has been used widespread for over 80 years. The smallpox vaccine has history back to 1000AD and over 200 years in western cultures. How can you legitimately practice effectively if you don't believe in science when it doesn't correlate with your predetermined opinions?. I guess this why we have to have so many policies and regulatory agencies to keep people in check that won't believe in science even it is to the detriment of their patients, family and public at large.