At first I wasn't going to write this post since I believe that a film that appears to be (at least in part) based on thoroughly discredited, fear-mongering nonsense should get as little attention as possible.
Then after browsing several anti-vaccine and conspiracist websites I found as I suspected, that this has already exploded and whatever I write here won't make matters any worse.
The film 'Vaxxed' is directed by Mr Andrew Wakefield, a former physician who lost his medical license after research that he had authored, was found fraudulent (containing as I understand it, both methodological and ethical flaws).
Just watching the trailer for this film elevated my BP into dangerous territory. How is it that this man keeps promoting the same debunked data to this day? Hasn't it caused enough harm already?
It seems that anti-vaccine proponents span the entire spectrum from sadly misinformed to clearly unhinged. However, no matter what their individual motivation happens to be, they are in my opinion dangerous. We have fought a hard battle against diseases that today are vaccine-preventable. Millions of children have died in the past and some still do, to this day. We don't see much of it in first-world countries due to the success of vaccines. Anti-vaccine proponents seem to believe that the "olden days" were better. I think it's deeply worrisome.
In my escapades around the internet, I've found all sorts of scary blogs, clips and opinions relating to childhood vaccines.
This YouTube clip rather amusingly (in a sad way) has 90 likes and zero (!) dislikes (probably because no rational person would even click on it in the first place). (I'm not sure what this says about me)
Anyway this women thinks that nagalese (an enzyme) is added on purpose to vaccines in order to induce autism, cancer and type 2 diabetes in vaccine recipients. And the doctors who discovered this were subsequently murdered to cover this up. This vaccine tampering seems to be a part of some nefarious population control plot.
(It seems that alpha-N-acetylgalactoseaminidase (referred to as nagalese in the YouTube clip) can deglycosylate vitamin D binding protein (DBP) and DBP plays a role in the immune cascade response. So it seems that alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase can interfere with the immune response. While some cancer cells can release alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase, I've found no proof that injecting them into humans induces cancers, never mind autism and DMII. I will however admit that I didn't spend an inordinate amount of time researching her theory).
I admit that this last video is a bit extreme. But this woman and other "anti-vaxxers" have one thing on common. They are willing to accept something as true, even when there is no supporting evidence available.
Serious questions:
* Why are some people so vulnerable/susceptible to flawed logic and poor research?
* What can we as nurses/healthcare professionals do to ensure that our patients base their decisions on sound evidence-based facts or at least have the opportunity to do so? Or should we just reconcile ourselves with the fact that a portion of the population will base their decisions on questionable or outright false information, misconceptions and fear?
I am going to see this film later in the week. I really find it so unprofessional to polarize the topic into pro and anti vaxxer without any discussion. There are many corporate interests embedded in the kinds and number of vaccines recommended for children, teens and adults alike. Personally, I believe as a nurse it is my job to critically think through all perspectives regarding vaccines, not just what my nursing textbooks and the CDC say. I find it simply appalling that some health professionals do not take harm caused by vaccines seiously. I don't consider myself an anti vaccine promoter but let's look at documented cases of real harm people including young children have experienced. Saying it ain't so and let's just keep injecting SIMPLY ISN'T AN ETHICAL RESPONSE. At a bare minimum our oath to do no harm requires respect for people's experiences and a desire for better investigation and safety.
I am going to see this film later in the week. I really find it so unprofessional to polarize the topic into pro and anti vaxxer without any discussion. . .
We've had in-depth discussion in this thread for days and days. I'm wondering if you've read it.
This thread and others, too. Nothing "ethical" about endlessly relitigating the same debunked assertions and pretending that epidemiology does not exist. That's not critical thinking either, it's being a sucker.
I am going to see this film later in the week. I really find it so unprofessional to polarize the topic into pro and anti vaxxer without any discussion. There are many corporate interests embedded in the kinds and number of vaccines recommended for children, teens and adults alike. Personally, I believe as a nurse it is my job to critically think through all perspectives regarding vaccines, not just what my nursing textbooks and the CDC say. I find it simply appalling that some health professionals do not take harm caused by vaccines seiously. I don't consider myself an anti vaccine promoter but let's look at documented cases of real harm people including young children have experienced. Saying it ain't so and let's just keep injecting SIMPLY ISN'T AN ETHICAL RESPONSE. At a bare minimum our oath to do no harm requires respect for people's experiences and a desire for better investigation and safety.
I can excuse banterings to some level. You are a nurse.
I don't understand how you don't get that there are no documented cases of autism from vaccine.
It's embarrassing.
There are pages and pages here of legitimate scientific publications.
I can excuse banterings to some level. You are a nurse.
I don't understand how you don't get that there are no documented cases of autism from vaccine.
It's embarrassing.
There are pages and pages here of legitimate scientific publications.
What are you not comprehending?
I didn't bring up autism in fact, but general vaccine safety issues and reactions. People really fixate on this link, parents and loved ones with children afflicted by autism rightfully so, but it's so much more than autism. In response to your comment directed at autism, "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." (Chinua Achebe) I am versed in what mainstream science has to say about vaccines and autism and in fact, you are incorrect. A ruling by a court in Italy did rule a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism (1). What I find unacceptable is that people allow vaccines schedules to be released without question, without critique about their safety. Incremental increases in the quantity of vaccines as well as the quantity and severity of reactions documented by VAERS and those undocumented and unacknowledged and the response from some is "it can't be the vaccines." Does this crisis not at lease warrant alarm and additional investigation? I consider the biggest embarrassment not being able to use ones own intuition, judgement and critical thinking skills to assess health issues. So called scientifically valid sources once claimed it unecessary to wash hands between contact with different patients. It took a group of critical thinking rebel midwives to transform this unsanitary practice that was killing mothers and babies into safer, healthier and lifesaving conditions and there are so many other examples of this. It is through asking questions and criticism of what is going on that we can move towards a healthier, safer society. Health professionals who do not engage in this process due to a herd mentality or lack of information from non-corporate sponsored sources really do such a disservice to the people they are charged with caring for. We have reached a boiling point when it comes to vaccines being shoved down our throats without attention to the ways in which they jeopardize our health and the unacceptable responses from the agencies we fund to protect our health. If "Vaxxed: From Coverup to Catastrophe" helps probe the questioning process, I think that's a great step forward. The fact that so many people are opposed to this film is actually generating further interest and serving inadvertently to promote the film (2). Keep up the great work!
At a bare minimum our oath to do no harm requires respect for people's experiences and a desire for better investigation and safety.
What oath did you take that said this? The Hippocratic oath for physicians has that phrase. Nurses do not actually take an oath even though the Nightingale Pledge is frequently used and it sounds good at graduation ceremonies.
But still if we go with the premise that we have pledged to do no harm then you would have to agree that the decision to not uphold EBP and the findings of scores of studies over decades would in fact be harmful! We cannot ignore scientific fact in favor of fraud and still say we are doing no harm!
I posted about a patient I once had who believed that his well water was giving him diabetes because he believed that there was hidden sugar in the well. Didn't matter that there were expensive tests run by people whose job it was to find hidden contaminants and that the result was there was no sugar in his well! His diabetes was out of control because he didn't follow the diet and exercise guidelines he had been given over and over. He wanted to blame his well water for making his sugars too high!
If I had let him believe something absurd and disproven because he wanted to place blame somewhere instead of facing the reality of the situation it would be unethical. It wasethical and appropriate to try to teach him why he was so very very wrong.
If you had this patient would you be taking his Experience into account and allow him to believe that his well was raising his sugar levels or would you follow EBP and teach him what he had to do to survive with diabetes? The way you are writing it sounds like you'd be willing to let him go on believing his well was killing him instead of his pasta and ice cream habit because we should Respect his Experience on that topic no matter what the truth actually is!
)
to cover this up. This vaccine tampering seems to be a part of some nefarious population control plot.
Ankh
34 Posts
I am going to see this film later in the week. I really find it so unprofessional to polarize the topic into pro and anti vaxxer without any discussion. There are many corporate interests embedded in the kinds and number of vaccines recommended for children, teens and adults alike. Personally, I believe as a nurse it is my job to critically think through all perspectives regarding vaccines, not just what my nursing textbooks and the CDC say. I find it simply appalling that some health professionals do not take harm caused by vaccines seiously. I don't consider myself an anti vaccine promoter but let's look at documented cases of real harm people including young children have experienced. Saying it ain't so and let's just keep injecting SIMPLY ISN'T AN ETHICAL RESPONSE. At a bare minimum our oath to do no harm requires respect for people's experiences and a desire for better investigation and safety.