In my last post, I looked at Paul Offit's 2008 book, Autism's False Prophets. He wrote a follow-up to that book, which was just released this January. It falls into the cultural category, like Mnookin's The Panic Virus. The narrative of Deadly Choices examines the anti-vaccine movement and its origins in America.
Most interesting to me were the historical discussions of past anti-vaccine scares going back all the way to smallpox, the very first vaccine to be developed. For some reason, generation after generation, parents place the blame for childhood misfortunes on vaccines.
Looking at more recent history, Offit examines how legitimate problems with polio and rotavirus vaccines, starting in the 1980s, led to the current round of anti-vaccine sentiment. It is noteworthy, however, that the medical community has always responded quickly and promptly to these problems. Both of the vaccines listed above have since been replaced with safer alternatives.
These incidents provided an initial reason for recent generations of parents to be skeptical, but they don't fully explain why vaccines continue to get a bad rap. Medications are forever being recalled for safety concerns, and we put up with a wide range of less-than-safe treatments to diseases when there are no other options. Yet with vaccines, parents seem to lose sight of this.
By the end of the book, Paul Offit shows how the anti-vaccine movement is largely the result of propaganda and superstitious beliefs. Individuals with agendas entirely unrelated to the health of children promoted the fraudulent claims that vaccines can cause autism, preying upon the fears of parents. Kudos to Dr. Offit for continuing to stand up against misinformation for the sake of all our children.
In late January, Dr. Offit appeared on the Colbert Report to talk about his new book. The video is worth checking out:
Paul Offit believes the visibility of the smallpox vaccination scar during swimsuit season is a small price to pay for better health.
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