Fear is more infectious than any virus, and it has permitted politics, not science, to turn one of the signature achievements of modern medicine into fodder for talk show debates and marches on Washington
Vaccines given to infants and young children over the past two decades will prevent 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths over the course of their lifetimes, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1)
Vaccines also will have saved $295 billion in direct costs, such as medical expenses, and a total of more than $1.3 trillion in societal costs over that time because children who were spared from sometimes-devastating illnesses will be able to contribute to society, the report shows. These calculations may underestimate the full impact of vaccines because the authors considered only the early 14 routine childhood immunizations typically required for school entry. (1)
The World Health Organization (WHO) says effective vaccines against killer diseases are averting between two and three million deaths every year. The agency is kicking off its yearly World Immunization Week campaign by urging children and adults to get immunized against deadly and debilitating diseases. When the WHO began its expanded program on immunization in 1974, only five percent of the world's children were being immunized against killer diseases, such as diphtheria, measles, and pertussis. Forty years later, more than 80 percent are receiving life-saving vaccinations. In addition, WHO noted an increasing number of people in all age groups are being immunized against preventable diseases. The impact of vaccines is comparable to that of providing safe water to hundreds of millions of people around the world. (2)
In spite of these reports, doubts about vaccines safety--and fading memories of vaccine-preventable diseases have contributed to a resurgence of nearly forgotten diseases such as measles, which was officially eradicated in the USA in 2000. Numerous studies have debunked the notion that vaccines cause autism or other chronic diseases, says William Schaffner, an infectious -disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. "We have roomfuls of evidence showing that vaccines are some of the safest medications available, but rumors and conspiracy theories still spread," Schaffner says. "Young parents today haven't seen these diseases and they don't respect and fear them." (1)
Anti-vaccine crowd
More people have been infected with measles in the US during the first four months of this year than have been infected in the first four months of the past 18 years, according to the CDC. (3)
Because of the anti-vaccine crowd, rubella, whooping cough, measles and meningitis are all on the rise in a country that spends 16% of its GDP on health care. In 2004 there were 26,000 cases of whooping cough in the US, up from only 1,000 in 1976. (4)
While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study from the University of Colorado shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern. Every year, 30,000 people on average die of vaccine preventable illnesses, almost all of them adults. (5)
Only 10% of women in the target population of 18 to 26 years have been vaccinated against human papilloma virus, a major cause of cervical cancer. The rate is not much higher for tetanus and diphtheria; only 44% of American adults have been vaccinated. Even for influenza, the illness for which the value of immunization is best recognized by the public, and which annually takes the lives of over 30,000 Americans, coverage is erratic: rates of coverage range from 37% in younger adults to almost 79% of those age 65 or older. Despite the ready availability of clinically proven interventions to prevent a host of potentially life-threatening illnesses, utilization rates by adults continue to be disappointing. (6)
In certain parts of the US, vaccination rates have dropped so low that occurrences of some childrens' diseases are approaching pre-vaccine levels for the first time ever. The New England Journal of Medicine laid the blame for clusters of disease outbreaks throughout the US squarely at the feet of declining vaccination rates, while the nonprofit health care provider Kaiser Permanente reported that unvaccinated children were 23 times more likely to get pertussis, a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes violent coughing and is potentially lethal to infants. (7)
One of the most egregious, far-reaching studies in recent years involved vaccines. The deliberate falsification of the research linking autism to childhood vaccines has been attributed to Dr. Andrew Wakefield. His paper appeared in The Lancet in 1998. As the ensuing vaccine scare took off, critics quickly pointed out that the paper was a small case series with no controls, linked three common conditions, and relied on parental recall and beliefs. Over the following decade, epidemiological studies consistently found no evidence of a link between MMR vaccine and autism. By the time the paper was finally retracted 12 years later, few people could deny that it was fatally flawed both scientifically and ethically. (8)
The now discredited paper panicked many parents and led to a sharp drop in the number of children getting the vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella. Vaccination rates dropped sharply in Britain after its publication, falling as low as 80% by 2004. Measles cases have gone up sharply in the ensuing years. In the United States, more cases of measles were reported in 2008 than in any other year since 1997. More than 90% of those infected had not been vaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, reports Clarice Feldman. (8)
Do vaccines cause autism? Science gives a resounding no says Puneet Kollipara. Anti-vaccine activists often hang their case on the Wakefield study, which as mentioned above, has been widely discredited. Anti-vaccine activists have also raised concerns about vaccines made with the mercury-based preservative known as thimerosal, which they worry would cause brain damage in developing kids. Its true that vaccines once routinely contained thimerosal, which government officials recognized as generally safe. But this preservative has been phased out of nearly all vaccines as a precautionary measure. Anti-vaccine activists also worry that the CDC's schedule could overwhelm infants' immune system by packing too many doses into a short period of time. Although the number of vaccinations that kids receive now is higher than it used to be, the main ingredients in the vaccines have actually decreased in amount. Even if these ingredient amount hadn't decreased, research has found no relationship between those amounts and autism risk. (9)
There is no credible evidence to indicate any of the negative claims about vaccines is true. Twelve epidemiological studies have found no data that link the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) vaccine to autism; six studies have found no trace of an association between thimerosal and autism, and three other studies have found no indication that thimerosal causes even subtle neurological problems. The so-called epidemic, researchers assert, is the result of improved diagnosis, which has identified as autistic many kids who once might have been labeled mentally retarded or just plain slow notes Amy Wallace. (7)
The doubters and deniers are empowered by the Internet (online, nobody knows you're not a doctor) and helped by the main-stream media, which has an interest in pumping up bad science to create a 'debate' where there should be none. As Michael specter observes, "Fear is more infectious than any virus, and it has permitted politics, not science, to turn one of the signature achievements of modern medicine into fodder for talk show debates and marches on Washington." (10)
References
Liz Szabo, "732,000 lives saved by vaccines," USA Today, April 25, 2014, Page 7A
Lisa Schlein, "Vaccinations save millions of lives every year, Voice of America, April 23, 2014
Trisha Henry, "Measles cases a highest level in nearly 20 years, CDC reports," CNN Health, April 25, 2014
Robert Nelson, "Get vaccinated," Forbes, February 8, 2010, Page 24
David Kelly, "Thousands of unvaccinated adults die of preventable diseases," ucdenver.edu, February 4, 2014
"Adult Immunization," American Council on Science and Health, 2009
Amy Wallace, "An epidemic of fear," in The Best American Science Writing 2010, Jerome Groopman, Editor, (New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 2010), 252
Clarice Feldman, "Be scientific (skeptical) about scientific reserch," American Thinker, January 9, 2011
Puneet Kollipara, "How the anti-activist movement is endangering lives," The Washington Post, May 5, 2014
Michael Specter, Denialism, (New York, The Penguin Press, 2009), 62
John William Dini, know to all as ‘Jack’, passed away at the age of 89 on June 17, 2026. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Nov. 14, 1936.
He published two books, a technical book on materials science and coatings and another on environmental issues. In retirement, he wrote extensively on various environmental issues for online publications.
He was a skilled leaded glass hobbyist, creating more than 20 lamps and many panels. He was a jogger for many years, competing in over 300 long distance races. He was a slow runner, not wanting to take the glory away from others. His secret was to start slow and taper. He and Anne traveled extensively, visiting over 70 countries.
He is survived by his wife, Anne, of 67 years, and sons Mike, Steve, and Paul. If you were to meet him somewhere, he would sum up his life as ‘peaches and cream’.
