Why the Anti-Vaccination Movement Must Stop

In the last few years, after decades of virtual obscurity, viruses such as whooping cough and measles are making headlines around the world in the worst kind of way. Both diseases prey particularly on the young and elderly. Both can prove dangerous to children and should be taken seriously.

What is remarkable about the resurgence of these particular diseases is not so much the diseases themselves, but the fact that, until recently, both were considered practically obscure. Safe, effective and widely available vaccines for both were developed decades ago.

The sad truth of the situation is that the viruses have been able to flourish not due to a shortage of vaccine, but due to a growing movement against it. Well-intentioned parents have been refusing to give their children vaccines and, in doing so, have been making them sick.

The anti-vaccination movement gained steam when popular celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy joined its legions. It operates based on a few blindly accepted misconceptions. Here are two of the main ones.

Fact: At one point, most vaccines did contain a preservative called thimerosal, which does contain mercury. The general scientific consensus is that thimerosal is safe, but as an extra precautionary measure, it’s been phased out almost entirely. That means that if your child gets a flu shot this season, there shouldn’t be any mercury in it.

Fact: This has been the battle cry of the entire anti-vaccination movement almost from the beginning. However, virtually the entire scientific community says that it is false. Where did it come from in the first place? A British journal called The Lancet published a study way back 1998 claiming that there might be a link between the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine and the development of autism. The study was done by Andrew Wakefeld and the media jumped on it almost immediately, despite the fact that it was based on speculations on a pool of only eight out of 12 subjects and poorly researched.

Since then, the claim has been thoroughly examined, discredited and finally retracted by the original source. Countless other studies have been done countering the original claim. And yet, despite all of the solid, empirical evidence against it, the idea seems to have entrenched itself in popular culture. Administration of the MMR vaccine dropped dramatically in the U.K. after the article was released and cases of the viruses rose correspondingly, resulting in illness and death.

Although it might seem like there are conflicting opinions on the subject, the general consensus of the medical community is that vaccines are safe. The occasional side effects are minor and are a small price to pay for potentially saving thousands of children’s lives. The American CDC estimates that ordinary childhood vaccinations given between 1994 and 2013 will prevent 322 million illnesses and save as many as 732,000 lives.

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