The steady rise in the anti-vaccination movement has taken us from a time of medicinal revolution to a chronic sceptic’s dreamland. Despite a variety of sources to counter the supposed adverse claims that vaccinations have a direct link to autism and exist as a source of harm rather than preventative cure, people are revolting in adamance.
It’s beyond mildly disturbing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccinations have been deemed one of the top twenty achievements of the twentieth century. Before the actual introduction of vaccinations in medicine, disapproval has also existed. A couple of instances the movement has been vocal would be regarding the smallpox vaccine in England and the USA in the 1800’s and the more recent opposition towards the MMR vaccine, which has extended to that of diphtheria and tetanus. Questioning the safety and efficiency of such medicine has confused me, to say the least, given the blatant evidence verifying their success, and I struggle to sympathise on any level with this bogus movement.
Under experimentation, Edward Jenner’s controversial concept of a preventative infection providing immunity induces public criticism immediately. It would seem terrifying at the time to consider infecting oneself, in a sense, in order to avoid future health complications, and a variety of religious, scientific and political objections were voiced at the prospect. This fear was prevalent amongst parents, finding issue with the initial method of vaccination which involved scoring the flesh of a child’s arm and inserting fluids from the blister of an earlier-vaccinated person. The problem of sanitation is evident in this case, yet its effectiveness through experimentation proved its success. From a religious standpoint, the origin of the vaccination was seen as anti-Christian, as it was derived from animals, and the idea of this becoming a widespread preventative measure therefore threatened Christianity.
To add to this objection, general scepticism for Jenner’s ideas were prevalent, and this distrust extended to medicine as whole, as it supposedly violated personal autonomy, especially so when vaccinations became mandatory. The Vaccination Act of 1853 mandated vaccinations for infants up to 3 months old, and the Act of 1867 extended this to those up to the age of 14, as well as enforcing penalties for those parents who refused. I understand the fear at this point in time to an extent; accessibility for comprehensive information may have been difficult to acquire, and the mandatory nature of essentially ‘infecting’ children appears as a nightmare, however these objections lead to an array of anti-vaccination leagues and journals. These leagues and journals were the beginning of an aggressive resistance to vaccines, and the herd effect began to infiltrate communities rapidly.
Demonstrations such as the Leicester Demonstration of March (1885) was led by a stampede of almost 100,000 anti-vaccinators, providing visuals in the form of banners, a child’s coffin and an effigy of Jenner. One can only imagine the fearmongering that was beginning to infiltrate communities, given this example. The effect was useful in one way, as demonstrations lead to the development of a commission to study vaccinations in detail, which ruled the smallpox vaccination as effective, yet a proposal to remove penalties for the failure to vaccinate was suggested and consequently put in effect. The Vaccination Act of 1898 therefore removed its prior penalties and instead included a conscientious objector’s clause, pertaining to the woes of parents who didn’t believe in the use of vaccinations. These objectors were issued with exemption certificates.
The problem with the retraction of penalties is evident here. Once given the green light to abide by anti-medicinal rhetoric, others were sure to follow, no matter the reason, and this strengthened the anti-vaccination movement considerably.
The most prevalent case, the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine Controversy, began in England once again, following the Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTP) Vaccine Controversy twenty-five years earlier. In 1998, British doctor Andrew Wakefield instigated further investigation into the MMR vaccination and autism. Wakefield alleged the vaccination was not appropriately tested, and this led to a media frenzy that effectively destroyed the evident validity surrounding vaccinations. ‘The Lancet’, the journal that originally published Wakefield’s questionable bullshit, retracted their support for the man in 2004, stating that it should not have published the paper that instigated this international confusion, but the damage was already done. This was a pivotal moment for the anti-vaccination movement, and the opportunity was grabbed in full force to adamantly express that finally, a supposedly reputable doctor has backed up our bullshit claims! Finally, we have a professional advocating on our behalf, despite providing no evidence, that vaccines are evil!
I truly feel anger towards this man. Not only was he outed as a fraud and subsequently disallowed to practice medicine, but his intentions came to light as well: by committing scientific fraud, falsifying data, Wakefield had intended to profit from this situation monetarily. The General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK found that Wakefield had a ‘fatal conflict of interest’ as he was paid to investigate the claims surrounding vaccinations, under the guise of parents disapproving of them for their children. ‘The Lancet’ formally retracted his paper after the GMC’s ruling, and the British Medical Journal published evidence of Wakefield’s scientific fraud. A money-hungry man, despite facing the repercussions for his abhorrent actions, effectively validated the dangerous movement. The damage caused is indisputable. Despite genuine, conclusive evidence proving his intentions were immoral and his actions even more so, his lies remain etched into the minds of dangerous fools forcefully spreading this bullshit today.
The false claim of the MMR vaccine having a direct link to autism concerns me greatly, amongst this slew of trash. Multiple research studies have assessed the safety of the MMR vaccine and none have found a link between the two , yet the stigmatisation of people with autism has skyrocketed. For a long time, autism has been seen as one of the ultimate evils in life, as if those with autism exist as aliens and are therefore less deserving of a fulfilling life. Surely, the fear of your child dying would be greater than the fear of your child developing autism – the latter fear being based on bullshit claims, anyway? The lack of morality within this movement openly vilifying those with autism is incredibly distressing, as it appears as a cover for people who aren’t only stupid, disapproving of vaccinations, but inherently hateful of autism itself. The movement is using debunked myths to further their hateful regime, and the resulting victims aren’t only unvaccinated dying people, but also those with autism being aggressively stigmatised. Not only are these two parties heavily affected, but the general population is now at risk, as unvaccinated people are reintroducing diseases that were once successfully eradicated. These fatal effects are due to sheer stupidity and ignorance, and it’s infuriating to say the least.
Your essential oils don’t do shit for diseases, Karen.
Zack
Sources:
(1) Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United States, 1900-1999. MMWR. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); 1999;48 (12):241-243. [Accessed 20/11/19]
(2) Durbach, N. They might as well brand us: Working Class Resistance to Compulsory Vaccination in Victorian England. The Society for the Social History of Medicine. 2000;13:45-62.
(3) Stratton, K., Gable, A., Shetty, P., McCormick, M. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-mumps-rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine, National Academies Press; 2001. [Accessed 20/11/19]
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