Let’s get logical, logical
I’m not a fan of Canada’s National Post but this article by Joe Schwarcz is RFO
Joe Schwarcz: An injection of H1N1 reason
Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:00 AM by NP Editor
Joe SchwarczI think the time has come to panic. But not about catching the H1N1 “swine flu.” And not about the alleged risks of the vaccine that can protect against it. For the vast majority of people, the flu will mean no more than a week or so of misery, not different from previous versions. As far as the risk of the vaccine goes, it’s minimal. However, there is something to panic about: the stunning amount of misinformation being bandied about.
I freely admit to not having expertise in this complex area, but I think I do have expertise in judging who does. And that would be the scientists at Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, the World Health Organization, Health Canada and major universities. These immunologists, virologists, toxicologists and epidemiologists spend their lives researching and evaluating vaccines. I trust their opinion, which is based on experimental evidence, over that of naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors and various graduates of the University of Google, for whom evidence-based medicine is a foreign concept.
No rational person with a plumbing or electrical problem would seek help from a former Playboy centrefold, a comedian who specializes in facial contortions or a retired neurosurgeon. We would seek out a licensed plumber or an electrician. Yet when it comes to immunology, a field more complex than plumbing or wiring, many see no conundrum in being swayed by the rhetoric of Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey or Dr. Russell Blaylock, none of whom are immunologists.
Unfortunately, the lay press often presents the pro and con arguments about vaccines as if they had equal weight. They do not. The vast majority of knowledgeable scientists recognize vaccination as one of the greatest advances in the history of public health, while at the same time being fully aware that there are some risks. The point, though, is that they judge these risks to be significantly outweighed by the benefits. On the other hand, the very loud and often verbally abusive anti-vaccine minority greatly exaggerates the risks and minimizes the benefits. Unfortunately emotion often trumps science. And conspiracy theories can be seductive.
There’s much more and you really should read it all. You done good Joe, we need scientists standing up in the MSM and calling out the anti-vaxxers, especially the celebrity ones like Bill Maher, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy, for the lying, ignorant, fear mongering bed wetters they are
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