Anti-Vax or Anti-Facts?
Poliomyelitis, more commonly known as polio, is a highly infectious disease for which we still have no cure. Polio attacks nerve cells, often causing muscle wasting, paralysis, or even death. During the 1940s, the United States experienced a nationwide epidemic and a scientist named Jonas Salk began searching for a way to counteract this disease.
Salk eventually came up with a vaccine, using himself and his own family as some of his first human trials. By killing several strains of the virus, Salk was able to inject the now-benign virus into a person’s bloodstream without actually harming the person. This allowed the body’s natural immune system to develop a resistance against the virus, thus preparing it for future exposure.
Salk’s vaccine saved countless lives. In 1955 there were 28,985 cases of polio; by 1957, there were only 5,894. Today, cases of polio are extremely rare, but we still rely on vaccinations to help prevent the spread of infectious disease, including but not limited to polio, tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Vaccines are heavily backed by evidence showing its overwhelming effectiveness in the prevention of illness and are shown to have little, if any, side effects.
To summarize, vaccines are extremely beneficial for both the individual and the population. They are highly effective at preventing potentially deadly illnesses and typically have little to no side effects (only in rare cases are the side effects severe). So why is this even an issue today? Shouldn’t it be a no-brainer to just take the vaccine?
For the past few weeks, I’ve been discussing why it is beneficial for a society to have increased scientific literacy; the anti-vaccination movement is a perfect example of what I mean. A misleading article published in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield suggested that vaccinations somehow caused autism. Naturally, this sparked a firestorm that, despite being widely discredited by the scientific community, remains strong today.
Normally, I don’t care what people choose to do with their lives; your decisions are your own. If you choose not to get yourself vaccinated, it really doesn’t matter to me. If you die, you die; it’s not my fault you allowed yourself to die from something that was easily preventable. However, in this particular situation I care very deeply because your decision affects other people as well. When people choose not to get themselves or their children vaccinated, they put others at risk as well. Anti-vaxxers can spread diseases to weaker members of a population, such as the extremely young and extremely old, or even members who are unable to get vaccinated due to things like allergies.
If everyone were to get vaccinated, we could potentially eliminate certain diseases. This is known as herd immunity, and the members of the population that I stated previously rely on it to stay healthy. However, due to the shocking prevalence of scientific illiteracy, there are still people who remain against vaccinations. This is one of those situations in which even the most basic understanding of science or even critical thinking would help contribute to a healthier, more productive society. Scientific literacy is more than simply knowing how photosynthesis works or which elements are the most reactive; it can potentially save lives even if you yourself are not a scientist. The ability to interpret information is a skill vital to any scientific education, and the anti-vaccination movement is proof that we still have a ways to go in that regard.
