I was furious after a recent meeting at work. We actually had a librarian tell us that supervisors thought that, if you have an immunization program at your library, you need to include an anti-vax specialist to “tell the other side.”
There is no other side. Vaccines have saved countless lives. Know anyone who’s been stricken with polio? Likely not. Know anyone who’s had the mumps? Diptheria? Probably not. These diseases have receded into history because we do have a cure; vaccines. In fact, if your child contracts a communicable disease, you may not be able to find medicinal help for them because most Western hospitals simply do not carry those medications anymore. You may just be out of luck, and have the wonderful experience of watching your child suffer and die from a disease that, at some point in the 20th century, doctors had thought to be eradicated from the first world countries.
No, vaccines don’t cause autism. Andrew Wakefield thought he could make millions by lying about the content of vaccines causing autism, and had his medical license revoked and his paper pulled from the Lancet for his lies—far after the time either of those things would have done any good. This is an individual who drew blood from children at a birthday party without parental permission, who actually lied about children contracting autism from the vaccines (in his big study of 12 kids getting vaccinated, those he claimed developed autism had either already been diagnosed with autism before they received their shots, or had not developed it and he lied and said they did) —but we’re supposed to pretend he only had the best interest of the kids and families in mind, not the millions that his company had the potential to make. (Don't get me started on the roll of celebrities who use their status to spread lies and misinformation because they didn't have the indigo child they expected.)
And we’re also supposed to believe that parents know their child best, therefore they know what’s best for their child. If that means refusing to vaccinate them because some random website said so, then that’s what’s going to happen. Considering the abuse many children endure at the hands of their parents, I take great exception to the “the parent knows best” push. Many times, they do not, even for the most basic things. Getting pregnant, or knowing someone who is, does not automatically make anyone an expert in child rearing. That’s why there’s pediatricians. That’s why there’s nutrition specialists, behavioral specialists, developmental specialists, disability specialists, speech therapists…I could go on. Yes, you can learn what you need to care for your child, but special “beliefs” without scientific backing that were gleaned from the first website Google returned on a search aren’t going to cut it. If you believe beating your child bloody is the will of god, should everyone accept that? “Parents know best”, after all--which I guess is why so many question their pediatrician on when and how many shots their babies get. Medical expert by way of giving birth instead of years training to be one.
Can you imagine bringing in Holocaust deniers to an event about World War II to “tell the other side”? Or how about Sandi Hook truthers? I’m sure they can add a lot of intellectual meat to any discussion on gun control. Our media delights in portraying “both sides”, but what they actually do is legitimatize the notion that nothing can actually be “true”, that there are no facts. Everything is a belief, and you’re on one side or the other, no difference. All you need to do is look at the climate change “debate” to see this.
In the real world, decisions can have life and death consequences. Yes, children (and adults) die from not being vaccinated. That my library system is promoting belief over facts disappoints me greatly. How can we possibly encourage critical thinking, information literacy and research prowess if we throw up our hands and say, “Hey, it’s what they believe. Must be legit.” (As an aside: while librarians help people find the informant they need, no matter what that info is, providing it upon being asked is far different from endorsing those views though programming. It's why my system refuses to allow us to bring in tax people in during tax season, set out flyers for paid events and local businesses etc., because management considers such things tacit endorsements that we can get sued over.)
I didn’t think I could feel more shame about being involved with this profession (ihomeopathy.com really is a good sources for new parents! Really!). I was wrong.