vaccinations opinion paper
...ndings cast a very, very negative light on vaccinations, they are presented in an unprejudiced manner and do not seem to represent ulterior motives; rather they serve as a reality check against the primary source of vaccine information – the CDC. Interestingly enough, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report is designed to counter almost specifically the argumentative myths of Phillips’ article. Each section of the report, geared towards medical personnel, is begun with an “Anti-vaccine Literature” statement and then followed by reasons that the statement is untrue or otherwise misleading: “Diseases had already begun to disappear before vaccines were introduced, because of better hygiene and sanitation…Varicella [chicken pox] can also be used to illustrate the point, since modern sanitation has obviously not prevented nearly 4 million cases each year in the United States.” The CDC continues to counter each common “anti-vaccine literature” statement with extensive statistics and examples of its own, stating valid and reasonable sounding ideas. Like Phillips’ report, the CDC report seeks to dispel common misconceptions as they see fit, but from an entirely different angle. So different, in fact, it is hard not to envision Alan Phillips and Barbara Loe Fisher engaged in a heated argument with CDC representatives accompanied by Arthur Allen… Barbara Loe Fisher’s article is a call to action. Adverse reactions to vaccinations in her own children inspired her to found the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). Fisher’s organization acts a polar opposite of the vaccine-happy CDC, keeping on their tail and constantly pressing for different policies and changes away from a rigid national mandate. After reading such an impassioned explanation of her stance on the issue of vaccination, it would be hard for any empathetic individual to ignore such a plea, to feel anything but motivation to fight against such wrongdoings. In fact, it is these exact sentiments and personal experiences that inspire skepticism of Fisher’s article. Her personal history presents her argument from a base of very tangible, real experiences but fails to bring the cause outside of her personal experience into the reality of other contexts. Though her stories are harrowing, it is hard to use them as a basis of concrete evidence against mass vaccinations as a part of society. Or is it? As the CDC argues, vaccinations are administered at the same age that SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is prevalent (CDC 115), thus negating any correlation between SIDS and the DPT vaccination. On the other hand, why risk such horrific consequences if there may be very little ultimate safety to be gained? Fisher feels that mandatory vaccinations not only undermine parents’ rights, but also injure and kill children for very little net gain. Meanwhile, Arthur Allen feels the anxiety that has inhibited the globalization of vaccination since its invention just needs to end. He traces the controversy of the subject throughout history, especially the recent campaigns of figures such as Len Horrowitz, Louis Farrakhan, and Barbara Loe Fisher. While the Horrowitz-Farrakhan conspiracy theory seems highly unlikely and is therefore not as threatening to Allen’s cause, he combats opposite publications - such as Fisher’s - with a new perspective on the same problem: “…oral vaccines have given about 200 people the crippling disease. While that’s awful enough if one of the 200 happens to be your child, it’s still just one in 2.4 million doses – pretty good odds by any measure.” (Allen 129) Allen and many health officials see anti-vaccination leaders as dangerous threats to the common welfare of our society but also as potentially devastating to target populations who already have even less access to vaccines. The disrespect for the anti-vaccination cause is, unfortunately, unconvincing and the discrediting, negative tone implies less direct motives than are actually stated in the article. Allen’s first move to discredit anti-vaccination activism is to put the key names of Horrowitz and Farrakhan to the cause, naming conspiracy theorists as popu...