Refusing flu shots? Maybe you're a 'denialist'

Nov. 7, 2009 | NPR

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At the Ocean Charter School near Marina del Rey, Calif., 40 percent of the 2008 kindergarten class received vaccination exemptions. Author Michael Specter says the parents in this upscale enclave are prime examples of what he calls "denialism."

Nearly 20 percent of the families in Vashon Island, Wash., aren't getting their children vaccinated against childhood diseases. At the Ocean Charter School near Marina del Rey, Calif., 40 percent of the 2008 kindergarten class received vaccination exemptions. Author Michael Specter says the parents in these upscale enclaves are prime examples of what he calls "denialism."

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That's also the title of his new book, . "We can all believe irrational things," the author of Denialism tells NPR's Scott Simon. "The problem is that I think an increasing number of Americans are acting on those beliefs instead of acting on facts that are readily present."

The Motives And Consequences of 'Denialism'

But the Vashon Island and Marina del Rey communities aren't places where religious or cultural traditions argue against vaccinations —- like the Amish or Jehovah's Witnesses.

Instead, they believe vaccinations are harmful to their children, citing stories they've heard about mistakes by doctors or pharmaceutical fraud.

But, Specter says, when parents make that decision, they focus on the one-in-10-million chance that a vaccine could kill a child and ignore the one-in-1,000 chance that a disease will do so. "These people retreat into denialism," he says. "It's like denial, but writ large, [because] this has consequences."

Those consequences don't just affect the children who go unvaccinated, but everyone they interact with as well, Specter adds. He points out that diseases like measles, which had almost been eradicated in North America, are now coming back.

The Fetish Of Organic Food

"Denialism," the author says, is evident in far more than vaccination rates. Take organic food. Specter considers himself a fan, but he draws the line at demonizing genetically engineered food.

"In other parts of the world," he says, "a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Those people need science to help them. It isn't about whether people want to go to Whole Foods or not ... The thing that killed the most people in the history of the world — except maybe for insects —- was pure water and natural, untreated food."

He argues that some people look at "natural" products, such as vitamins, and think that they're automatically good. But, he argues, "it's no different than anything else you swallow."

"Someone told me they didn't want to take a flu shot because they didn't want to put a foreign substance into their body," says Specter. "What do they think they do at dinner every night?"

From NPR.org

ginger
1 week, 4 days ago

Maybe for some it is denialisml, just like for some standing in line to receive a vaccine for yourself or child without understanding the different versions of the vaccine available is a bit like denialism. The fact is pregnant women, children, people with underlying conditions should be informed and not simply hurded into clinics for "whatever" is being given out. It may be that others who have had bad experiences with a vaccine or vaccines prior to the H1N1 vaccine are going to question risk vs. benefit, and decide individually what is best for ourselves and our families. I wanted my pregnant niece to receive the H1N1 vaccine. I did not want her to receive a thimerasol containing vaccine for herself or her unborn child. A little research and alot of searching helped her to find a thimerasol free vaccine for herself and her 7 year old twins who have asthma. When I say she had to search to find what we deem to be safer, I MEAN IT WAS VERY HARD TO FIND THEM. Her own OBGYN had only thimerasol containing H1N1 Vaccine, which I found disheartening in lieu of the controversary surrounding childhood vaccines which contain this neuro-toxin. Still I must blame the CDC and the FDA , and not doctors for not helping the public to understand the difference, and for not influencing the pharmaceutical companies to make more of the safer version available to the general public. Or how about this thought, make only the single dose thimerasol free "shot" version. Yes it would cost more money, but wouldn't it be worth it?

James Janes
4 days, 6 hours ago

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