Denialism Blog

Category: Anti-Vax Denialism

  • Dr. Bernadine Healy—what else has she been up to?

    As discussed yesterday, former NIH director Dr. Bernadine Healy has been saying some very strange things lately. Since crank-ism doesn’t usually pop up out of nowhere, I decided to poke around a little. In an amazing co-incidence, some of Healy’s forays into the world of crankery neatly parallel the hot-button issues of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

    For example:

    1) As discussed yesterday, Healy thinks thimerosal is toxic. So does AAPS.

    2) Healy tried to interfere inappropriately in the Terry Schiavo case. So did AAPS.

    3) Healy isn’t so fond of science and evidence guiding medical practice. Neither is the AAPS.

    On the other hand, she has come out against the Bush administration in supporting condom use, and helped fight the battle to make the morning-after pill available.

    So, perhaps Dr. Healy isn’t a simple crank, but a complex and developing crank. Perhaps there is still hope. Unfortunately, folks who walk the crank path rarely look back.

    Come back, Bernadine, come back!

  • Bernadine Healy: new crank on the block

    I love Saturday mornings. I usually get up early, make coffee, hang out with my daughter. Before my daughter wakes up and makes me change the channel, I usually catch a few minutes of CNN, which, at that time of day, features fellow Michigander Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Today, he started out talking about women and heart disease, an important topic. Then he moved on to a discussion with Dr. Bernadine Healy about vaccines. This is where it got ugly. In fact, I was emailing Orac about an unrelated matter, and I began to rant incoherently. Orac reeled me back in, and was kind enough to send me a few additional links regarding Dr. Healy.
    (more…)

  • Measles!

    I’m vacationing, so I’ll point you to some important posts from my SciBlings, DM and Orac. Measles is no joke, and the latest report reminds us that the anti-vaccine folks are dangerous.

  • Church vs. Science

    HT to Tara

    The United Methodist Church has just allowed its member to deliver unto them a hunk of burning stupid. Some misguided souls have looked upon vaccines and have found them wanting. Let us examine for ourselves this misguided petition (which passed 58 to 0). (I’ll skip the theological justifications given—they are irrelevant, unless the Bible says, “thou shalt not preserve vaccines with thimerosal.”)

    Whereas, Thimerosal (synonyms include: Thiomseral, Merthiolate, Thimerasol) is a severely toxic, antiquated, organic mercury compound (approximately 50% mercury by weight) that has been added to some vaccines and pharmaceutical products since the 1930s,

    OK, we’ve been over this…thimerosal is not “severely toxic”, and was safely used in vaccines for decades until it was removed from most of them a number of years ago.

    Whereas, numerous peer-reviewed scientific/medical studies published over many decades, at least since the 1930s, have recommended removing or restricting the use of Thimerasol in medicinal products, and have demonstrated its significant toxicity,

    Time to update your references. This issue has been thoroughly studied, and no link between thimerasol-containing vaccine and ill-health has been found.

    Whereas, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended, in 1982, that Thimerosal be banned from topical over-the-counter products, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and United States Public Health Service called for its removal from all vaccines in July of 1999, as did the Institute of Medicine of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2001

    This was done as a precaution pending data. The data are in. They’re safe. Meanwhile, it’s moot, as only the flu vaccine still has the darn stuff.

    You know what? I can’t keep going. This God-damned document produced by the Church is a travesty. It will put children at risk, and we all know that Jesus loves the little children. I know there are Methodist doctors out there. Lots of them. Perhaps they could maybe drop a line to the Church letting them know what asses they are making of themselves?

  • Huffington Post is a denialist website

    How else can you describe a site that regularly publishes David Kirby’s anti-vaccination denialism, Jennifer McCarthy’s insanity, and conspiracy theories from the like of Diedre Imus?

    The latest this weekend is the goalpost-moving from David Kirby, which based on the egregious misinterpretation of the Hannah Poling case, represents the new front of anti-vaccination denialists in their war on reason. In the never-ending quest to pin autism on vaccines no matter what the evidence, the anti-vaccine denialists now are trying to make autism a mitochondrial disorder in order to fit their latest imagined victory. Despite the obvious fact that the disorder in the Poling case was a pre-existing genetic dysfunction that was possibly aggravated by vaccines, Kirby has decided to add to the confusion by now suggesting that this was a “concession” by the government of a causative link between vaccines and autism.

    There is no evidence of a link. between autisms and vaccines.

    This post from Kirby is joined by this article from Barbara Fischkin which has the audacity to blame autism on thimerosal:

    These people were poisoned. One of the culprits is, no doubt, the mercury preservative that was put willy-nilly into so many vaccines.

    Let’s be clear. The thimerosal-autism link is one of the clearest examples of a failed hypothesis that I can think of. It was extensively studies, and roundly disproven by the fact that 6 years after it’s removal autism diagnoses continue to increase (A longer discussion for why this is). Even Kirby won’t support this nonsense, yet the HuffPo will gladly let other cranky celebrities and other morons write whatever the hell they want about science as if they have any idea what they are talking about.

    This is an example of something we here at denialism blog have been talking about lately. Liberalism is no protection from anti-scientific thinking. In fact, if there is a unifying theme of denialism, it is that any extreme of ideological thinking leads to the necessary denial of fact. When one considers the causes of denialist worldviews, one sees again and again some form of fundamentalist belief. Fundamentalist religion leads to the rejection of evolution. Free-market fundamentalists are the leading source of anti-global warming denialism. On the liberal side, a mixture of technophobia and neo-luddism leads to paranoid suspicions about everything from GM crops causing non-existent illnesses to fear of harmless radio technology such as wifi to the fear of vaccines and medicine innovations exemplified by the HuffPo cranks and the evidence-based medicine/HIV/AIDS denialists like Mike Adams and Gary Null.

    All overvalued ideology ultimately represents a threat to scientific or rational thinking. Science doesn’t respect political values or preconceived notions about how the world works. Liberals may side with global warming science because it fits with their preconceived paranoia of corporations and technology, and conservatives may love evidence-based medicine because it protects Dick Cheney from the Grim Reaper but it’s clear no matter what the ideology, whenever there is a conflict between science and politics there is always a constituency that favors rejection of fact to maintain a fixed belief.

    Medicine is no exception. Conservatives don’t generally object to medicine, but are happy to lie about contraception, abortion, embryonic stem cell science or the evil FDA regulators when it conflicts with their pro-life or fundamentalist free market agenda. Liberals don’t object to object to being put together after car accidents either, but their anti-corporate and anti-authority ideology leads them to dream up all sorts of paranoid conspiracy theories that fit with altie-woo and luddite denialism.

    I believe public policy should be informed by the evidence first, and ideology should always play second fiddle to what can be demonstrated by the facts. When that order is reversed you are playing a dangerous game. Huffington Post, by supporting this denialist claptrap is risking its reputation on writers who are little more than kooks. I think they should follow the model of Daily Kos. The scientific standards for what appears on the front page is consistently top-notch. The diaries, which are essentially a free-for-all, are monitored for the presence of 9/11 conspiracy nonsense and other kinds of embarrassing crankery which damages the ultimate goal of the website. I would hope that Huffington Post could learn from this and understand the importance of standards for inclusion of posts on their site. These kooks will bring them down, because, dammit, lot’s of us out here in the real world think science is important. I would also hope that contributors to Huffington Post who care about science will realize that Huffington Post shouldn’t get a pass just because they might happen to be right on global warming or evolution. These types of posts from pseudoscientific crackpots are an embarrassment, and the inclusion of these kooks undermines the legitimacy of the site as a whole. If there are people who care about making HuffPo sound like a source of legitimate opinion and analysis, they should take a stand, now, before it’s too late.

  • There is no pro-science political party

    With the news that in addition to John McCain both Clinton and Obama have now pandered to anti-vaccine denialism I think it’s time to reiterate there isn’t a political party in this country that has a truly sound grasp on sound science. And in this instance it is clear that both sides are more than happy to pander to the denialists.

    The fact is that there is no link between vaccines and autism. As time has gone on the denialists move the goalposts further and further back as the evidence for a link becomes increasingly unlikely. First it was thimerosal, and now 6 years after its removal from childhood vaccines we continue to see an increase in autism diagnoses. And what about that epidemic? It’s not really an epidemic.

    This is one of the problems of medicine that occurs time and again with denialists. As our diagnostic criteria change, as our tests become more sensitive, as our screening becomes more rigorous, the appearance of many diseases and disorders tends to increase. Cranks routinely latch onto this as evidence we’re getting sicker, or are being poisoned by fluoride, or vaccines, or alien lizards running Monsanto, but the fact is when these public health interventions are rigorously studied, the link simply is not there. Autism is no exception. As the diagnostic criteria were widened, the stigma of diagnosis decreased (the damn Freudians decided to blame it on bad mothers so it wasn’t exactly a diagnosis that was sought out), and more social services and money were addressed to the disorder the population of children diagnosed with the disorder has widened. All attempts to link the autism with vaccines scientifically have failed, and the methods used by the anti-vaccine crowd to spread this myth are denialist to the last drop. They allege outrageous conspiracies implicating everyone from the CDC to the FDA to the average family doc. They cherry pick the scientific literature for every tiny little scrap they can twist to fit their position and ignore the rigorous international studies demonstrating no link. They put their faith in fake experts like the Geiers and crank journalists like David Kirby. They are the kings of moving the goalposts as exemplified in their unwillingness to admit that thimerosal had nothing to do with autism or their recent pathetic attempt to link mitochondrial disorders to autism in light of the Hannah Poling case. Logical fallacies are their bread and butter.

    Vaccines are arguably the most effective life saver that evidence-based medicine has ever developed. Fear of vaccines in parents is natural. Utilizing a technology that puts your child at risk, even the astronomically small risk associated with vaccination, to prevent an illness they may never get interferes with the basic primal instincts of parents to protect their children from any harm. That and shots are scary. They make kids scared and upset.

    Rational people realize that the benefits outweigh the risks, that the ride to the doctor is probably more risky than the jab, and vaccination is the responsible decision for a parent to make. And while I sympathize with the parents of autistic children who think vaccines are to blame the science is simply not on their side. The anti-vaccine cranks exploit this completely understandable but irrational fear in normal parents of harming their children, and in doing so are actively harming public health. The science-based medicine denialists then typically offer any number of unproven crank cures with which, for a price, you can experiment on your children. Testimonials abound, scientific evidence of their efficacy or a physiologic basis for the intervention is nowhere to be seen.

    I am incredibly disappointed with both candidates for failing so thoroughly to stand up for science in this instance. I think it’s an excellent example of why ScienceDebate2008 is such an important objective. Science is not conservative or liberal, Democratic or Republican. And if we are interested in the voice of science wielding influence on public policy we have to realize that we have to act as an independent voice of reason. Citizens who think science is important and should inform public policy must become their own constituency. Having a presidential debate on science will make it clear that there is a large body of people in this country that value science and what it offers to society, and we demand to be listened to by both political parties.

  • Blogger still under fire

    If the uber-fascist wing of the anti-vaccine movement had any scientific credibility, it wouldn’t need to throw around subpoenas. That is what is (still) happening to the author of the Neurodiversty blog (hat tip again to LizDitz).

    I’m sitting here in the hospital with my sick daughter. She has all that modern medicine has to offer, and is thankfully doing well. If she weren’t, my reaction wouldn’t be to abandon science and start slinging blame—she fell ill to a common virus, and that’s that. I certainly wouldn’t start legal action against people who disagree with me. That’s crazy.

    In science, evidence is what makes an argument. Legal threats don’t change physical reality. All they do is intimidate. And if legal intimidation is all the support your crazy hypothesis can gather, then it’s time to give up and go home. Instead of suing bloggers, go home and spend time with your family—that’s how you can help them best.

  • Whoopie!

    Last night I was reading a book to my daughter at bedtime. It was all about a kid who had chickenpox. I looked at my wife and said, “this is a bit outdated.”

    “So what, it’s cute,” she accurately replied.

    Wow. I hadn’t thought about it much lately, but chickenpox in the U.S. is disappearing rapidly. “Pox parties” are gone. Kids aren’t missing weeks of school. Pediatric ICUs aren’t seeing much varicella pneumonia. Now that I think about it, a number of important lessons I learned in medical school are becoming historical oddities. On my pediatric rotation, we learned to watch for the ominous “thumb print sign” on lateral neck x-rays, along with the stridor and drooling that accompanies epiglottitis. Thanks to the Hib vaccine, this entity is now very rare.

    Of course, these childhood diseases still exist. Mumps is still with us. Measles waxes and wanes. And pertussis (whooping cough) is alive and well.

    In my work as an internist, I see a lot of coughs and colds. They are very common, and a lot of my time is spent dispensing grandmotherly advice and helping people understand why antibiotics are not going to cure a virus. But not every cough is completely benign, and much of the teaching I do is helping young doctors to distinguish the difference.

    Over the last year, I’ve diagnosed around 4 cases of pertussis. Ideally this shouldn’t have happened. Pertussis is relatively harmless in adults, but it is very dangerous to young children. Pertussis used to be a widespread disease. It is fairly benign in adults, causing a bronchitis-like illness. But children are at high risk of becoming very ill. The greatest risk is for children under 6 months old. If they get pertussis, they almost always need to be hospitalized. Pneumonia occurs in about a quarter of them, seizures and brain damage in about 3-5%. Death rates are about 1-2 in 1000. Serious allergic reactions to the vaccine occur in less than one in 100,000 cases.

    If you are unvaccinated and live with someone who has the disease, you will catch it (80-100% transmission rate). Vaccination prevents disease, and when it does not, it lessens the severity. Most importantly, vaccination prevents transmission to those most vulnerable…babies. They are too young to have developed proper immunity. So getting vaccinated is not just for personal protection; it is for the protection of others.

    Vaccination is safe and effective…we already have a way to fight this. The problem is, the vaccine’s effects do not last forever, and if an adult catches it, it looks a lot like a common cold; there is no way to identify and isolate the infected to prevent transmission. Vaccinating everyone protects our most vulnerable, and failure to vaccinate everyone puts our infants at risk.

    Since pertussis immunity wanes with time, a new adult vaccine containing acellular pertussis is now available bundled with tetanus and diphtheria (if you’re under 65). When you go for your next tetanus shot (every 10 years), ask about it. By vaccinating yourself and your family, you can help prevent a child from getting ill. You might even save a life.

    CDC Pertussis Information

    More pertussis information

  • Flu roundup

    This was a really crappy season. The system for developing flu viruses is the best we’ve got, but it’s imperfect. This year, we had significant mismatch between the vaccine and the circulating strains.

    According to the CDC, this season peaked in mid-February, and was “moderately severe”—and the worst season in four years.

    Improving our system of flu prevention will take lots of work, including epidemiology, basic science, and front-line medicine.

    A lousy flu season not only causes suffering and death, but also fuels denialits, who sit at their keyboards drooling at the prospect of pointing out vaccine failures. Most arguments center around the tu quoque fallacy: “maybe my vaccine lunacy is useless, but look, you made a big boo-boo this year.” The problem with this reasoning is that in the final analysis, vaccines always do far more good than harm.

    Some critics (OK, one obsessive-compulsive commenter) bring up outbreaks of vaccine-related polio in Nigeria and India. This is an example of imcomplete knowledge. The response to a vaccine-related polio outbreak is the same as a natural outbreak—mass vaccination.

    As I’ve told you before    , there are two types of polio vaccine: IPV and OPV. Both have certain advantages and disadvantages. The OPV (oral polio vaccine) is a live virus, but usually does not cause disease. The disadvantage is that rarely it can cause human disease. The advantage is that if you give it to several children in a rural village, it will be passed to the rest of the village via contaminated drinking water—the same way that wild-type poliovirus is spread. Kids take the vaccine and poop out the virus. Poor sewerage takes the vaccine to the water supply, and the villagers drink it. Mass vaccination then occurs passively. In the U.S., this has been phased out. One of the reasons for this is the large number of immunosuppressed people in this country—those undergoing chemotherapy, etc. They are the ones most at risk for having problems with the live oral vaccine.

    The other polio vaccine is the IPV, which is an inactivated virus that is injected. This confers immunity, and avoids the problems of the live vaccine. What it doesn’t do is passively immunize others like the OPV.

    The usual effective response to an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease is to create a wide area of vaccination around the center of the outbreak. This has been very effective. The correct response is not to throw your hands in the air and say, “I guess vaccines don’t work, let’s give up.”

    One of the basic problems with the anti-vaccine crowd is that they offer no real solutions. Vaccines have been found in study after study to prevent death and debility from many different illnesses. Since denialists don’t have the data on their side, they like to simply point at the problems with current vaccines, without offering solutions.

    If they really wanted to help, denialists could get an education and join the fight. Help us find ways of improving our methods of developing and delivering flu vaccines.

    But quit yer whining.

  • Measles—it's no joke

    A new patient came to see me a few months back. She is in her 60’s or 70’s and not in the best health. She is very nice. And simple—very simple. I spoke to her brother before the appointment. He told me that she was a normal, happy kid until the age of seven.

    Then she got sick. At first it wasn’t much, just a cold. Then there was a rash. Then she got very, very sick. She had measles, and she was one of the about 1-1000 people who develop acute encephalitis as a complication of the disease.

    The rest of the kids in the family are quite bright and successful. My patient came to her appointment with a caregiver who assists her in basically any function that requires thought. She’s quite nice, but she’s not happy. She is anxious, perhaps partly because she can’t understand what is going on around her. And she is completely dependent on others for all but the most basic of her physical needs.

    Denialists point to all kinds of pseudo-evidence (i.e. made-up crap) when it comes to vaccination. The point they always miss, partly because they never see it in real life, is that these diseases have real consequences for real people—not just made up connections with autism and other problems. The statistics are quite clear. Vaccines save lives. People who were around in the pre-vaccine era will tell you about the fear.

    I recently did an oral history with my father. During a whooping cough epidemic, his mother rented a cottage on a lake outside the city to keep her kids from getting pertussis and perhaps ending up dead or brain-damaged from hypoxia. As an intern in the 40s he remembers how summer would bring a flood of polio victims to the hospital.

    The diseases that vaccines prevent are very real and much more dangerous than the vaccines designed to prevent them.

    There have been recent outbreaks of measles associated with reduced vaccination rates. Parents who fail to vaccinate their kids bear a portion of responsibility for this, but it’s the noisy idiots like Jenny McCarthy and Gary Null who are more to blame.

    I enjoyed meeting my new patient, but it was a sad visit. Her parents were dead, her siblings had already finished their careers and become grandparents, and she was left behind, a seven year-old in a 70 year-old’s body.