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Post #11 Reflective Discussion Questions

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Post #11 Reflective Discussion Questions

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Here is the link for the word document containing the answers to the reflective questions.

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this article gives a detail about Jim Carrey another famous television figure, who has joined the teams with Jenny McCarty in her anti-vaccine movement. It also tells about Andrew Wakefield, who started all this fraudulent study of the possible link between autism and vaccines and came up with this myth along with Jenny McCarty.
Red Flags
Appeal to authority; Jim Carrey is a famous television and movie star and he openly condemns the California governor claiming that vaccines have poisonous substances in them such as Mercury.
Ideological support: Jim Carrey claims that it is not morally and ethically right to make all parents have their kids vaccinated as there are certain poisonous substances in vaccines such as  thimerosal and mercury which are very dangerous for them.
Confusion of correlation with causation: Carrey does not understand the difference between ethyl-mercury and methyl-mercury or the fact that there is virtually no mercury of any kind left in vaccines instead there is aluminium which is completely safe.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity: People can easily understand that vaccines are harmful because they have mercury in them which is highly poisonous.
Observation/perception: people just look at the fact that vaccines have mercury in them but they don't see or understand that what form and percentage of mercury is actually there in it.
Flaws/Limitations
There is virtually no mercury in vaccines. There is just aluminium and its derivatives present in them which is only there as an immune system stimulant and is well handled by the body. Therefore, Carrey's claim has no proof or evidence rather it is debunked by scientific knowledge and research.

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'Jim Carrey, Please Shut Up About Vaccines'

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The erstwhile Ace Ventura sounds off about vaccines. Spoiler alert: he's wrong

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This article explains that how Jenny McCarthy's claims are a threat to public health as evidenced by the measles outbreak. It also explains the how the science writer Seth Mnookin debunks the the myth of a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.
Red Flag
Appeal to authority; as Jenny McCarthy is an eminent media figure therefore, people take her claims into consideration and they are thought to be true without any scientific proof or evidence.
Confirmation bias: Oprah Winfrey and other people treated her as an expert of autism because she had that "mommy instinct" which confirms to their believes and make everyone think that she is correct.
Confusion of correlation with causation: Jenny McCarthy's son may have diagnosed with autism after he was vaccinated but it doesn't mean that vaccinations caused him to be autistic.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity; Jenny McCarty's claims against vaccinations are very easy to understand.
Paternicity: people believe Jenny McCarthy's claims to be true because they can see a pattern between the autism in children and the MMR vaccinations that they had.
Flaws/Limitations
Jenny McCarthy's claim cannot be proven by any scientific study and research that MMR vaccine causes autism in children. Moreover, she cannot be claimed as the expert of autism just because her son is autistic and she has the "mommy instinct" for it.

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To provide context to the ongoing outbreak of measles linked to visits to Disneyland and the influence of the anti-vaccination movement, science writer Seth Mnookin revisits the saga of one of the most celebrated anti-vaxxers, starlet Jenny McCarthy.

Mnookin's reporting on McCarthy comes from his indispensable 2012 book "The Panic Virus," which examines the myth of a link between the measles- mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, its origin in a bogus study by notorious British fraud Andrew Wakefield, and its spread by credulous news and entertainment figures. He posted the chapter on McCarthy on the PLoS blog's website in 2013, when ABC gave her a fresh new platform by naming her to the cast of the talk show "The View."

The measles outbreak is now up to 87 cases, of which 50 are linked to Disneyland visits. Of the 42 patients whose vaccination status is known, 37 were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. Second-order infections are now turning up--patients who were exposed to infected Disneyland visitors but hadn't been to the park itself.

The outbreak is raising questions about how best to combat some parents' doubts about the safety of the MMR vaccine, which has been amply documented by science, and about the role of medical regulators in quashing bad advice from pediatricians. More on that in a moment.

Mnookin's reporting depicts McCarthy, a former Playboy playmate and MTV star, as an easy mark for charlatans. After dabbling in New Age crystal spirituality, she fell in with an anti-vaccination group once her son was diagnosed with autism. She soon became a ubiquitous spokeswoman for a dizzying variety of autism nostrums--special diets, supplements, detox, chelation, hyperbaric chambers, etc., none of which has been shown to have any scientific validity--and for doubts about the MMR vaccine.

Most disturbingly, Mnookin documents how the news and entertainment industry abetted McCarthy's dangerous campaign. One of the chief offenders is Oprah Winfrey, who exposed her huge television audience to McCarthy, treating her as an expert on autism because she had "mommy instinct.... She knows what she's talking about," Oprah advised her fans. But CNN's Larry King and Time Inc.'s People Magazine also gave McCarthy star treatment. In our celebrity-obsessed culture in which TV actors are often called to testify before Congress on subjects of concern to their fictional characters, this was powerful stuff.

What's the best way to fight the spread of media-spread misinformation? Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan says it's a mistake to demonize vaccine-doubting parents as "selfish" or "dumb." ( As we've done.)

In an exchange with the veteran science and environmental journalist Keith Kloor, Nyhan maintains: "We need to maintain and strengthen the consensus around vaccination, but the most effective way to do so isn't by polarizing and dividing people. The vast majority of parents who don't vaccinate are intelligent and well-meaning people who are trying to do what's best for their children. We need to help them make better choices, not ridicule them."

Yet Nyhan's own research suggests that the root of anti-vaccine behavior by parents is an unreasoning conviction bordering on fanaticism. His 2013 study showed that anti-vaccine parents remained unswayed by scientific evidence that vaccines were safe--in fact, it sometimes made them more anti-vaccine.

That implies that the best approach may be to step up peer pressure in favor of vaccination, perhaps by making it socially unacceptable. That could have a real impact in affluent, educated communities--such as Marin and Orange counties--that have had declining vaccination rates. Parents there often think they know better than experts, and their views are reinforced by neighbors and popular but irresponsible local pediatricians. The counter-trend may already be surfacing, as the real consequences of nonvaccination and the real perils of measles become apparent, but vaccination rates are so low in some neighborhoods that it may have a long way to go.

What about regulators? It's proper to ask whether the Medical Board of California, which licenses physicians in the state, has been properly attentive to the issue of whether physicians advising parents to delay or skip childhood vaccinations are upholding their professional responsibilities. The board did not even post an alert about the measles outbreak on its website until Jan. 22, when I asked board officials why none had been issued.

There are no indications that the board has investigated doctors identified in news reports as puveyors of vaccine skepticism, despite news reports from their practices--though its investigations remain confidential until and unless they result in an action against the doctor's license. Still, as the state's leading regulator of physicians, the Medical Board should be in the forefront of the battle against anti-vaccination behavior by its licensees. So far, it isn't. By its inaction, it has ceded the stage to people like Jenny McCarthy.

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Jenny McCarthy: anti-vaxxer, public menace

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To provide context to the ongoing outbreak of measles linked to visits to Disneyland and the influence of the anti-vaccination movement, science writer Seth Mnookin revisits the saga of one of the most celebrated anti-vaxxers, starlet Jenny McCarthy.

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Post #6 "Jenny McCarthy's Controversial View"

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Post #6 "Jenny McCarthy's Controversial View"

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This video represents the famous celebrity: Jenny McCarty's viewpoint against autism and how she thinks that these vaccinations caused developmental problems in her son Evan and made him autistic. This video also continues to explain how there is no medical proof of the link between the two factors but Jenny still stands with her viewpoint and continues her anti-vaccine movement which can have some serious deadly consequences.
Red Flags
Appeal to authority: Jenny McCarty is an eminent television figure therefore, if she claims something to be true then it must be true.
Ideological support: anti-vaxxers claim that it is morally and ethically wrong to vaccinate your children as it cause more harm than good.
Confusion of correlation with causation: Jenny McCarthy thinks that vaccines caused autism in her son, Evan. In reality, this is not the case as there is no proven link between the two.
Reasons for belief
simplicity: it is easy to understand the link between autism and vaccinations as explained by Jenny McCarty that it is what caused her son to be autistic.
emotional connection: people may fall for it because Jenny McCarthy is loved by millions and her story has that emotional aspect to it.
ideology: people may believe it to be true because it has become part of what they believe as portrayed by these celebrities.
Flaws/Limitations
As this video explains itself that there is no scientifically proven link between autism and vaccines therefore, Jenny McCarty is in a huge misconception herself and she is publically portraying her claim to be true without any studies or research.

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Jenny McCarthy's controversial 'View' on v...

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This video is a NBC news documentary which explains the measles outbreak in 2015 which started in Disneyland. Measles were once thought to be completely eradicated but anti-vaxxers are claiming that measles are not a big of a deal when we look at the adverse effects that the vaccines cause. Chris Christie, a political figure claims that parents must have the choice of whether they want to vaccinate their children or not and Rand Paul who is a doctor claimed that he has found children with mental disorders who are vaccinated. But according to the news reporter if they are given that choice then they are putting other children of the country at risk too and again there is no proof of the link between developmental disturbances in children and vaccinations.
Red Flag
Appeal to authority: Chris Christie and Rand Paul are eminent political figures therefore, their claim must be true that vaccines are harmful as they cause mental disturbances in humans.
Confusion of correlation with causation: according to Rand Paul vaccines cause mental disorders in children however this is not the case. Both of these factors may occur simultaneously but it doesn't mean that one caused the other.
Red Herring: Instead of providing the proof of the harms of the vaccinations, anti vaxxers put forward the argument that it should be parents choice that whether they want their children to be vaccinated or not the government's.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity: it is really easy to understand that there is a link between children with mental disorders and vaccinations as all the affected children are vaccinated.
Ideology: People believe it as it is part of their political views and they stand with the politicians making these claims.
Flaws/Limitations
Rand Paul's claim cannot be proven by scientific method as there is no link between the vaccinations and children with mental disorders.

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The Sticking Point: The Anti-Vaxxer Movement - Late Night with Seth Meyers

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Post #8 "Vaccination and Complementary Health Practitioners"

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Post #8 "Vaccination and Complementary Health Practitioners"

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This article is about how according to a research, parents taking their children to complementary health medicine such as as a naturopath or chiropractor are more likely to delay or reject vaccination.
Red Flags
All natural; many vaccine-hesitant parents believe complementary medicine is safer and more personal than Western bio-medicine as it has less side effects and it is derived from all natural components.
Ideological support: many parents that are rejecting vaccinations do so because of their cultural beliefs which are very common in alternative lifestyle communities.
Reasons for belief
Ideology: many people are against vaccinations because that is part of their cultural beliefs and ideology.
Observation/Perception: people's beliefs are based on their observations and the perceptions that they have regarding nathropathic and chiropractic medicine and according to them they are more beneficial and safer than regular streamlined medicine.
Flaws/Limitations
Nathropathy and chiropractic are types of medical pseudoscience with no scientific background or any proven research behind them. Therefore, it can be extremely dangerous or in some cases deadly to follow these practices and ignoring the modern streamlined medicine.

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Australian parents who take their children to a complementary medicine practitioner such as a naturopath or chiropractor are more likely to delay or reject vaccination, according to our research.

Vaccine coverage for five-year-old children is over 93% across Australia, according to recent figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. However, in certain areas, such as parts of northern New South Wales, uptake is reportedly as low as 73.2%. This increases the risk of disease outbreaks.

Initiatives that focus on increasing vaccination in these communities are critical. If properly trained, complementary health practitioners in areas of low vaccination uptake could provide a vital link to help educate concerned or sceptical parents about the need to vaccinate their children.

Practitioners, parents and vaccine uptake

We surveyed 429 parents with at least one child under the age of six from all states in Australia. We asked about their children's visits to medical, allied and complementary medicine practitioners. We also asked whether their children's immunisations were up to date and about their own attitudes to vaccination.

We found parents who are cautious about vaccination often seek complementary health services over conventional medical services. This supports earlier research that has found many vaccine-hesitant parents believe complementary medicine is safer and more personal than Western biomedicine.

Read more: A short history of vaccine objection, vaccine cults and conspiracy theories

Many parents who have concerns about immunisation are more likely to trust information about vaccination received from a complementary medicine practitioner than a conventional medical provider. Parents appear to trust complementary medicine practitioners as they have always used this system of health care. Consequently, they continue to do so for their children's health.

For example, many parents describe being taken to see complementary medicine practitioners as children themselves. Parents may also be attracted to these practitioners after perceiving their general practitioner did not adequately answer their concerns about vaccination or take them seriously.

Anti-vax views common in 'alternative communities'

While vaccine rejection is multi-factorial and complex, we found that many parents who are cautious about vaccination have cultural beliefs that are common in alternative lifestyle communities. The upper Blue Mountains of New South Wales is one such community with well-known low vaccine coverage.

We are conducting research in partnership with the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network to explore complementary medicine practitioner attitudes to vaccination in this area. The latest immunisation figures show that only 80% of two-year-olds are vaccinated in Lawson, Wentworth Falls, Katoomba, Leura and Medlow Bath.

Our qualitative research found that many complementary medicine practitioners said they personally support immunisation but rarely feel "free" to have a conversation with parents about its benefits.

While there are various reasons for this, lack of confidence due to lack of vaccination training was a common concern. Many of the complementary medicine practitioners we spoke to recommended parents talk to their general practitioner, or suggested parents do their own research.

These findings support research from other countries that has found no default position on immunisation among complementary medicine practitioners. Many do support vaccination.

Complementary medicine practitioners are part of the Australian healthcare system, with accredited degree programs available. Therefore, they cannot be ignored as a potential source of information about vaccination - particularly for parents who are sceptical about it.

What about No Jab No Pay?

The Australian government introduced the No Jab No Pay policy in 2015 with the aim of increasing childhood vaccination uptake. Our study found its impact was minimal.

Read more: 'No jab, no pay' policy has a serious ethical sting

More than three-quarters of parents whose youngest child was not vaccinated said No Jab No Pay had no influence or made them less likely to vaccinate their child. Early successes may be related to catch-up vaccinations in older children. The new measures may further alienate some parents and therefore erode public confidence.

While it's still too early to entirely judge the success or failure of No Jab No Pay, our research indicates that alternative ways of providing information and support to parents may be most effective.

Complementary medicine practitioners may be part of the solution

Unfortunately, the topic of vaccination has become politicised and controversial in Australia. But discussion about alternative ways to communicate with vaccine-hesitant parents remains essential.

Many parents are taking their children to see complementary medicine practitioners for general health care. If proper training is provided, these practitioners could be part of the solution to increasing vaccine uptake.

Ideally, this training could include a compulsory module on immunisation that covers history, benefits and risks of vaccination, the science behind the vaccine schedule and how to communicate with parents about immunisation. Ensuring complementary medicine practitioners are equipped with the skills to have evidence-based conversations with parents may be an effective way of overcoming vaccine concern and scepticism.

Complementary medicine practitioners offer an important potential means to convince concerned or sceptical parents of the benefits of vaccinating their children.

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How complementary medicine practitioners can help get kids vaccinated

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Australian parents who take their children to a complementary medicine practitioner such as a naturopath or chiropractor are more likely to delay or reject vaccination, according to our research. Vaccine coverage for five-year-old children is over 93% across Australia, according to recent figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

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The following video gives a historical view of how and when the concept of vaccination and immunization originated; the discovery of the first vaccine by "Edward Jenner" against small pox. It explains that how at that time there were people against this discovery. People were grossed out by the fact that the pus from sick animals (cows) are taken and rubbed against children's skin. This war and hatred against vaccines still continue but now the reasoning has changed. Now there is a unproven link between autism and vaccinations that anti-vaxxers have came up with. As a result of which, there are still are lot of people that are not getting their children's vaccinations done which is leading to the outbreaks of certain preventable diseases that were thought to be completely eradicated.
Red Flags
Confusion of correlation with causation: the number of autistic children that are vaccinated may be higher than un-vaccinated children but it does not mean that vaccinations are the cause of autism in these children.
Ideological support: a large number of parents who do not vaccinate their children do so because of their ideological beliefs. As the video gives example of certain religious groups that are against vaccinations such as Amish.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity: it is very simple and easy to understand the relationship between autism and vaccinations rather than the complicated scientific and medical reasoning behind the use of vaccines.
Ideology: most parents are anti-vaxxers because that is part of their ideological beliefs.
Agenticity: People believe that vaccines cause harm because there are higher authorities such as famous celebrities supporting this claim.
Flaws/Limitations
The is none scientific evidence or statistical study which shows that the certain chemicals in vaccines cause autism. These are just the verbal claims with no proof or evidence behind it.

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The origins of the anti-vaccine movement

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The following picture is a quotation by Gandhi, who is a famous historical figure. This quotation represents his strong belief against the use of vaccines  that it causes more harm than good.
Red Flags
Appeal to authority: there is a use of a authoritative image, in this case Gandhi, to lend the appearance of the credibility of this anti-vaccination theory.
Proof by verbosity: this technique is used here in a sense that a huge quantity of information has been provided with no sound proof just to show that the claim is true.
Reasons for belief
Agenticity: People believe the claim to be true because the higher authorities claim it to be true.
Emotional connection: people might fall for this false claim because in this quotation the technique of emotional arousal is used. People can get emotional by reading this quotation and may think that it is true.
Flaws/Limitations
The claims that "vaccination is a barbarous and fatal practice" has been made in this quotation is no scientific background to it.

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The following picture represents the view point of the anti-vaxxers which is a mere argument with no sound proof and evidence in response to the scientific knowledge and reasoning that supports the cause of vaccinations.
Red Flags
Red herring: The use of wordy arguments to deviate the readers from the actual standpoint of the claim and an irrelevant piece of information is thrown in for distraction.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity: this is much easy and simpler to understand that un-vaccinated children should not be a threat to anyone as the children with vaccinations are safe because that is the whole reason why there are vaccinated in the first place.
Flaws/Limitations
It has been very well proven that the children who are not vaccinated are prone and highly susceptible to many infectious diseases. These diseases may also include these infections that are not curable and hence putting others who are vaccinated to the same danger as well.

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The following pictures is kind of banner for all the parents that the anti vaxxers came up. It sort of summarizes everything and gives the gist of their belief; includes a list of all the disorders that they believe to be caused by the various harmful chemicals in the vaccines.
Red Flags
Confusion of correlation with causation: There may be a relationship between the children who had vaccines and were diagnosed with one or more of the following conditions but it doesn't mean that vaccines caused these disorders in the first place.
Proof by verbosity: In this following picture, a huge amount of information is present with a long list of diseases caused by the use of vaccines but there is no actual evidence. They are just stating these wrong beliefs that they come up with without any proof in order to deceive the parents.
Reasons for belief
Simplicity: one of the reasons of belief for the parents would be simplicity because foe them this is easy to understand and interpret that how there are certain harmful chemicals in the vaccines rather than understand the complex medical knowledge and reasoning behind the use and the benefits of vaccinations.
Flaws/limitations
The following pictures have so many limitations and flaws in it. One of the major limitation would be the lack of scientific knowledge and evidence. It cannot be tested by the scientific method and the results cannot be reproduced.

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Mashal Naeem (working individually)