Wacko Anti-Vaxxers Blame Microcephaly on Vaccines,
not the Zika Virus....
Here's an example of such an Internet posting, but there are many others, pretty much all leading back to the quack, Mercola:
https://www.davidwolfe.com/birth-defects-in-brazil-zika-or-vaccine/
Or this one:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/as-brazil-confronts-zika-vaccine-rumors-shape-perceptions/
Despite all evidence linking microcephaly in newborns to Zika virus infections during pregnancy, anti-vaxxers, in their misbegotten zeal, are trying to pin such cases on Tdap vaccinations, which protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Since these vaccinations are given throughout the developed world to both children and adults, there would be an obvious connection to microcephaly cases wherever the vaccine was administered.
That is not the case, of course. Microcephaly is a very rare birth defect. A rise in its occurrence would be noticed very quickly. In fact, there has been such an increase in places where Zika virus is prevalent, but not elsewhere. Further, the presence of the Zika virus in mothers has been linked to the increase.
This is just one more example of opponents of vaccination attempting to associate vaccinations to a wide range of medical problems, from autism to other issues. As is typical, the associations have all been shown to be specious in nature. The Anti-vaxxer movement, internationally, has put fear in the minds of people and has decreased the percentage of children who get vaccinations against childhood diseases, many of which have almost been eradicated by universal vaccination requirements.
Anti-vaccination propaganda is dangerous. Where it prevents people from having children vaccinated, it increases the risk of harm to those children markedly.
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