General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If you don't vaccinate your children. [View all]Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)I do not believe the movement for safer vaccines you refer to is the same as, or even related to, Jenny McCarthy's thing about Vaccines and autism, for instance.
I think that the kids who are coming down with pertussis now are direct fallout from the latter; as you note, the vaccine now is much safer.
Yes, medical professionals have fucked up and made mistakes in the past. Shit, my mom was one of the kids who got their thyroids irradiated in the 1940s. I'm certainly aware and respectful of the motivation to make sure medical treatments are safe and effective, and not harmful- and I'm not someone who takes 'authorities' at their word without question.
But the current situation with the current vaccine is directly related to the current anti-vax movement (being in favor of making sure something is safe is NOT the same as being opposed to the thing itself) and is directly responsible for the preventable pertussis deaths in newborns mentioned upthread.