Truth decayCould a booster shot of truth help scientists fight the anti-vaccine crisis?
The recent outbreak of measles cases in Clark County, Washington – which has been linked to a plummeting vaccination rate in this hotbed of anti-vaccination activism – makes clear that conspiracy theories, fear, and misinformation know no partisan bounds. One of the first lessons to be learned from this “metastasis” of science denial is how dangerous it is not to fight back. Science denial isn’t limited to fringe groups – if it isn’t fought in the trenches of corporate interest and ideology, it can spread not only to the general population, but to government too, with horrible policy consequences. What is the best way to fight back against such rank ignorance? What we need most to fight science denial is a better understanding of how science works, and we should point out that scientific claims are based on evidence. We should not pretend that vaccines are 100 percent safe. There have been isolated cases of negative reactions, sometimes even leading to death. These, however, represent such a small risk – as compared to the much larger one of dying from childhood diseases like measles or whooping cough – that unless a child is immuno-compromised, it doesn’t make sense to forego vaccines. Indeed, because there are immuno-suppressed children out there, one might say that it is the obligation of the rest of us whose children are not in such a risk group to make sure that our own children are vaccinated.
The recent outbreak of measles cases in Clark County, Washington – which has been linked to a plummeting vaccination rate in this hotbed of anti-vaccination activism – makes clear that conspiracy theories, fear, and misinformation know no partisan bounds. The governor has declared a state of emergency and sent public health officials out to talk to parents – sometimes one on one – as more than 60 cases have now been reported.
Now imagine what might happen if the government itself had embraced an official anti-vaccine policy.
As a philosopher of science who has studied science denial, I know that science denial is a world-wide phenomenon. Although some anti-science claims like evolution denial are particularly virulent in the U.S.(outstripped only by Turkey), it’s not just America that faces this problem.
This can be both a blessing and a curse. While it’s sad to know that the forces behind science denial are larger than any one culture or political party, it’s good to know that if we study what is happening elsewhere, it may help us learn how to fight science denial in general.
One of the first lessons to be learned from this “metastasis” of science denial is how dangerous it is not to fight back. As we’ve seen with climate change in the U.S., science denial isn’t limited to fringe groups – if it isn’t fought in the trenches of corporate interest and ideology, it can spread not only to the general population, but to government too, with horrible policy consequences. But it matters too how we fight back, which I believe is illustrated perfectly by what is happening with the anti-vaccination movement.
The anti-vaccination crisis in Italy
First, it is important to state the facts: the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism was based on a fraud. Andrew Wakefield’s bogus 1998 study has been debunked numerous times and, in the end, it was learned that the whole thing arose not from sloppy science or a mistake, but from what some called deliberatemanipulation of the data based on an undisclosed conflict of interest. Wakefield’s paper was retracted and his medical license was stripped. Yet still the generalized fear of vaccines has survived and taken hold among a world-wide audience of parents who are confused and suspicious – and love their children just as much as the rest of us.
