Vaccination is arguably one of the most innovative invention
in the human history. Since the inception of the idea (the practice of
variolation), which was traced back to 10th century China, the
method has been studied, tested, improved, and mass-produced to potentially
save millions of lives. Refused to live under the mercy of nature, humanity
took one more step to take control of our own bodies and save the least
fortunate among us. The method is both beneficial and cost-effective, yet since
ex-Biomedical researcher Andrew Wakefield released a paper implying the
causation between the MMR vaccine and autism in children, there has been a
growing community of parents questioning, delaying or refusing to vaccinate their
children. To determine how we could solve this issue, we must understand how
this idea came to spread.
According to the book On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula
Biss, the fear of inoculation is nothing new. Through out her overview of the
history of inoculation, examining every aspect of it, from fiction and
non-fiction literature, personal and societal viewpoints, humanity is portrayed
to be fearful and ridiculous, to misunderstand nature, to be lost in their own
ignorant of science. He was ingrained of both the image of a lower-class
citizen and the act of inoculation. She was paranoid with the foreign
government’s interference through vaccination campaign. And for plenty other
reasons, they all choose not to vaccinate their children. But contradicting all
those skepticism, the science is in and is clearly in favor of vaccination, so
can they not weigh the risk of deadly diseases and the risk of mild fever
reacting to the vaccine?
For one, science is, simply put: hard. The general population
with a high-school diploma, will hopefully understand basic human physiology
and vaccination. That is if they actually paid attention in Biology class, and was
willing to spend 3 hours Googling “adaptive immunity”, NLR, PAMP, and NPC. If
not, they will have to juggle with Scientific Mumbo Jumbo with the rest of the
world, while thinking whether to inject their offspring with Smallpox and
Measles. That’s where media came in with science for the laymen. News and reported researches of dumbed down
information give the generic man a simple understanding of the intricate working
of nature. Then, he is free to ask for whoever to interpret that information.
He could choose to ask a professional, to consult him if his children were able
to take the vaccines. Or he could choose to ask a “professional”, to confirm
his belief that this is unnatural, that Big Pharmas are lying, that his fear is
justified. Humanity is, has and always will be fearful of what they don’t
understand. Crooked opportunists like Andrew Wakefield and Robert Sears will be
there, waiting to prey on concerned mothers for money, power and fame. In this
day and age, they would only need wifi and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing to
broadcast their misinformation.
It’s not just the fact that science is dumbed down that
matters, it’s also how it’s dumbed down. How we think is shaped by how we talk.
And when we talk, we don’t just talk; we tell stories, visualizing worlds
unknown to us. “Immunologists are forced to use unusual expressions in order to
describe their observations.”(On Immunity, pg 56). They personify cells, tell
story of how they memorize, how they recognize, read, eat and most importantly,
fight. Mixed with a lack of knowledge about science, our brains would run
haywire with imaginations. Images of “world-ending” bacteria and “evil” viruses
freak us out, so we choose to use antibiotics
for the mildest sinus infection, like using a sledge hammer to squash an ant,
killing even the useful microbiome inside of us. Inoculation reminds us of Vampirism
and invasion, or even a polution of our naturally “pure” bodies, so we’re scared
senseless, choosing to trust our so-called instinct instead of scietific
evidence.
The circle
continues. And the world would come to question everything and understand
nothing. Ignorant grows, disguising as skepticism while Measles breaks out all
over America, and Polio Africa. To break the cycle, there are two ways:
First, if science
is hard, then instead of making science less hard, we should make people
smarter. Best case scenario: we can fuel students with curiosity and excitement
to learn more about the world around and inside them. If such method is
unsuccessful, some suggest we shouldn’t put useless knowledge into their
brains, but we can teach them how to think critically and how to find
information effectively. We do this right, and hopefully enough of the next
generation will be scientifically illiterate and vaccinated to break through
the herd immunity threshold, against both diseases and predatory influencers.
Second, we can change the narrative of science. Reframing
the story of inoculation will help desensitize people to the idea of it.
Inoculation shouldn’t symbolize pollution, but as an input to the immunity
database to fight off the true invasion. Inoculation shouldn’t be described as
impalement, but as something as usual as taking a pill. I believe overtime,
inoculation will be treated as equal as other treatment. Till then, the media
must portray vaccination in different lights.
Systematic
educational problem is hard to solved, and my ego is nowhere nearly big enough
for me to be sure of my position. Thus, I would like to retreat my arrogant
opinions and respectfully let true educators do their jobs.
REFERENCES:
Biss, E. (2015). On immunity: an inoculation. Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf.
REFERENCES:
Biss, E. (2015). On immunity: an inoculation. Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf.
There are so many people in the United States that have only a high school graduation and they most likely don't understand the different aspects of vaccinations. The public can't believe every exaggerated and unproven claim regarding vaccinations. Another way to teach people about the importance of vaccines is when people go to the hospital, doctors and nurses have to provide the necessary information to their patients so they understand that vaccinations are not dangerous. However, while they should provide their patients with this information, they shouldn't force vaccinations onto their patients.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying Ethan. And I'm pretty sure that's what they doing now, right?
DeleteEducation reform is absolutely needed in this country. Not just in the way things are taught, but also what is being taught. It is insane that we live in a world driven by science and yet the population has little to no understanding of what is actually happening. Until that reform comes, it is our duty to ensure those we know are well informed.
ReplyDelete