A fellow Odyssey writer wrote an article titled "STOP Vaccine Shaming," and you can read it here. Upon clicking on the link, I originally thought it would be a satirical article, only to find that the author of the article was genuinely ignorant to how the immune system and vaccines work. She begins her article by stating how frustrated she is, and it's great that she's passionate about something, really. She states her belief that the decision to vaccinate yourself or your child is a choice. The following are points in her article that are logically and scientifically incorrect.

"Virtually every ad, every article or meme I've seen on Facebook pro-vaccine shames those who are against them. What I really don't understand is how that is so different from pro-life ads shaming women for wanting choices that concern their own bodies."

Let me start by speculating the reason that the author of this article has no idea what she's talking about is likely because she gets her information from Facebook. Another reason could be that she has no critical thinking skills. Abortion is a sticky subject, but a woman's decision to have an abortion affects the woman and the fetus, and that's it. Other people in society don't die because women decide to have abortions. Other people in society do, in fact, die when people do not vaccinate themselves or their children.

For example, if a school-aged child does not get vaccinated, contracts a preventable disease such as measles and then proceeds to infect another child who either did not get vaccinated by parental choice or age limitations resulting in that other child's death, that parent's choice not to vaccinate resulted in the death of another human. Not vaccinating your child can cause the REEMERGENCE of serious, fatal diseases.

The World Health Organization states, "Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available... In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year... During 2000-2014, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 17.1 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health." But the author of this article has no sense of what credible information is, as evidenced by my next point, so maybe citing the "who" doesn't do much for my argument.

"My mother is against most vaccines because of their harmful effects such as autism... My mother is also against them because she believes that there are just too many being given without good reason, especially to children, the HPV vaccine being a good example of that. Another reason is that the CDC is simply not a reliable source of information."

She goes on to say, "Do you want to know why I take my mother’s opinions so seriously? She does her research. Yes, she’s a natural healthcare expert, as well as a pharmacist, but it’s not just her background. Any parent that I have ever heard of that doesn’t vaccinate their children does research. Research that includes both sides of the argument." The author of this article claims that the Center for Disease Control is not a valid source of information, yet her pharmacist mother's research into vaccines is enough to argue that vaccines cause autism. The author of the SINGLE study that claimed vaccines cause autism had his medical license revoked because he admitted that his study and findings were all a hoax, but clearly, some people believe everything they read. Her mother cuts and counts pills and has no grounds for making medical revelations.

The CDC isn't a reliable source in this author's eyes, but she cites a website called Vaxtruth.org as her primary evidence for why she thinks vaccines are bad. Her mother's belief that "there are just too many [vaccines] being given without good reason" gives the notion that saving millions of lives through the prevention of extremely contagious, fatal diseases isn't a good enough reason to get vaccinated.

As far as the HPV vaccine is concerned, check out this article to see why the HPV vaccine isn't actually the scandal that the author of this article claims it to be.

"I’ve been vaccinated in my life, just not nearly to the extent of what’s recommended once my mother started doing research. And funnily enough, I hardly ever get sick, nor have I gotten anyone else sick. I guess it’s true what they say about natural immunity being more effective."

"I've been vaccinated in my life... I hardly ever get sick." This series of statements is a severe anecdotal fallacy and also immensely discredits her argument. She says she has been vaccinated and never gets sick, so yeah, it must be natural immunity. The author of this article doesn't understand what "natural immunity" actually means.

So let this be a lesson in not believing everything your parents tell you or in everything that you read, hear, and see. Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines save millions of lives, and not vaccinating yourself or your child can result in death. Remember that there are also legal implications as a result of someone else's death because it was "your choice" to be reckless with your health.