Some people's kids...need their shots.

Everyone has an issue that really gets under their skin in politics. For me, the two general issues I get passionate about are science and with education. No big surprise there. One of the things that bothers me the most is this whole vaccine issue. From the Bachmann-Perry crazy at the debate this week to the whole "autism-by-vaccine" thing to just parents thinking it's ok not to vaccinate their children for potentially deadly diseases, I get more than a little frustrated. If I wasn't trying to write a book chapter, and a giant dissertation, along with supposedly finding a place to go when I'm done, I would find a bunch of good reference material and write a well-reasoned essay airing the bulk of my frustrations.

Because that's not possible right now, I will just say:
1) Vaccines are safer than driving cars. Your child will not become "mentally retarded" from a vaccine. At worst, they will probably be sore or get a rash that will go away. Extreme side effects are very rare.

2) Enough people refusing to vaccinate promotes re-emerging pathogens showing up again, such as the whooping cough outbreak in California last year. I've said this before - I suppose other people's ignorance keeps me employed, but that doesn't mean I have to be ok with it.

3) Bravo to the scientists needling back for once and offering to pay a reward for the mom that Bachmann described during the debate. Unfortunately, the damage is mostly done, because now parents have a negative image of vaccines drilled into their brains by the media. It is so unfortunate that one really loud person can negate the work of thousands of qualified scientists. It happens so often, like with climate change or evolution. If you wanted to be fair and show both sides of the issue, you should weight those sides by which has the greatest scientific merit. But clearly, I don't make the rules.

After that short digression, I still would love to understand why it is so easy to get so mis-educated. Choosing not to vaccinate against things like whooping cough and measles is inviting trouble, either by increasing the probability your own child will get sick (and possibly die), or that they will cause another child to get sick (and possibly die). But if you really think vaccines are more dangerous than measles and whooping cough, by all means, let your kids get sick. Then maybe I can get funding.