Giving the MMR to your child should not be a personal decision

I think it should be the parent's decision. I think it should be encouraged by doctors and schools, and more could be done to educate parents about the disease itself and the injection, but I disagree that the government should take away the parent's right to decide what is right for their child's health in this circumstance. Maybe if more was done to "advertise" just exactly what measles, mumps and rubella can cause, then maybe more parents will be inclined to let their children have this injection. Despite the fact that the study was retracted, parents are still going to be hesitant and sceptical where the health and well-being of their child is concerned. They have had it drummed into them that this jab could possibly lead to autism, and suddenly told it was not true, but then the parent can easily think, but what was there in the first place to make them think that this was true? Hardly a rumour that got out of control, but instead, there must have been something which a researcher found which made it appear that there was a connection. With more education on the subject, I think it can help a lot.

Reply 141

airconditionednightmare

SpiritedAway

what was there in the first place to make them think that this was true? Hardly a rumour that got out of control, but instead, there must have been something which a researcher found which made it appear that there was a connection. With more education on the subject, I think it can help a lot.

A study of just 12 children, which involved invasive clinical procedures, unapproved by the local ethics committee, apparently 'funded' through legal aid (inverted commas because £25,000 was 'used for purposes other than those for which [Wakefield] said it was needed'), for parents who already suspected that these children had been damaged by MMR. Not exactly sound scientific evidence...

Reply 142

SpiritedAway

17

airconditionednightmare

A study of just 12 children, which involved invasive clinical procedures, unapproved by the local ethics committee, apparently 'funded' through legal aid (inverted commas because £25,000 was 'used for purposes other than those for which [Wakefield] said it was needed'), for parents who already suspected that these children had been damaged by MMR. Not exactly sound scientific evidence...

No, I know that, you know that, but where a child's health is concerned there is going to be this shadowing doubt because the jab has been accused of "causing" autism and there was a scientific study (no matter how flawed it was).

Reply 143

airconditionednightmare

OK, sorry. Although if you're using the mere existence of a study (you can hardly call it scientific) as a reason why people would have lingering doubts, which you're right about, I'm sure there are always going to be some people who don't accept all the evidence against the study. For one thing, people are terrible at calculating risk. But yeah I do agree with you for the most part, don't see how I couldn't really...for example another thing I do get confused about is the whole 'mercury in vaccines causes autism' thing, which is a fairly common claim - but the MMR vaccine doesn't even contain mercury (or rather thiomersal) because it's a 'live' attenuated vaccine so doesn't need preserving.

I sort-of know some people who've been trying to get it together to sort out doing some kind of vaccine website for about about a year now, but those guys can't seem to organise a piss-up in a brewery seeing as we've had at least two new vaccine scares since they started planning it...

Giving the MMR to your child should not be a personal decision

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