The stupidity. It hurts.

Currently, in my northern North American country, we are very concerned about swine flu. It's a reasonable concern as since it emerged back in April, it has actually killed people, children, in this country. It is very sadly affecting some of the most under-served people in this country, especially Aboriginals who live in areas with poor infrastructure, the worst. Our government has guaranteed that everyone in this country who wants it, can be immunized against swine flu, beyond the usual flu shot. There are huge line ups for people who are at risk (pregnant, small children) that are shortened by people who actually are not at risk but want the shot. Or even line up to sell their ticket for a later immunization. I actually belong to one of the 'at risk' groups due to a long term chronic condition, but because I actually don't see many people in my usual hermit like existence and feel other people need it more than I, I'm waiting to get mine. But I will, just as I always get the usual flu shot because I both don't have the time to get sick, I also don't want to deal with possible complications.

Our society seems to work in extremes. There are so many people worried about getting the disease and going to quite extraordinary measures to get their shots, while there is a still small but very vocal group of people who refuse to do so. I actually posted around this time last year on my utter dislike (I could use stronger words but I do try to remain civil) for people who are anti-vaccine protesters. No matter if they think it causes autism (no), PTSD (no), are a means for the government to control you (Really? Okay then...), they seem bound and determined to disregard all the good that vaccines have done in this world. So many diseases have been nearly eradicated, so many children's live have been saved but if people bought into the hype that vaccines are dangerous, those diseases very easily could (and have) return. And a hype is indeed being created, creating the illusion that we're not sure how good vaccines really are.

Somewhat alike to climate change however, a lot of people are actually unaware that in the scientific and medical community, there is no debate. Vaccines save lives. There is a very small risk of an adverse reaction, but there numerous studies have completely dismissed any idea that vaccines can actually cause the syndromes it has been linked to. Yet, when this issue is reported in the news, a lot of journalists feel as though they need to present 'both sides' for it to be a true investigation. This however just creates more undue confusion. Wired recently published a great article on vaccines and the fear around them (check it out), and the author of that piece, a woman named Amy Wallace, presents the actual scientific perspective and even offers a handy dandy guide for winning an argument about vaccines. Unsurprisingly, she was immediately attacked for drinking the 'Big Pharma' juice and um, ACCURATELY, depicting the anti-vaccine lobby as one filled with reactionaries who are quite keen to ignore actual facts. Some of the leading voices in this field have also done a wonderful job of raising the level of debate by calling her a number of misogynistic names. I had my attention drawn to this by the ever wonderful Dr. Isis and one of her colleagues at ScienceBlog (which I spend waaaaaay too much time on), has commented (again)waaaay more intelligently on this subject than I can here.

I'm aware that this post is a wee bit more serious than usual but if I'm going to make it through a month of blogging I can't just complain about living with my parents, drinking and accessories.

A preview of upcoming posts though:

Tomorrow: making vodka pasta sauce

Wednesday: how do we feel about sweater vests?