Anti-Vaxxers

Despite mountains of evidence to support the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, many people still believe that they are dangerous and refuse to vaccinate their children. A recent NBC article explained how social media amplifies the spread of false information in the anti-vax movement. A Facebook group called “Stop Mandatory Vaccination” has nearly 180,000 members, and it is one of the largest health misinformation groups. This group spreads conspiracies to make people afraid of vaccines. For example, they tell parents that preventable disease outbreaks are orchestrated by the government. They also contact parents whose children have died, and tell them that vaccines caused their child’s death. Many parents come to the group to ask for medical advice, and receive false information.

              This article also explained how the anti-vax movement is deadly. Recently, a child was diagnosed with the flu and Tamiflu was prescribed to them by their doctor. However, the child’s mother turned to “Stop Mandatory Vaccine” to ask how to treat her child instead of filling the prescription. Members of this group suggested many natural remedies that the mother tried, but none were effective. The child soon passed away, and hi death may have been prevented if he had received the flu vaccine or if he had taken the Tamiflu prescribed by his doctor. In response, Facebook announced that they did not want their platform to be used to spread misinformation about vaccines, but there are limitations on what they can control.

              A BBC article explains another interesting event that recently happened in the world of anti-vaxxers. Van Koinis, a pediatrician in Chicago, committed suicide and revealed that he falsified vaccination records in his suicide note. Koinis had a reputation for being liked by anti-vaccination parents because he did not pressure them into vaccinating their children. His suicide note suggests that he did more than simply not pressure them; Koinis falsified vaccination records for parents who did not want to vaccinate their children so that they could still go to school. His not was ambiguous, and it is not known if he also lied about vaccinating children whose parents wanted them to be vaccinated. His former patients are being encouraged to see a physician to run tests to determine if they were vaccinated or not.