This Pediatrician Comes Up With New Conspiracy Theory And Successfully Convinces Anti-Vaxxer Mom To Vaccinate Her Child
Despite the various attempts to educate people about vaccines and provide them with correct, science-based information, the enthusiasts of vaccination conspiracy theories are not planning to end their anti-vaxx movement anytime soon. Doctors who often encounter these people have a heavy burden of trying to change their ill views. However, success stories are scarce. Probably because it takes unconventional measures to battle their flawed logic and not everyone finds the right way to do so. Luckily, there are still doctors who manage to get through to people who seem not to be able to listen to reason. A Reddit user shared an excellent example of how to do it right. (Facebook cover image: quinnanya)
More info: reddit.com
On a thread dedicated to sharing the encounters doctors had with anti-vaxxers, one med student under the username _Haliax_ shared a story like no other. While on the rotation with a pediatrician, he met a “conspiracy theory magnet”.
The woman expressed an interest in various conspiracy theories as soon as she met the doctor. So it was not surprising that she was also immersed in the anti-vaxx movement. However, the doctor wasn’t fazed by her rant about the harm vaccines supposedly cause and managed to change her mind with only one sentence. Probably hard to believe it’s possible? Read the whole story below to find out what he said.
“4th-year med student reporting in.
Had a rotation with a pediatrician where we ended up in the classic encounter with an anti-vaccination parent.
This lady was a conspiracy theory magnet. She casually mentioned everything from 9/11 to chemtrails. Of course, she loved the idea of the vaccine conspiracy as well, opting to not protect her one year old to stick it to big pharma.
I relayed all of this to my attending after my exam (I would see the patient first, gather history and do my exam to present to my attending physician). He got this sort of lazy smirk on his face that screamed: “watch this”.
We go back into the exam room and we cover all of the important bits of a well-child encounter. Growth charts, behavioral milestones, nutrition, sleep…
And then we get to vaccines. She lists approximately 15 reasons why vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they protect against (lol) in addition to the various evils of the pharmaceutical industry.
My attending listens quietly until she’s done with her soapbox (about one eternity later), and then interjects with:
“Have you considered the possibility that anti-vaccine propaganda could be an attempt by the Russians or the Chinese to weaken the health of the United States population?”
In a moment of catastrophic cognitive dissonance, I swear I heard a strange popping noise as her brain misfired. It actually broke her. The allure of the increasingly ridiculous conspiracy theory was just too strong.
She ended up agreeing to a modified vaccine schedule. I was flabbergasted. My attending just grinned at me in response. To this day I’m not sure the medical ethics of the situation are totally palatable, but goddamn the result was amazing.”
Here’s how people reacted
82Kviews
Share on FacebookActually there is some evidence the Russia did engage in antivax posts from the same FB accounts they used to influence the 2016 election.
Tracey, was it the same FB accounts that bought Hilary ads? Or Trump ads? Just curious. From an outsider in Canada, I hear it was about a 50/50 spit, and it's been going on for many years.
Load More Replies...If it weren't for the danger to children - both theirs and others - I'd be tempted to say "Fine, let them refuse for themselves. The population needs the stupid ones culled."
Sad thing is most of them were vaccinated by their own parents.
Load More Replies...This is like that tumblr post “The moon landing was fake!” “Pfft, you believe in the moon?”
The resentment towards big pharma is the result of many unethical practices, prices rigging, opioid crises, scandals at the top of WHO, that were never addressed properly by the legislators, and many people have legitimate fears. As many have already pointed out, when fears are not addressed and rationalized, they become phobias, thus creating fertile ground for wildest, and often dangerous convictions. Education and transparent, ethical trade and production practices are the only way out!!
Fun fact - it was found that many of the anti vac pages have funding from Russia i doubt that target is to create epidemia (as Rusia right now have a vaxing problem right now) but there is another problem: antivaxers are now in the mainstream politics, and in many cases (here in Europe) working hand in hand with nationalists or at least creating big distrust towards any regulations and European Union. Additionally, i think that someone who buys anti - vax from troll farm will be willing to buy other fake news from same source and in some way become "useful idiots" So just another way to prepare hybrid war
Actually, there is evidence that bots, likely Russian, on Twitter are pushing the whole anti-vax conspiracy in an effort to cause epidemics in the US. No, really!
Reiterating the same post three times is poor editing, though the message was great.
I don't see it as unethical simply because he phrased it as a question. "Have you considered the possibility of..."
To protect the mom from a serious case of the "Crazies", the doctor inoculated her with a weakened strain of crazy. Like a vaccine, it worked beautifully.
It's fight fire with fire, but your sentiment is nonetheless appreciated.
Load More Replies...Most "antivaxxers" are not conspiracy theorists, but former provaxxers until their own child was injured or killed by vaccines. This woman is an incredibly ignorant exception.
GreenMedInfo.com has painstakingly collected over 300 pages of study abstracts culled directly from the National Library of Medicine's pubmed.gov bibliographic database on the wide-ranging adverse health effects linked to vaccines in the today's schedule (over 200 distinct adverse effects, including death), as well as numerous studies related to vaccine contamination, and vaccine failure in highly vaccine compliant populations. http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/200-evidence-based-reasons-not-vaccinate-free-research-pdf-download
This is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at its best, you can’t change a thought entirely but you can change the ‘facts’ just slightly to make it more sensible.
Sad thing is, there is no vaccine, by us or the Russians or Chinese, to prevent ignorance and believing every stupid nano second of misinformation as fact. Why not attack kale. It's everywhere. How did kale replace a nice crisp Romaine or arugula. And don't forget the infamous Red Dye #2 or 10 or whatever kept red M&Ms in the closet for so long. Foolish, foolish uninformed folks will always believe it. IT WAS ON THE INTERNET AND WHATS HER NAME WROTE A BOOK!!!!!
The vaccine is quality education that instills critical thinking skills. The USA has almost none of this.
Load More Replies...I used to think the people at Bored Panda cared about animals until it started promoting vaccines made from horrific violence against animals. For example, the measles vaccine, chicken pox, and other vaccine manufacture involves torturing cow fetuses to death to extract the blood from their hearts to feed the cells used to grow the virus. It's not an acceptable option for ethical people. Everyone dies, but cruelty to animals can be avoided. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11396187_The_use_of_fetal_bovine_serum_Ethical_or_scientific_problem
I hate BP's relentless Anti-anti-vaxxer posts because they're one: unending and two: because they NEVER have any of the actual science in them. This one however was actually kinda funny.
But the science exists and is overwhelming. You could always submit some of those science references to the article comment s What bothers me more is Bored Panda’s constant anti-vegan hit pieces. Apparently the self-professed progressives on this site think that bigotry against vegans is still an okay type of bigotry. It’s like a pressure release valve for all the bigotry they’re normally suppressing, or something.
Load More Replies...Why don't these doctors tell the public about the kickback they get from Big Pharma for each vaccine they push on us. The last I heard it was $20.00 per shot. Nice little side business, regardless of safety or effectiveness.
Pharmaceutical companies are always pushing their products (all of them), and that includes incentives aimed at healthcare practitioners. It’s not at all unique to vaccine sales. The real issue is when they’re promoting unnecessary drugs and vaccines to populations that aren’t vulnerable or in need of them. The flu vaccine is different every year because the common strain of the flu is usually different every year, from region to region. This makes it a great money maker for seasonal vaccine sales. Still... If they are presenting the wrong strain, you could get vaccinated and still catch a different strain of the flu. If you’re not working around the elderly or children (or other immune-compromised people) you can skip flu vaccination (because if you catch it, it won’t kill you).
Load More Replies...Uh... No. That would be spreading pseudoscience, and going against globally acknowledged scientific consensus. If you have a specific vaccine in mind that is known by the scientific community to be actually dangerous, it’s probably no longer in use OR it’s a rarely used vaccine for only people who are particularly at risk for the infections the vaccine is designed to prevent.
Load More Replies...A lot of conflating going on here. Autism is not a singular disease, but a spectrum of conditions/symptoms that manifest in behavioral issues and/or social interactions. Causes probably vary. Genetics may play a role also.
Load More Replies...Body weight is a very complex issue. It’s rarely just a matter of convincing someone to “eat less”, “exercise”, “go on a diet”, etc.
Load More Replies...If this hypothesis were true, maps showing the spread of measles would indicate the disease spreading out from the border(s). They don't. Maps indicate widely scattered outbreaks... which is in keeping with the spread of the anti-vax movement.
Load More Replies...Its not murder it's a savior of lives that could be ruined. If your daughter was raped would you force her to have the baby? I'd her boyfriend poked holes in his condemn to "lock her in" (this happend) it's not ok to get an abortion yet? Peoples choice of getting one is always a heartbreaking decision and being put down further by people like you when there already on there worst day of their lives is not just unnecessary it comes from an uneducated persons mouth thinking they know better.
Load More Replies...You and this boys mother both should have no children. If thousands are getting sick (allergic reaction is probably all) millions are saved my sister wasn't vaccinated in time and had everything from whooping cough to measles. Now mom knew better I'm fully vaccinated and never got any of that. Vaccines work stupidly doesn't. Get your kids protected and If they get sick from it think the doctors and scientists created this they probably created a solution to fix issues it may cause.
Load More Replies...Actually there is some evidence the Russia did engage in antivax posts from the same FB accounts they used to influence the 2016 election.
Tracey, was it the same FB accounts that bought Hilary ads? Or Trump ads? Just curious. From an outsider in Canada, I hear it was about a 50/50 spit, and it's been going on for many years.
Load More Replies...If it weren't for the danger to children - both theirs and others - I'd be tempted to say "Fine, let them refuse for themselves. The population needs the stupid ones culled."
Sad thing is most of them were vaccinated by their own parents.
Load More Replies...This is like that tumblr post “The moon landing was fake!” “Pfft, you believe in the moon?”
The resentment towards big pharma is the result of many unethical practices, prices rigging, opioid crises, scandals at the top of WHO, that were never addressed properly by the legislators, and many people have legitimate fears. As many have already pointed out, when fears are not addressed and rationalized, they become phobias, thus creating fertile ground for wildest, and often dangerous convictions. Education and transparent, ethical trade and production practices are the only way out!!
Fun fact - it was found that many of the anti vac pages have funding from Russia i doubt that target is to create epidemia (as Rusia right now have a vaxing problem right now) but there is another problem: antivaxers are now in the mainstream politics, and in many cases (here in Europe) working hand in hand with nationalists or at least creating big distrust towards any regulations and European Union. Additionally, i think that someone who buys anti - vax from troll farm will be willing to buy other fake news from same source and in some way become "useful idiots" So just another way to prepare hybrid war
Actually, there is evidence that bots, likely Russian, on Twitter are pushing the whole anti-vax conspiracy in an effort to cause epidemics in the US. No, really!
Reiterating the same post three times is poor editing, though the message was great.
I don't see it as unethical simply because he phrased it as a question. "Have you considered the possibility of..."
To protect the mom from a serious case of the "Crazies", the doctor inoculated her with a weakened strain of crazy. Like a vaccine, it worked beautifully.
It's fight fire with fire, but your sentiment is nonetheless appreciated.
Load More Replies...Most "antivaxxers" are not conspiracy theorists, but former provaxxers until their own child was injured or killed by vaccines. This woman is an incredibly ignorant exception.
GreenMedInfo.com has painstakingly collected over 300 pages of study abstracts culled directly from the National Library of Medicine's pubmed.gov bibliographic database on the wide-ranging adverse health effects linked to vaccines in the today's schedule (over 200 distinct adverse effects, including death), as well as numerous studies related to vaccine contamination, and vaccine failure in highly vaccine compliant populations. http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/200-evidence-based-reasons-not-vaccinate-free-research-pdf-download
This is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at its best, you can’t change a thought entirely but you can change the ‘facts’ just slightly to make it more sensible.
Sad thing is, there is no vaccine, by us or the Russians or Chinese, to prevent ignorance and believing every stupid nano second of misinformation as fact. Why not attack kale. It's everywhere. How did kale replace a nice crisp Romaine or arugula. And don't forget the infamous Red Dye #2 or 10 or whatever kept red M&Ms in the closet for so long. Foolish, foolish uninformed folks will always believe it. IT WAS ON THE INTERNET AND WHATS HER NAME WROTE A BOOK!!!!!
The vaccine is quality education that instills critical thinking skills. The USA has almost none of this.
Load More Replies...I used to think the people at Bored Panda cared about animals until it started promoting vaccines made from horrific violence against animals. For example, the measles vaccine, chicken pox, and other vaccine manufacture involves torturing cow fetuses to death to extract the blood from their hearts to feed the cells used to grow the virus. It's not an acceptable option for ethical people. Everyone dies, but cruelty to animals can be avoided. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11396187_The_use_of_fetal_bovine_serum_Ethical_or_scientific_problem
I hate BP's relentless Anti-anti-vaxxer posts because they're one: unending and two: because they NEVER have any of the actual science in them. This one however was actually kinda funny.
But the science exists and is overwhelming. You could always submit some of those science references to the article comment s What bothers me more is Bored Panda’s constant anti-vegan hit pieces. Apparently the self-professed progressives on this site think that bigotry against vegans is still an okay type of bigotry. It’s like a pressure release valve for all the bigotry they’re normally suppressing, or something.
Load More Replies...Why don't these doctors tell the public about the kickback they get from Big Pharma for each vaccine they push on us. The last I heard it was $20.00 per shot. Nice little side business, regardless of safety or effectiveness.
Pharmaceutical companies are always pushing their products (all of them), and that includes incentives aimed at healthcare practitioners. It’s not at all unique to vaccine sales. The real issue is when they’re promoting unnecessary drugs and vaccines to populations that aren’t vulnerable or in need of them. The flu vaccine is different every year because the common strain of the flu is usually different every year, from region to region. This makes it a great money maker for seasonal vaccine sales. Still... If they are presenting the wrong strain, you could get vaccinated and still catch a different strain of the flu. If you’re not working around the elderly or children (or other immune-compromised people) you can skip flu vaccination (because if you catch it, it won’t kill you).
Load More Replies...Uh... No. That would be spreading pseudoscience, and going against globally acknowledged scientific consensus. If you have a specific vaccine in mind that is known by the scientific community to be actually dangerous, it’s probably no longer in use OR it’s a rarely used vaccine for only people who are particularly at risk for the infections the vaccine is designed to prevent.
Load More Replies...A lot of conflating going on here. Autism is not a singular disease, but a spectrum of conditions/symptoms that manifest in behavioral issues and/or social interactions. Causes probably vary. Genetics may play a role also.
Load More Replies...Body weight is a very complex issue. It’s rarely just a matter of convincing someone to “eat less”, “exercise”, “go on a diet”, etc.
Load More Replies...If this hypothesis were true, maps showing the spread of measles would indicate the disease spreading out from the border(s). They don't. Maps indicate widely scattered outbreaks... which is in keeping with the spread of the anti-vax movement.
Load More Replies...Its not murder it's a savior of lives that could be ruined. If your daughter was raped would you force her to have the baby? I'd her boyfriend poked holes in his condemn to "lock her in" (this happend) it's not ok to get an abortion yet? Peoples choice of getting one is always a heartbreaking decision and being put down further by people like you when there already on there worst day of their lives is not just unnecessary it comes from an uneducated persons mouth thinking they know better.
Load More Replies...You and this boys mother both should have no children. If thousands are getting sick (allergic reaction is probably all) millions are saved my sister wasn't vaccinated in time and had everything from whooping cough to measles. Now mom knew better I'm fully vaccinated and never got any of that. Vaccines work stupidly doesn't. Get your kids protected and If they get sick from it think the doctors and scientists created this they probably created a solution to fix issues it may cause.
Load More Replies...
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