Finally, A Little Reason…
I would just like to say thank you to actress Amanda Peet for doing her own research about child vaccinations instead of listening to the likes of mommy Hollywood.
NPR aired a story this week about a new pairing between medicine and Hollywood. Whereas many Hollywood moms like Jenny McCarthy have been extremely vocal about denouncing vaccines for children, Amanda Peet didn’t take the gossip at face-value. She has now teamed up with Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine and the Search for a Cure, in order to combat the propaganda being vocalized by other celebrities.
From the story:
“Offit notes that this year there have been 135 cases of measles in the United States — the highest number in more than a decade. Most of the cases were children, he says, “and most of those children’s parents chose not to vaccinate them, chose not to vaccinate them because they feared the MMR vaccine would cause autism, when clearly it doesn’t.”
This is a topic I know is very close to the hearts of many skeptics, including our own Dr. Novella. I personally have family members and friends who have not vaccinated their children. It makes me angry that they would place the safety of their own children on everyone else. Their choice puts the onus on the rest of the public to vaccinate. But, the more that people don’t vaccinate their children, the more that we will see resurgences of terrible diseases.
I applaud Amanda Peet for using her celebrity to make this statement. Maybe people will begin to listen to reason if it comes from someone they revere.
Good for her. It sickens me to think of the risk these parents are taking with their children’s lives, but it sickens me even more to think of the risk infected kids pose to infants who are too young for the vaccine. Refusing these vaccinations isn’t just stupid and irresponsible – it’s ethically reprehensible.
Not everyone in Hollywood is an idiot, thank goodness. But man, is thinking for yourself frowned on it that town. If you get on the wrong side of an issue, you’re through. Every time I go out to LA, I come home feeling dirty.
Some of the comments left on the NPR story are appalling. The true believers of the vaccine conspiracy are as unmovable and closed off to any rational thought or evidence as the UFO people and young earth creationists. I just want to beat my head on my desk until the pain stops. I hope more celebs like Peet stand up because it’s obvious Americans don’t listen to anyone who isn’t on tv or hasn’t been in a movie.
I almost hate to say it, but that’s what those parents get for being stupid. Taking Jenny McCarthy’s word instead of real medical advice.
Isn’t this awful for the same reason as Jenny McCarthy’s nonsense? Why are we trusting celebrities for this information at all?
It’s not the same thing because Amanda Peet specially tells people not to simply trust her or any other celebrity; instead she tells people to consult real medical professionals and is personally working as a spokesperson for a legitimate medical campaign to respond to the pseudoscience. This is truly an example of a celebrity doing all the right things to bring attention to an important issue. And I for one commend her for it. Zeus knows she’s got to be getting tons and tons of hate mail and negative judgments from Hollywood for standing up for reason and science.
-Michael
http://www.stopjenny.com
Indeed. You can complain that Amanda Peet is going to just perpetuate people’s tendency to look to celebrities for medical advice all you want, but the fact remains that kids are dying for very stupid reasons. The fight needs to be waged on both fronts.
I hate celebrities with a passion.
Allowing one celebrity to escape my plans of torture when I’m elected King of the World is something I’m not too happy about.
I’ll allow it JUST THIS ONCE!
…also, trusting celebrities with their opinion is evidently flawed.
Take the TV show “Australia’s Got Talent” for example. Dani Minogue judging talent? I don’t think so!
Agreed. Especially when they get Justin Bieber types. Hint: If 66% of the population (By the youtube ratings) will hate him, he’s not talented, he’s a headache. And if you only support the most mainstream of talent, you’re wasting your time anyway.
Another reason to thank Amanda Peet.
Wouldn’t it be great if when we talked about vacines we discussed the greatest biologist of all-time- Louis Pasteur- instead of some celebrity idiocy?
You rule Kirsten
To be completely transparent you should post all the facts. Nowhere does McCarthy state that she is against vaccines. Her point is that the schedule is to loaded up front and that the vaccine “schedule” should be extended.
I’ve taken care of those infants and children who were unvaccinated. I’ve had infants die of pertussis at the world famous medical center where I work as an RN.All of the technology we had at hand was useless to save their lives. I’ve also taken care of children with measles who have ended up in the PICU with encephalitis and pneumonia and children with chicken pox admitted to the PICU for encephalitis as well. I’ve yet to care for an infant/child who was in the ICU or died from the vaccination (although I’ve no doubt it has happened–it obviously is not as common as the admissions for the diseases).
@GodKillzYou:
“I almost hate to say it, but that’s what those parents get for being stupid. Taking Jenny McCarthy’s word instead of real medical advice.”
That is an appalling ignorant statement. It is the child that has to suffer the disease. I’m sure there are still children out there who die slowly and painfully due to treatable conditions such as appendicitis. Why should anyone suffer like that due to the ignorance of their parents?
@sonic:
“Wouldn’t it be great if when we talked about vacines we discussed the greatest biologist of all-time- Louis Pasteur- instead of some celebrity idiocy?”
Louis Pasteur was a rare individual who made substantial contributions to chemistry, medicine, and food processing among other things, but the world has moved on. Why talk about Pasteur – why not Jonas Salk? Personally I see no point in deifying anyone no matter how amazing they were in life. What is truly remarkable about people like Pasteur are their imagination and their dedication to learning and to hard work. Unfortunately no amount of talking about such things will get you anywhere – praxis, praxis, praxis! (Or as Johnny Cash used to sing: Hustle up, bustle up, do it, do it, do it! – it applies to rollerskating in a buffalo herd but is also applicable to many other things.)