Swine Flu Scare Tactics

Thanks to breathless news coverage of the swine flu, we’ve heard a lot about disaster preparedness: antiviral stockpiles [2], pandemic flu kits [3] (just $15.95 on Amazon!), and, most significantly, vaccine priority lists [4]. The Center for Disease Control recently announced [5] that the first 3.4 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine will be released shortly.

Anti-immunization advocates are excited about the shot, but not because they think it will save them from the swine flu. They have taken the hysteria surrounding the H1N1 vaccine as an opportunity to spread conspiracy theories about this vaccine and vaccines in general. These anti-vaxers reject scientific evidence about the safety of the H1N1 shot, and they’re scaring already-anxious parents on message boards around the Internet.

At the heart of the anti-vaccination effort is a deep skepticism about the government and the medical establishment. If it’s “official,” it’s suspicious. If it’s “mandatory” (for public school admission, say), it’s fascism. I’m not saying the government or the American Academy of Pediatrics have never made mistakes when it comes to health policy. But I do tend to trust my son’s pediatrician and the Obama administration more than some random bloggers with no medical credentials who insist they alone know the truth.

In recent weeks, anti-vax activists have attempted to link the H1N1 flu vaccine to Guillain-Barré Syndrome [6] (a nod to the 1976 flu vaccine debacle), autism [7] (natch), and even cancer [8]. Twitter is a-tweet with dubious links to tales of dead lab rats in vaccine trials, Ron Paul has issued an anti-swine-flu-vaccine video [9], and the most hard-core anti-vaxers are hosting swine flu parties [10] where parents let noninfected children contract the virus naturally from infected playmates and build up resistance to the disease the old-fashioned way: by suffering through it. (The CDC does not approve.)

What’s more, the anti-vaccine camp is trying to use the H1N1 vaccination push to undermine faith in all vaccines and in public health policy more broadly. The fourth International Public Conference on Vaccination [11] will be held on Oct. 2-4 near Washington, D.C. The conference’s tag line? “Show Us the Science and Give us a Choice.” Promotion for the event suggests parents are invited to the conference to hear why they shouldn’t vaccinate their children against swine flu or other diseases.

“Although it is a good idea for health officials to prepare for a worst case scenario and stockpile vaccines,” according to anti-vax organization the National Vaccination Information Center [12], “it is a bad idea to turn schools into medical clinics and basically test experimental swine flu vaccines on children first.”

With these kinds of scare tactics, is it any wonder mothers on parenting message boards are freaking out? On UrbanBaby.com [13], the H1N1 vaccine is proving divisive. Some can’t wait to get their kids the shots (“I think that anyone who doesn't has never experienced the real flu”). Others are sure the vaccine is dangerous. (“They can use someone else’s baby as a guinea pig.”) Even the Elmo PSAs [14] are not reining in the hysteria (although they are providing fodder for late-night TV [15]).

It makes sense that parents are anxious about the illness. What if schools become breeding grounds for the virus? What if it mutates and becomes a deadly pandemic? What if classes are canceled for weeks on end and all the healthy baby sitters refuse to leave their de-conned homes? A poster called Angels_In_Our_Eyes on the typically mild-mannered BabyCenter wrote at the end of a thread filled with links to the CDC and helpful tips: “All I know is I'm scared shitless of the H1N1.”

Despite fear-mongering from the anti-vaccine crowd, there is no reason to be so terrified. The vaccine may or may not protect against all flu strains in each person to whom it’s given, but it’s been created the same way all other flu shots have been, so it should be just as safe as all routine flu shots, which is quite. The tests have brought up "no red flags [16]." The Washington Post’s reporting on the clinical trials [17] indicates a responsible procedure and a safe vaccine.

But sound scientific evidence does not sway the anti-vaxers, because science is not at the core of their movement; rather, distrust of the government is. “[The CDC does] not want the American public to again think the vaccine program is unsafe, but it is unsafe, and every single human being that might receive vaccines or have them administered to their innocent children has a right to know the truth,” claims a writer on The Age of Autism [18]. The NVIC reminds us [19]: “State Governors and public health officials have the legal authority to use police powers to prevent the spread of communicable diseases within the state, including isolating and quarantining citizens.”

This spreading rebellion is affecting the health of all our children, which makes it a pressing social issue. As This American Life [20]’s report on the measles vaccine and other news organizations have attested, all-but-obliterated diseases are coming back thanks to these “conscientious objectors.” Back before the polio vaccine was available, there were between 13,000 and 20,000 cases of paralytic polio each year in the United States [21]. My own father had polio as a child. He survived, but far too many children in his generation ended up dead, paralyzed, or in iron lungs.

There is a sensible middle ground between full adherence to public health policy and opting out of everything. Some pediatricians aren’t giving all their patients the H1N1 shot, but not because of pseudoscience, terror, or rebellion. Some just think kids are able to fight the flu well enough on their own and that without the vaccine they may develop a natural immunity. Others are saying it’s always good not to be the first or the last in line for any new vaccine or medication. These reactions seem reasonable. What doesn’t seem reasonable is creating a frenzy of fear around what so far seems to be our best hope for a healthy winter.