The Truth About Anti-Vaccination: A Scientific Look

It's true that less children in the United States are getting vaccinated. What is causing these lower vaccination numbers, and what are some of the myths and fears around vaccination? In this episode of SciShow, we'll break down the science of the anti-vax movement and discuss what effects it truly has on the health of our society.
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[FriendlyFire]

If you think about it, people who are vaccinated have a higher chance of growing up with austim




But you actually have to grow up for that to happen

[Ke-pqbu]

parent: i will not get my child vaccinated
measles/polio: *it's free real estate*

[fakjbf]

My dad had an autoimmune reaction to a vaccine given by the military that made him unable to continue working, or even walk up and down stairs or stay standing for long periods of time (it's better now, since there are newer medicines that control his symptoms with fewer side effects). It turns out they had given him and the other people on the base much higher doses and with far shorter intervals between shots than is recommended. So I have a legitimate reason to be cautious of vaccines. And you know what? Even with that my whole family keeps up to date on our vaccines, because we know that what happened to my dad wasn't the fault of vaccine, it was doctors trying to rush things and breaking protocols that are in place for a reason. I have no sympathy for people who claim that vaccines are bad for people because a TV celebrity told them so. I don't let them off the hook with the excuse that they are just ignorant. They are willfully ignoring tremendous amounts of data that almost irrefutably prove them wrong, and they put their lives, their children's lives, and everyone else's lives at risk because of it.

[anxietealeaves]

Autistic person here- I just gotta say that the fact that parents would rather their child/children suffer and/or die from a preventable illness than have autism is very sad. Vaccines don't cause autism, but these people believe they do, and they still choose preventable illness. Autism is not a horrible thing, autistic people are just as valuable and worthy as any other human. I know this video is old, but it's still very relavant and the misinformation surrounding both vaccines and autism is terrifying.

[prussianvati]

Kid: when I grow up I--
Anti-Vax Mom: Imma stop you right there.

[benjamincarlson]

As a high functioning autistic individual, it feels offensive sometimes when people view autism developing in their child as the end of the world. As far as I understand the data, the vast majority of people with the disorder are high enough functioning to learn to adapt to the outside world, it just generally takes some therapy to get there sometimes.

[pawn]

The people who think that going All natural is a good thing forget about the most important natural thing. Natural selection.

[erNomic]

The bottom line is there is no trust left. Decades of manipulative commercialism has left everyone victimized by things we don't fully understand. The consensus should be to repair this trust and remove potential corruption or conflicting interests.

[iamjoeysteel]

When I was a little kid I watched "Land Before Time" and in one of them the river was drying up and the angry Triceratops just kept blaming different thing, accusing in no real logical way. The Brachiosaurus said to him, "it doesn't have to be anyone's fault." The Triceratops responded, "but it has to be someone's fault right?" Which it turns out that a bad storm had dislodged a rock or something and it was blocking the river way up the mountain.

All this reminds me of something I learned when I was like 7 years old, so if the rest of the world could catch up, that would be great.

[ThisUserIsDumb]

I like how he says "humans are complicated" instead of "humans are idiots". Very classy.

[johntremor]

Lv.1 Vaccines

Lv.100 Essential oils


That's how anti-vax logic works.

[funcuzchris]

What a shame that the only group of people that needs to see this would consciously do their utmost to ignore it.

[pikachuneoncat]

Me: * Has autism. *
Doctor: * Vaccinates me. *
Me: **LEVEL UP**

[rhyslogan]

Oh yes the naturalness bias. Because if it came straight from the earth it must be healthy right? On that note I have stopped drinking Mountain Dew and have switched to crude oil because that comes from the earth; it is natural.

[Techcensorshipbot]

Your explanation of cognitive bias is making sense to my cognitive bias.

[parkervarin]

It makes me happy to know somebody out there is keeping it real and science-based and not bashing on people for their flaws. This is way more productive than most vaccine ads. Videos like this make people think about themselves and their biases for once. That's where real progress starts. Thanks Hank.

[InnovumTechnology]

I hate how autism is treated like a fate worse than death. Sure, low-functioning autism is pretty bad, but high functioning autism, which almost certainly is far more common, isn't actually a bad thing. I'd say that individuals with high-functioning autism may even be at an advantage in some cases.

[Hoioidoi]

Anti vaxxer: I'm not going to vaccinate my children! (Insert argument for why)
Doctor: Well, you don't have to vaccinate your children,


you only need to vaccinate the ones you want to keep.

[jrod]

Everyone's about anti vaccination until their dog gets rabies

[MizzzTake]

I'm on the spectrum and it doesn't feel like a disability to me. I realize I'm "different" but I honestly dont care what people think.
This was a good video. Luvzya Hank 😘