Vaccines, eh? I've wondered about 'em for years. Everyone's opinion seems to differ just a bit as to how important they are.
My (mostly uneducated) opinion probably lands somewhere near Jim's. I believe that vaccines "work" and I "like" them in principle. They've halted the spread of numerous deadly epidemics - that's huge, that's amazing.
I just get the feeling that doctors (or the medical community at large) have tended to approach vaccination with blinders on, seemingly ignoring the possibility of negative side effects.
My perception is that medical professionals often try to convey to patients and the general public this notion that the pros of vaccination so vastly outweigh the cons in every single circumstance that you'd be idiotic not to vaccinate your kid and yourself with every available formula -- just to be safe. I don't know what the "official stance" of the WHO (or Canada/U.S.) is on vaccines, but I think more studies into the potential dangers of each type of vaccine are needed, and then subsequent warnings to go with them.
How dangerous can vaccines be? I really don't know. I'm somewhere between the two extremes in terms of what I suspect is the truth. I do think there are potential risks, though, and I think they should be treated as such ... much in the same way allergy medicine on TV ads are treated with a list of side effects, I suppose. Why haven't many more intense clinical studies on the subject already been performed? To me, this is the key... as Jim said, do more independent drug research, get a whole slew of reliable data (that even Mr. Carrey will accept
), and empower the public with three things: 1. all relevant information about a vaccination upfront; 2. 100% free vaccinations for all (for those strains of disease targeted as a danger to the community at large, especially within certain age groups); and 3. the right to decide whether or not they (or their child) should be vaccinated.
I'm sure this is an ideal view of the whole situation to some degree, so I'm open to hearing what the practical difficulties are, or how others' opinions differ.