Killer conspiracy theories: In “Contagion,” Jude Law’s character spreads baseless fear — leading to the deaths of millions. (Warner Bros)
In Monday night’s debate, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum all seemed to be auditioning for the role that Jude Law plays in the film “Contagion” — Alan Krumwiede, a blogger who tells millions that a vaccine to combat a lethal pathogen is actually dangerous, and claims both the epidemic and vaccine were created by government to enrich drug companies.
Krumwiede’s conspiracy theory proves deadly — and so will these Republicans’, if anyone listens.
All three candidates slammed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for requiring immunization of 12-year-old girls against the human papilloma virus, a leading cause of cervical cancer. The attack truly became a blogworthy screed as we heard about how Perry and Merck (the developer of Gardasil, one of the two HPV vaccines) profited from the mandate at the expense of children’s health.
Bachman called Perry’s move “just wrong,” and spoke of “little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug.” The next day, she went further, telling Fox News’ Greta van Susteren: “There’s a woman who came up crying to me tonight after the debate. She said her daughter was given that vaccine. She told me her daughter suffered mental retardation as a result of that vaccine… This is the very real concern and people have to draw their own conclusions.”
Don’t be distracted by legitimate, but minor, questions about how states should make public-health decisions: The thrust of this attack is garbage — and deadly garbage at that. The anti-vaccine psuedo-science behind the charge has been thoroughly discredited.
By alleging that vaccines cause retardation and brain damage, Bachmann is providing aid and comfort to such groups as Generation Rescue, which still defend the now-discredited claims that vaccines cause autism. (The Lancet decertified Andrew Wakefield’s “study” last year. This year, the British Medical Journal showed his research was bogus to boot.)
Sadly, the drive to discourage immunizing children for any reason has proved tragically successful in recent years. In countries where it’s gone furthest, such as Britain, rates of once-conquered diseases such as measles are now on the rise.
In fact, the side effects of both HPV vaccines are the same or lower than all other vaccines. And both vaccines have reduced the incidence of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions as well as death from cervical and other forms of cancer.
HPV, contrary to what ex-Sen. Santorum claimed, is highly communicable. The fact that the risk of cancer is greatest among young girls shouldn’t obscure that fact. Would Perry’s attackers object to immunizing teens if an HIV vaccine were available? (And when Santorum claims parental rights are more important than states rights when it comes to vaccinating kids, he is repeating the battle cry of anti-vaccine forces.)
Unfounded fears about vaccines have led to a decline in immunization rates and outbreaks of measles, whooping cough and meningitis in Bachmann’s home state of Minnesota.
As USA Today noted: “Landon Lewis, 4, who was living in a Minneapolis homeless shelter when he fell ill, first with a fever of 104 degrees, then with a red rash on his forehead. It took two visits to a doctor to diagnose a disease clinic staff hadn’t seen in years: measles … He began vomiting and developed a cough that nearly choked him. He was rushed to the emergency room and hospitalized for five days.”
Sadly, the hysteria is bipartisan. Rep. Paul worked with Generation Rescue and two New York Democrats, Reps. Maurice Hinchey and Caroline Maloney, to introduce a bill to require the National Institutes of Health to study the “link” between vaccine preservatives and autism even though that link has been disproven by years of research.
In “Contagion,” Krumwiede continues to peddle fear even after the vaccine proves effective. Millions lose their lives. Unless other Republicans confront Bachmann or she changes her tune, fewer parents will vaccinate their kids. More children will die. Tragically, life will imitate art.
Robert Goldberg is vice president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.