Views on vaccines need to be based on reliable evidence
THE internet is a wondrous thing. Among the many effects it has, the web allows frequent users to learn just enough about a particular subject so that, as President Bill Clinton noticed, they can enjoy the comfort of strong opinions about it without having to endure the discomfort of years spent learning the facts.
My own experience of a science-based education was that the further and higher up the scholastic ladder I climbed, the more I realised how little I knew and how much I still had to learn. Being aware of the gaps in my knowledge made me very cautious of claiming to be certain about anything.
At the same time, my studies taught me to be open to new ideas, even if they contradicted my established view and to think always in terms of probabilities rather than black and white certainties.
‘Learning’ via the internet does not seem to instil the same awareness of uncertainty, as the recent debate over Covid-19 vaccination has shown up.
Those who have undertaken a full, scientific education quote clinical trial data in the form of numbers, percentages etc. to qualify and quantify their opinions.
Those debaters who avoided sciences like the plague when at school but have absorbed, uncritically, claims published on social media about a subject such as vaccination often hold bizarre views with a certainty that is more like religious fervour than calm, rational assessment of reliable evidence.
Some kept away from the sciences because their intellectual capabilities were fully stretched when they were playing with their balls of choice (often of the tennis or football variety) or teaching little girls to dance. Then recently they read something about vaccines on Facebook and on that alone they believe that they have found the key to a unique understanding of the subject.
Not only are they undermining a health campaign that has the support of the overwhelming majority of the people and, when they do contract the virus they are cluttering hospital beds that are needed by patients who are ill through no fault of their own, they are also endangering their own lives. However, stupidity is not a capital offence, so those of us who have some genuine knowledge of the risks and benefits of the available choices in vaccination must keep trying to explain the reality of the risks to those who never studied science.
BARRIE PAIGE
GY6 8BP