PENINSULA Making Keating a priority
Waterfront sculpture mystery
Central Saanich’s new mayor says industrial area should receive attention, page 7
Sidney statue regularly adorned in flowers by passers-by — but who are they? Page 2 Black Press
NEWS REVIEW
Watch for breaking news at www.peninsulanewsreview.com
Friday, December 26, 2014
Immune to controversy C O M M U N I T Y
N E W S
M E D I A
Mumps in the NHL the canary in the coal mine. Vaccinations are victims of their own success: BCCDC Tim Collins
cates that vaccines can damage a child’s developing brain and immune system, leading to neurodevelopmental disorders, learning disabilities, ADHD, asthma, anaphylactic food allergies, diabetes and autoimmune disorders.” Fraser acknowledges that there have been no clinical, peer reviewed studies to back up the position advocated by her organization, but cites “thousands of reports of serous adverse reactions” to vaccines. Linking anecdotal reports of illnesses that occurred after immunization to the immunization, said Naus, is a popular fallacy in reasoning. “Just because something happened after something else, doesn’t mean that it was caused by the preceding event,” she said. “There are a thousand other factors that may have caused the second event ... diet, environmental factors. You can’t just pick one thing and place the blame there. It’s dangerously flawed.”
News staff
The recent outbreak of mumps in the NHL has served to fuel the simmering public controversy surrounding immunization and the need to address what one health care professional has called a “disturbing trend toward the acceptance of misinformation and junk science.” “It’s all part of a trend toward a sort of anti-authoritarian movement in which people don’t want to be told what to do,” said Dr. Monika Naus, Medical Director, Immunization Programs and Vaccine Preventable Diseases for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). “And to make things worse that’s been coupled with a regrettable anti-science movement. In all it has created an environment in which vaccinations are a natural target for fringe groups.”
Misinformation a problem Anti-immunization groups, like Vaccination Choice Canada have also found a useful tool in the internet, a venue that allows for the publication of misinformation and junk science, according to Dr. Dee Hagaro, a medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). “There’s a lot of bad information out there and it’s regrettable that people are taking these sites seriously.” The iconic example of this sort of junk science and misinformation came when Jenny McCarthy, former Playboy playmate and co-host of TV program The View, began to advocate against vaccinating children, publicly linking
File photo/Black Press
Immunizations continue to be controversial. Medical professionals warn that anecdotal reports of illness after immunization are problematic. vaccinations to autism. Her crusade was based upon a widely discredited study published in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet and the fact that her own child had developed some autism-like symptoms some time after being immunized. The Lancet study was subsequently debunked and withdrawn but it didn’t stop McCarthy from continuing on her public denunciation of the measles vaccine. The spread of that misinformation is just part of the problem, said Dr. Naus. “In part, vaccines are the victim
of their own success,” she said. “Not many of us know anyone who was crippled by polio and as a result we don’t stop to think about how it was vaccines that all but eradicated that disease in North America. But the disease is still out there and if enough people choose to forgo the inoculation, it could make a comeback.”
Role of vaccines denied But according to Heather Fraser, a Director of Vaccination Choice Canada, people shouldn’t credit vaccinations for the virtual elimi-
FIRST NIGHT
nation of polio or any other disease. “Diseases are cyclical in nature and will rise and decline naturally,” she maintained. She explained how her organization just wants people to be informed about vaccines and doesn’t advocate against vaccination — this despite statements like the following which appear on their website: “The medical establishment considers vaccines effective if they suppress a few targeted illnesses — but at what cost? An emerging body of evidence indi-
New Year’s Eve Family Celebration
Join us at our 9th annual First Night New Year’s Eve celebration! Enjoy family entertainment featuring ‘The Checkerboard guy” as well as numerous activities, including swimming, skating, arts & crafts, inflatable obstacle course and bouncy castle. We will end off the night with a Fireworks Finale at 9pm! Tickets Now On Sale By Dec 30th Adult (19yrs+) Child/Student (6 - 18yrs) Child (0 - 5yrs)
$11 $7 Free
On Dec 31st Adult (19yrs+) Child/Student (6 - 18yrs) Child (0 - 5yrs)
$15 $11 Free
www.panoramarecreation.ca 250.656.7271
Outbreaks of forgotten illnesses But that flawed reasoning has led to a marked decrease in immunization and the comeback of diseases like mumps, measles and whooping cough. For example, a March 2014 measles outbreak in the Fraser Valley led to the infection of more than 400 victims of the once nearly eradicated disease. “We have doctors out there who had never seen a case of measles,” said Dr. Naus. “Now, because people are choosing not to immunize, these outbreaks are back.” Please see: Trust your doctor, page 3
Purchase your tickets online or at Panorama Recreation Centre.