Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

When thinking about vaccines, remove the gut feelings

Roy Benaroch, MD
Physician
December 9, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

I’m struck, sometimes, by the vehement tone of some of the antivaccine comments you see out there. People who hate or distrust vaccines proudly proclaim that their Googling and life experiences have taught them that vaccines are bad. They don’t care what the science or the evidence shows. They know what they know.

Me? I’m not so much into vehemence and dogmatism. I’ll follow the evidence. Show me solid science that what I’m doing is wrong or harmful, and I’ll learn. I’ll let science — observations of the natural world — guide me, rather than what Facebook or Google or “my gut” says. Why? Because our guts can so easily be deceived.

A quick example: A baby gets vaccines, and five days later develops a health thing, like a life-threatening allergy to peanuts, or a fever, or SIDS, or a rash, or a fussy night, or anything. The “logical” thing to do might well be to correlate one with the other. Baby got vaccine, a few days later something happened, so they’re related, right?

Wrong. Just because one thing follows another, one thing doesn’t cause another. In Latin, this is called the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. An easy example:

My phone broke when I joined Netflix. So Netflix broke my phone. No, they’re probably unrelated. Phones break all the time, and people (used to) join Netflix all the time.

Babies in the first year of life have about five separate encounters for vaccines. (It actually may be from 4 to 6, depending on timing and how the flu vaccine might be given, but we’ll just say “5.”) So 5 of the 52 weeks of the first year of life — or about 1 in 10 — are, in fact, within a week following vaccines. Think about that. If anything bad happens in that week, and there isn’t another clear explanation, the bad thing may well be blamed on vaccines.

Statistically, about 1 in 10 babies who die of SIDS had a vaccine within the preceding week. That sounds scary, right? But in fact, 1 in 10 ordinary, healthy babies from 0-12 months of age had a vaccine within the preceding week. There is no greater chance of dying of SIDS in the week following a vaccine than there is in any other week. (In fact, vaccines are protective against SIDS — babies are less likely to die of SIDS if they’ve been vaccinated.)

Sometimes, a specific emotional story can frame a discussion. A friend of mine, a pediatrician, told me this story: his office was called at 4 in the afternoon by a mom who missed her baby’s four month well check appointment because their car broke down. No problem, she just rescheduled. But that night, her baby died of SIDS. That’s a terrible tragedy. What would the family had thought if that same baby had in fact gotten her vaccines that very day, and died that night? It was just a fluke that the car broke down. But you can imagine how the story might have played out on Facebook if the baby had been vaccinated that day.

And Facebook — we’re just beginning to realize how the expansion of social media is skewing our perception of the world around us. I’ve called this the “exaggerating freakiness” effect. (I need to find a Latin phrase for that, or it will never catch on.) When an ordinary thing happens — and millions of ordinary things happen, every day — no one runs to the Internet to post about it. But we love to post about the weird things, the unexpected things, and the one-in-a-million things. We don’t read about the millions of babies who get their immunizations without any problems. But we do read about babies who had issues after vaccines — whether or not the vaccines had anything to do with the problem. We can’t tell from Facebook posts whether one thing caused another, or even if the story is true. None of that matters. What we remember are stories that have emotional impact, regardless of what they mean about reality.

Parents do not need to worry about vaccines. They’re safe, they’re effective, and there is an extremely small risk of serious side effects — far outweighed by the good they’re doing keeping children and communities safe throughout the world. Don’t let headlines, click-bait, and emotional arguments trick you into worrying. Play it safe, protect your kids, and immunize.

Roy Benaroch is a pediatrician who blogs at the Pediatric Insider. He is also the author of A Guide to Getting the Best Health Care for Your Child and the creator of The Great Courses’ Medical School for Everyone: Grand Rounds Cases.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Medical students are depressed, but they’re taking the wrong drugs

December 9, 2015 Kevin 16
…
Next

Why a patient panel is an outdated concept in primary care

December 10, 2015 Kevin 20
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Pediatrics

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medical students are depressed, but they’re taking the wrong drugs
Next Post >
Why a patient panel is an outdated concept in primary care

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Roy Benaroch, MD

  • Goodbye, Benadryl: It is time for you to retire

    Roy Benaroch, MD
  • Telemedicine overprescribes antibiotics: Are you really receiving the best care over the phone?

    Roy Benaroch, MD
  • No, phones don’t cause horns to grow on skulls

    Roy Benaroch, MD

Related Posts

  • To treat future COVID variants, we need more than vaccines

    Ian Chan, MBA
  • Parallel thinking won’t solve problems in health care

    Paul Pender, MD
  • Hospital administrators thinking about no-cost treatment which really helps patients

    John Corsino, DPT
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Remove your blindfold to your patient’s pain

    Christina Abi Faraj
  • If businesses can mandate vaccines, they should mandate affordable health care, too

    Robert Pearl, MD

More in Physician

  • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

    Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO
  • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

    Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD
  • International doctors blocked by visa delays as U.S. faces physician shortage

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • How I redesigned my life as a physician without abandoning medicine

    Ben Reinking, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician
    • How organizational culture drives top talent away [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician
    • How organizational culture drives top talent away [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...