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> The number of people harmed by the vaccine is much lower than the number harmed by an infection. This this this this this. This is the way vaccines should be
by Domenic_S 13y ago
> The number of people harmed by the vaccine is much lower than the number harmed by an infection.
This this this this this. This is the way vaccines should be presented. But in my experience as a new father vaccines seem to be presented as a magic cure that never does any harm. When's the last time your doctor/nurse discussed the potential side-effects with you?
If the number of folks hurt by vaccines was infinitesimally small, as some would have you believe, we wouldn't have the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. (http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html)
- Houshalter 13y ago>When's the last time your doctor/nurse discussed the potential side-effects with you? On the one hand your right and doctors should be honest about the risks and it should be your choice. On the other hand it's just going to get kids killed when parents hear the doctor tell them about the potential side-effects and decide not to vaccinate. >The thought that occurred to me was that, innumeracy being so widespread, no one would dare put numbers on that sheet of paper. If "amputation" is listed as a consequence with a probability of 0.0001%, patients will run screaming out of the office, crying, "Not my toe! I don't want to lose my toe!" No amount of patient explanation will suffice to convince them that they ought to diminish the emotional force of their fear by a factor of one million. Each extra zero after the decimal point would only be one more symbol for their eyes to glaze over; it would not diminish the emotional force of the anticipation by an additional factor of ten. (source http://lesswrong.com/lw/h4/useless_medical_disclaimers/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/h4/useless_medical_disclaimers/)