We deal with vaccinations. Part 3. Doctors

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Doctors are those who prescribe drugs they know little about in order to treat diseases they know even less about in people they know nothing about at all.

1. Argument: "If there was any problem with vaccines, if they were unsafe, or ineffective, then doctors would know about it. But now there is almost complete medical consensus that vaccinations are safe and effective. After all, doctors are for their long years of study probably taught a lot more about vaccinations than you read about them on the Internet."

2. My wife also believed that vaccines were safe and effective. This is how they were taught. I asked her how many hours she had spent on vaccines throughout her training. It turned out that only a few hours. Of these, they taught for two hours about the vaccination calendar, and for another two hours there was a lecture on "how to respond to anti-vaccine arguments." By the way, after this lecture, almost all students said that the lecturer's arguments did not convince them, and that the arguments of anti-vaccinators are more convincing. They, of course, did not think that anti-vaccines were right about something. They decided that the lecturer was simply ill-prepared for this lecture.

3. But maybe things are different at other universities? Here's how much is taught about vaccinations at the most prestigious American universities. Of the 6,700 pages a medical student must learn, only 4 are devoted to vaccinations.

4. Doctors have a financial interest in vaccinations. The more vaccinations they sell, the higher their bonus.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield, for example, pays doctors $ 400 for each fully immunized child. But only if the percentage of vaccinated in practice is higher than 63%. This is the main reason why pediatricians in the United States refuse to treat unvaccinated children.

5. Argument: "But I talked to several doctors, and they all say that vaccinations are safe. Moreover, doctors would not vaccinate their children if they considered vaccines unsafe."

6. Most people believe that the doctor can heal as he sees fit. Far from it. If, for example, a doctor has read several scientific articles and has come to the conclusion that it is better to treat a certain disease in some other way, he has no right to do so. The physician is obliged to follow the approved treatment protocols, otherwise he will lose his license. If the doctor advises the patient to take any unapproved medicine, for example, to treat whooping cough with vitamin C rather than an antibiotic, and something happens to the patient, then the doctor will go to court. If the doctor prescribes antibiotics (not particularly effective for whooping cough) and something happens to the patient, the doctor will not be held liable. What is the point of a doctor advising a patient about something that is not approved by the protocol?

Likewise, a doctor, by and large, has no right to advise a patient not to vaccinate. He can lose his license very quickly (especially in the United States), and even if he does not lose it, his career will not advance very far.

However, there are many doctors who openly oppose vaccinations. Of course, these are always doctors with their own private practice.

7. If you ask my wife, as a doctor, if she advises to vaccinate, and she does not trust you, then she will answer that she advises. Vaccinations, she declares, are the greatest gift of medicine to mankind, they have saved millions of lives.

If you ask her if she vaccinates her child, and she completely trusts you, then she will explain that she will scratch out the eyes of someone who approaches the child with the vaccine, and advise you to do the same.

Therefore, it is important to ask the question correctly. It is also important that the doctor you are asking the question fully trusts you, and does not think that you can complain about him, or publish his advice.

Of course, most doctors are more likely to vaccinate their children. But only because they taught almost nothing about vaccinations. Therefore, it is also important to ask your doctor how many scientific articles on the safety and efficacy of vaccinations they have read. Ask him to also give you at least one study proving the safety of the vaccine he is about to inject.

Yet many doctors take risks and do not advise their patients to get vaccinated. Here are some studies:

8. Despite awareness of recommendations, why do health care workers not immunize pregnant women? (Gesser-Edelsburg, 2017, Am J Infect Control)

Despite the fact that 93% of doctors know that the Ministry of Health recommends vaccinations for pregnant women against influenza and whooping cough, only 70% follow these recommendations. A third of doctors believe that both vaccines are dangerous, or that their safety is questionable. 40% of doctors who think these vaccines are dangerous still recommend them to their patients. (Israel)

9. How do physicians immunize their own children? Differences among pediatricians and nonpediatricians. (Posfay-Barbe, 2005, Pediatrics)

5% of non-pediatric doctors do not vaccinate their children against measles-mumps-rubella. They believe that complex vaccinations are unsafe, that it is better to have the disease than to get vaccinated, and that homeopathic treatment works well for these diseases.

10% will postpone the DTaP shot, 15% will postpone the MMR shot.

A third of doctors did not vaccinate their children against hepatitis B, and against hemophilus influenzae. Only 12% were vaccinated against the flu, and only 3% were vaccinated against chickenpox. 34% of pediatricians did not vaccinate their children according to the vaccination schedule.

The survey involved only InfoVac subscribers, that is, doctors who are actively interested in vaccinations. It follows from this that the real number of doctors who do not vaccinate their children is probably much higher. (Switzerland)

10. Vaccination practices among physicians and their children. (Martin, 2012, OJPed.)

21% of specialist pediatricians and 10% of general pediatricians will refuse at least one vaccination for their child.

19% of specialist pediatricians and 5% of general pediatricians will postpone MMR vaccination until 1.5 years of age.

18% of specialist pediatricians will not vaccinate their children against rotavirus, 6% will not vaccinate against hepatitis A. (USA)

11. Physicians who do and do not recommend children get all vaccinations. (Gust, 2008, J Health Commun)

11% of doctors did not recommend their patients to vaccinate their children with all vaccinations.

Therapists are 2 times more likely not to recommend vaccinations than pediatricians (therapists earn less on vaccinations).

Physicians trust medical journals more than the CDC and FDA. They trust pharmaceutical companies less than the Internet. (USA)

12. Paediatricians knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding immunizations for infants in Italy. (Anastasi, 2009, BMC Public Health)

Only 10% of doctors had a good opinion of all vaccinations.

60% of doctors would like to know more about vaccinations.

Only 25% of doctors gave their patients optional vaccinations (whooping cough, measles, mumps, chickenpox, rubella, HiB, pneumococcus, meningococcus). (Italy)

13. Factors associated with vaccination for hepatitis B, pertussis, seasonal and pandemic influenza among French general practitioners: a 2010 survey. (Pulcini, 2013, Vaccine)

27% of family doctors were not vaccinated against hepatitis B, 36% were not vaccinated against whooping cough. 23% were not vaccinated against the flu. (France)

14. Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of general practitioners towards measles and MMR vaccination in southeastern France in 2012. (Pulcini, 2014, Clin Microbiol Infect)

13% of doctors do not consider measles a dangerous disease. 12% of physicians consider a second dose of MMR useless.

33% of doctors do not believe that the MMR vaccine should be mandatory for children under 2 years of age. (France)

15. What lies behind the low rates of vaccinations among nurses who treat infants? (Baron-Epel, 2012, Vaccine)

After asking Israeli nurses for 3 months to get vaccinated against whooping cough, only 2% (two percent) deigned to do so. And we are talking about nurses working in centers for mothers and children (tipat halav), that is, those whose main role is to vaccinate children.

Most nurses are distrustful of the health authorities and desperately resist mandatory vaccinations.

Nurses are wary of side effects and believe that the risk of influenza and whooping cough is lower than the risk of vaccinations.

They believe that parents should have a choice whether or not to vaccinate their child and demand the same respect for their rights.

Nurses separate work and personal life. That their job is to vaccinate children is one thing. And whether they themselves are vaccinated or not is their own business, and they do not consider it necessary to tell their parents either their opinion about vaccinations or whether they are vaccinated themselves.

The study authors concluded that nurses who vaccinate are essentially anti-vaccines. (Israel)

This is probably the most important study presented here. In virtually all other studies, data were collected from interviews with physicians. Doctors are well aware that they should not speak negatively about vaccinations, so it is logical to assume that the real number of doctors who do not vaccinate their children is much higher. The data in this study is real, not survey based. 98% of nurses, whose main role is to vaccinate children, refuse to vaccinate themselves!

Israeli doctors, however, also refuse to get vaccinated against the flu.

16. Influenza vaccination among healthcare workers in Italy. (Alicino, 2014, Hum Vaccin Immunother)

Health workers are resisting influenza shots despite ten years of efforts to increase vaccination rates. Only 30% of doctors, 11% of nurses, and 9% of clinical staff are vaccinated against the flu. (Italy)

17. Vaccinating health care workers during an influenza pandemic. (Head, 2012, Occup Med Lond)

41% of healthcare workers refused to receive the H1N1 vaccine during the 2009 pandemic. They thought the vaccine was ineffective, had side effects, and that the infection usually goes away easily.

57% of healthcare workers refused to get the common flu vaccine. (London, Great Britain)

18. Influenza vaccination amongst hospital health care workers in Beijing. (Seale, 2010, Occup Med Lond)

Only 13% of doctors and 21% of nurses are vaccinated against the flu.

40% of healthcare workers believe that a flu shot can cause the flu. (Beijing, China)

19. Seasonal and Pandemic A (H1N1) 2009 influenza vaccination coverage and attitudes among health-care workers in a Spanish University Hospital. (Vírseda, 2010, Vaccine)

More than half of health workers refused to be vaccinated against influenza, and only 16.5% were vaccinated against H1N1 during the 2009 pandemic. They doubted the effectiveness of the vaccine and feared side effects. (Madrid, Spain)

20. Influenza vaccination compliance among health care workers in a German university hospital. (Wicker, 2009, Infection)

For more than 20 years, German health workers have been persuaded to get vaccinated against influenza, but only 39% of doctors and 17% of nurses are vaccinated. They are afraid of side effects, believe that the vaccine can lead to illness, and do not believe in its effectiveness. (Berlin, Germany)

21. Influenza vaccination attitudes and practices among US registered nurses. (Clark. 2009, Am J Infect Control)

41% of nurses were not vaccinated against the flu. They feared side effects, believed the chance of infection was low, and generally did not find the vaccine effective. (USA)

22. The same story is repeated everywhere. Doctors and nurses in all countries refuse to get the flu shot.

Canada:

Brazil:

France:

The whole world:

23. No matter how much you tell these doctors and nurses that all vaccinations are safe and effective, not everyone believes in it.

Scientific evidence suggests that the medical consensus about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines is a myth.

UPD: Australian doctors who help their patients refuse vaccinations are prosecuted. More.

Doctors in India who order many vaccinations receive gifts from a pharmaceutical company.