Saturday, March 30, 2013

We get publicity!


At MadArtLab

Conquering Infectious Disease Through Memes, by Smashley on March 29, 2013

For a person on the fence about a scientific issue, especially a personal one like GMOs, fluoridated drinking water, or vaccines, a seed of doubt is often all it takes to push them over the fence on the side opposite the scientific consensus. That’s why internet memes touting the dangers of these issues can be so effective — those against them only have to make you wonder “what if?”, whereas those in favor have to lay out each of the reasons why you shouldn’t worry.

Which is why what Facebook groups like The Vaccine Meme Machine and Refutations to Anti-Vaccine Memes are doing is so impressive and important. More and more people get their scientific facts from social media these days, and instead of wringing their hands and *headdesk*ing, these groups are using that fact to their advantage. Sometimes the memes they spread are specifically designed to counteract one that anti-vaccine proponents have created, sometimes they’re more general in order to address common fears, and sometimes, as with any Facebook page, they’re simply sharing the cool things they’ve seen elsewhere.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Why I Vaccinate

This has two versions:
Mommy fear



Unfounded fear or conspiracy theories


Text, Mommy fear
Why I vaccinate

Because I know that there are thousands of safety studies looking at vaccines from all angles, including vaccines given in combination.  I know that good science must be replicated, so I choose to accept the consensus of science, not focus disproportionately on one discredited study in isolation.

I know the risks of vaccinating and that they're well and truly outweighed by the benefits.  I value evidence, not anecdote. I know the risks of vaccine preventable diseases are still a threat to my child today.  I make my choice from clear rational thinking, not mommy fear.  I cannot justify exposing my child to potentially deadly diseases which are so easily prevented.

http://goo.gl/rnGpM
http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2013/Childhood-Immunization-Schedule/ChildhoodImmunizationScheduleandSafety_RB.pdf

Text, Unfounded fear or conspiracy theories
Because I know that there are thousands of safety studies looking at vaccines from all angles, including vaccines given in combination.  I know that good science must be replicated, so I choose to accept the consensus of science, not focus disproportionately on one discredited study in isolation.

I know the risks of vaccinating and that they're well and truly outweighed by the benefits.  I value evidence, not anecdote. I know the risks of vaccine preventable diseases are still a threat to my child today.  I make my choice from clear rational thinking, not unfounded fear or conspiracy theories.  I cannot justify exposing my child to potentially deadly diseases which are so easily prevented.

http://goo.gl/rnGpM
http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2013/Childhood-Immunization-Schedule/ChildhoodImmunizationScheduleandSafety_RB.pdf

Link to RtAVM Facebook posts
Mommy Fear
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473922382677776&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=1&theater
Unfounded fear or conspiracy theories
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=474408495962498&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=1&theater


Ingestion vs. Injection


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Ingestion vs. Injection

Either way it can end up in the bloodstream.

Anti-vaccine folk  seem to worry that vaccines go directly into the blood stream.
Vaccines don't go into the bloodstream.

Anti-vaccine folk  worry that "INGESTION is different to INJECTION".
They needn't.

In reality, the immune system and gastro-intestinal system are extremely complicated.

Here we have a very simplified representation of Ingestion vs Injection. Whether the route is injection (intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intradermal) -- or ingestion (oral), the substance goes through a 'filter'. 

Antigens and other components of food go through a gut "filter" before entering the blood stream, and the antigens in vaccines go through the antigen presenting cells and tissue "filter" before entering the blood stream.

Monday, February 25, 2013

We are this close to ending polio


Text:
We are this close to ending polio
Polio Eradication Status
Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan--the only three countries where wild virus has never been stopped.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473532286050119&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=1&theater

Other links

End Polio Now http://www.endpolio.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/pages/End-Polio-Now/78976274836?directed_target_id=0

The World's Biggest Commercial Campaign http://thisclose.endpolio.org/en

Rotary International's Polio Eradication Campaign http://www.rotary.org/en/ServiceAndFellowship/Polio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Vaccine Ingredients: Aluminium

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Aluminium

It's in all the food we eat -- even breast milk!  Vaccine ingredients? No worries -- fb.me/RtAVM

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473901836013164&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=1&theater

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Vaccines work: Why we continue to vaccinate.





Text
These bubbles are sized according to the annual number of disease cases in the US during the 1900s versus 2010.  We've come so far.  It's a reminder that while disease rates are low, most diseases haven't disappeared.  This is why we continue to vaccinate.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473129219423759&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Infographic source
http://www.vaccines.com/why-vaccinate.cfm

Science literacy is a vaccine


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Science literacy is a vaccine against the charlatans of the world that would exploit your ignorance --Neil deGrasse Tyson

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473081699428511&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Vaccine Ingredients: Chicken embryos


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Grown in chicken embryos?

Oh, you mean like the ones you ate this morning?

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472643329472348&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Vaccination: Lessons from History #4


Text
Tuberculosis has been present in humans since the birth of time.  Skeletal remains show prehistoric humans (4000 BC) had TB, & tubercular decay has been found in the spines of Egyptian mummies.

In Europe, rates of tuberculosis began to rise in the early 1600s to a peak level in the 1800s, when it caused nearly 25% of all deaths.

Many famous people in history died from tuberculosis including John Keats, Andrew Jackson, John Calvin, Doc Holliday, George Orwell, and Emily and Anne Brönte.

Scientists estimate that tuberculosis was responsible for 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone, and it continues to cause about 1 million deaths each year.

Tuberculosis may be under control in some countries, but it's still endemic in others.  You could be at risk.

Remember -- vaccinations save lives.

Poster Text 
Tuberculosis
Don't Kiss Me!
Your kiss of affection
The germ of infection

Town of Hempstead, W.H. Runcie, MD Health officer
WPA Federal Art Project, District of Columbia



Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472836696119678&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Injection versus Ingestion


Text:
Injection versus Ingestion
Because injections never happen in nature.

https://www.facebook.com/WENEVET

*The most common wound source of tetanus in the U.S. is rose thorn wounds

http://www.ushealthworks.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/rusty-nails-dirty-wounds-and-tetanus/


Original post at Wear 'Em, Nurse 'Em, and Vax 'Em Too
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=463662563680639&set=pb.396361607077402.-2207520000.1368036699.&type=3&theater

One common trope of the anti-vaccine movement is that vaccines are particularly dangerous because they are injected. In reality, our bodies are capable of handling challenges to the immune system whether these challenges are presented by way of injection or of ingestion.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472796966123651&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Vaccine Ingredients: Monosodium Glutamate


Text
Monosodium Glutamate?

Better avoid Italian food then!

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472652449471436&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Vaccine Ingredients: Polysorbate-80


Text
Polysorbate-80?
Makes ice cream smooth and creamy

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472650332804981&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Vaccine Ingredients: Bovine Serum Albumin


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Bovine Serum Albumin?

It's in this delicious steak

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472649716138376&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

From the comments at the original post:
  1. Yes, the fetal calves are removed from pregnant cows at the time of slaughter.  However, these calves are considered to be byproducts of the meat industry -- they would be just as dead even if their blood was not collected. If you eat meat or milk and milk products from cows then you support this system.
  2.  The calves are hypoxic by the time the blood is collected, and are not aware at the time of collection (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16032283 )
  3. Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) found in steak is the exact same molecule as BSA from fetal calf serum.

Vaccine Ingredients: Formaldehyde


Text:
Formaldehyde?

There's more in a pear than a vaccine!

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=472649366138411&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Vaccination: Lessons From History #3


Text
When you see an old gravestone which shows an entire family of childrend dead inside a week, thik of Diphtheria.

In the 1920s, there were an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 cases of diphtheria per year in the USA, causing 13,000 to 15,000 deaths per year.

In 1943, diphtheria outbreaks accompanied war and disruption in Europe.  There were 1 million cases in Europe, with 50,000 deaths.

Diphtheria is not an old diesase, it has killed unvaccinated people in recent times.  Thankfully, there is a preventative.

Remember --vaccinations save lives.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=471965532873461&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Vaccination: Lessons from history #2


Text
Smallpox likely emerged in human populations about 10,000 BC

The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans annually during the closing years of the 18th century.

80% of infected children died from the disease and it was responsible for a third of all blindness.

Smallpox was responsible for 300-500 million deaths during the 20th century.

Following vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the WHO certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979.

Smallpox might have gone away; but it was only everyone worldwide vaccinating that eradicated this deadly disease.

Remember--Vaccinations Save Lives.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=471604369576244&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Monday, February 18, 2013

Shouldn't my baby receive a smaller dose of vaccine than an adult?


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Shouldn't my baby receive a smaller dose of vaccine than an adult?

Good question!  But no.  Vaccines aren't dose-dependent like drugs.  They don't act in the body the same way.  Drugs distribute and act on the whole body.  Vaccines stimulate the immune response in the area where they are given.  Vaccines don't need to be reduced according to age or weight, because they are made and tested so they contain just enough active parts to work.  Vaccines are already adjusted for children.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=470906506312697&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Why do people think babies need smaller vaccine doses?


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Why do people think babies need smaller vaccine doses?

Do they think it takes 15 sneezes to transmit a disease to an adult, but only 1 sneeze to a baby?

Seriously....

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=470472046356143&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Myth about teething and the blood-brain barrier


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Did you know?
Vaccinating during teething is not harmful to your baby's brain.

A baby's blood-brain barrier is fully developed and functional at birth.  It forms in the first trimester of pregnancy and begins to operate from then.

Teething may produce midl gum inflammation and tiny amounts of histamine, but it does not turn the blood-brain barrier into a sieve.

Major inflammation and infection from severe childhood disease CAN alter it though.

You can choose to believe nonsense from Natural News or you can protect your child from deadly disease and vaccinate.

You have a choice.

Link to RtAVM Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=469819146421433&set=a.414675905269091.96547.414643305272351&type=3&theater