# Anti-vaxxers are ignorant scumbags that kill children **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626 "2016-09-01T01:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 45
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/881 "2019-12-18T13:22:02Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This era shall be known as The Dumbening. Futurama referred to this time as ‘The Stupid Ages’. It is hard to argue. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/882 "2019-12-18T18:14:56Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Futurama referred to this time as ‘The Stupid Ages’. It is hard to argue. Heinlein called them “The Crazy Years”, and it’s a bit disturbing how accurate he was in many of his stories about the rise of populism and dominionism and the glorification of ignorance and deprecation of education. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/883 "2019-12-18T18:21:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That idiot McCarthy is a boomer? Bless her heart though for trying to redefine McCarthyism. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/884 "2019-12-18T18:38:51Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I am reminded of a quote by the SF writer Robert A. Heinlein, writing as “Lazarus Long”. Much as I adored Heinlein’s writings as a kid, it really is important to recall he preached a reactionary, misogynist, libertarian nut job philosophy in many of his books. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/885 "2019-12-18T20:22:03Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > Much as I adored Heinlein’s writings as a kid, it really is important to recall he preached a reactionary, misogynist, libertarian nut job philosophy in many of his books. Don’t forget that the “Freeholders” movement got its name from Heinlein’s novel _Farnham’s Freehold_. Combine that with the militaristic propaganda of _Starship Troopers_. I like Heinlein plenty but don’t consider him either a sage or prophet. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/886 "2019-12-18T20:23:20Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Jenny McCarthy was born in 1972, so she is the youngest boomer in existence. I am born Dec 30th 1970 and I am Generation X. My sisters, born in '61 and '63 are boomers. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/887 "2019-12-19T00:49:05Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > They’re called “Boomers”. > (Name one prominent anti-vaxxer that isn’t) > [@Terminus Est](#): > > Jenny McCarthy was born in 1972, so she is the youngest boomer in existence. I’m assuming this was a joke, as the last “baby boomer” was born in 1964. It’s true the Elders of the antivaccine movement are, well, up there in age. There are however numerous celebrity antivaxers from Gen X and later. This bunch includes such luminaries as Jessica Biel, Charlie Sheen, Alicia Silverstone and Mayim Bialik. > **[A Guide to 17 Anti-Vaccination Celebrities](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/celebrities-anti-vaxxers-jessica-biel-847779/)** > > From Jessica Biel to the President of the United States, many celebrities have ignored science to come out against mandatory vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/888 "2019-12-19T02:44:37Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > I am born Dec 30th 1970 and I am Generation X. My sisters, born in '61 and '63 are boomers. ----\> The joke 😕 **Locrian** ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/889 "2019-12-19T03:27:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m assuming this was a joke, as the last “baby boomer” was born in 1964. > > It’s true the Elders of the antivaccine movement are, well, up there in age. There are however numerous celebrity antivaxers from Gen X and later. This bunch includes such luminaries as Jessica Biel, Charlie Sheen, Alicia Silverstone and Mayim Bialik. > > [Vaccinating Children: Famous People Who Oppose Vaccination](http://rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/celebrities-anti-vaxxers-jessica-biel-847779/) Bialik? WTF? She’s a legitimate scientist and believes that nonsense? I wonder if UCLA can revoke her BS and PhD. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/890 "2019-12-19T03:46:16Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Bialik? WTF? She’s a legitimate scientist and believes that nonsense? I wonder if UCLA can revoke her BS and PhD. Her Facebook page says it’s a little more complicated than that: > **[Log into Facebook](https://m.facebook.com/MissMayim/posts/10155194874840008)** > > Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. > [@](#): > > i would like to dispel the rumors about my stance on vaccines. i am not anti-vaccine. my children are vaccinated. there has been so much hysteria and anger about this issue and i hope this clears things up as far as my part. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/891 "2019-12-19T05:35:22Z")
Thanks, **Superdude**! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/892 "2019-12-19T07:12:36Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Her Facebook page says it’s a little more complicated than that: > > [Mayim Bialik - i would like to dispel the rumors about my... | Facebook](https://m.facebook.com/MissMayim/posts/10155194874840008) Sure, the first thing you should do to confirm someone’s stance on vaccines is to rely on a short and less than revelatory paragraph on their Facebook page. :dubious: Bialik has another Facebook page statement describing how utterly delighted she was at one of her books receiving a wildly positive blurb from Bob Sears, a California pediatrician known for promulgating antivax views (while promoting an unscientific limited vaccine schedule).\* She has co-written a couple of child-rearing books with Jay Gordon, another pediatrician with a long antivaccine history, who also tries to soft-pedal his antivax nonsense by grudgingly allowing that a few vaccines are OK, sort of (my understanding is that both Bialik’s and Jenny McCarthy’s kids are patients of Gordon).\*\* "Bialik, who in addition to acting and parenting also holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, said in a 2009 interview with People magazine’s Celebrity Babies feature, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”… On Kveller in 2012, Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books [with links to two books widely read in the anti-vaxxer movement] we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” Elsewhere in 2012, Bialik said on an NPR radio program, “My feeling is that everyone gets to decide and do research based on their family and their needs as to what they want to do.”"\*\*\* > **[Is Mayim Bialik an anti-vaxxer? It’s complicated…](https://www.timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/)** > > The actress took to social media to say that she does immunize her kids, but past statements indicate a less-than-clear stance Excuse me for being skeptical about Bialik being pro-vaccine (while intimating that her critics are angry and hysterical). I don’t see that’s she’s ever walked back her previous antivax statements or rejected support from prominent antivax pediatricians. Maybe her kids have received a few vaccines, but I’m highly dubious that they have been protected by anything close to the full recommended vaccine schedule. \*Bob Sears was disciplined by the California Medical Board for granting an improper vaccine exemption and not performing a proper neurologic exam on a young boy with a history of head trauma. As of this past June he was the subject of yet another complaint by the medical board for writing improper vaccine exemptions. Should one be gushingly proud of getting an endorsement from such a person? \*\*in the world of antivax pediatricians (Paul Thomas is another example), it’s a typical M.O. to issue bogus warnings about vaccine hazards to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parents, while promoting their own limited/delayed vaccination schedules. It’s a great strategy in that one can appeal to diehard antivaxers _and_ vaccine-hesitant parents who are reluctant to dispense entirely with vaccines. Profit! \*\*\*yeah, none of that mandatory vaccination crap for _my_ children! I’ve done my ''research"!! ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/893 "2019-12-19T13:52:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Sure, the first thing you should do to confirm someone’s stance on vaccines is to rely on a short and less than revelatory paragraph on their Facebook page. :dubious: > > Bialik has another Facebook page statement describing how utterly delighted she was at one of her books receiving a wildly positive blurb from Bob Sears, a California pediatrician known for promulgating antivax views (while promoting an unscientific limited vaccine schedule).\* She has co-written a couple of child-rearing books with Jay Gordon, another pediatrician with a long antivaccine history, who also tries to soft-pedal his antivax nonsense by grudgingly allowing that a few vaccines are OK, sort of (my understanding is that both Bialik’s and Jenny McCarthy’s kids are patients of Gordon).\*\* > > "Bialik, who in addition to acting and parenting also holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, said in a 2009 interview with People magazine’s Celebrity Babies feature, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”… > On Kveller in 2012, Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books [with links to two books widely read in the anti-vaxxer movement] we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” > > Elsewhere in 2012, Bialik said on an NPR radio program, “My feeling is that everyone gets to decide and do research based on their family and their needs as to what they want to do.”"\*\*\* > > [http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/](http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/) > > Excuse me for being skeptical about Bialik being pro-vaccine (while intimating that her critics are angry and hysterical). I don’t see that’s she’s ever walked back her previous antivax statements or rejected support from prominent antivax pediatricians. Maybe her kids have received a few vaccines, but I’m highly dubious that they have been protected by anything close to the full recommended vaccine schedule. > > \*Bob Sears was disciplined by the California Medical Board for granting an improper vaccine exemption and not performing a proper neurologic exam on a young boy with a history of head trauma. As of this past June he was the subject of yet another complaint by the medical board for writing improper vaccine exemptions. Should one be gushingly proud of getting an endorsement from such a person? > \*\*in the world of antivax pediatricians (Paul Thomas is another example), it’s a typical M.O. to issue bogus warnings about vaccine hazards to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parents, while promoting their own limited/delayed vaccination schedules. It’s a great strategy in that one can appeal to diehard antivaxers _and_ vaccine-hesitant parents who are reluctant to dispense entirely with vaccines. Profit! > \*\*\*yeah, none of that mandatory vaccination crap for _my_ children! I’ve done my ''research"!! Just because you are educated it doesn’t mean you are smart ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/894 "2019-12-20T04:51:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Sure, the first thing you should do to confirm someone’s stance on vaccines is to rely on a short and less than revelatory paragraph on their Facebook page. :dubious: > > Bialik has another Facebook page statement describing how utterly delighted she was at one of her books receiving a wildly positive blurb from Bob Sears, a California pediatrician known for promulgating antivax views (while promoting an unscientific limited vaccine schedule).\* She has co-written a couple of child-rearing books with Jay Gordon, another pediatrician with a long antivaccine history, who also tries to soft-pedal his antivax nonsense by grudgingly allowing that a few vaccines are OK, sort of (my understanding is that both Bialik’s and Jenny McCarthy’s kids are patients of Gordon).\*\* > > "Bialik, who in addition to acting and parenting also holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, said in a 2009 interview with People magazine’s Celebrity Babies feature, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”… > On Kveller in 2012, Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books [with links to two books widely read in the anti-vaxxer movement] we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” > > Elsewhere in 2012, Bialik said on an NPR radio program, “My feeling is that everyone gets to decide and do research based on their family and their needs as to what they want to do.”"\*\*\* > > [http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/](http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/) > > Excuse me for being skeptical about Bialik being pro-vaccine (while intimating that her critics are angry and hysterical). I don’t see that’s she’s ever walked back her previous antivax statements or rejected support from prominent antivax pediatricians. Maybe her kids have received a few vaccines, but I’m highly dubious that they have been protected by anything close to the full recommended vaccine schedule. > > \*Bob Sears was disciplined by the California Medical Board for granting an improper vaccine exemption and not performing a proper neurologic exam on a young boy with a history of head trauma. As of this past June he was the subject of yet another complaint by the medical board for writing improper vaccine exemptions. Should one be gushingly proud of getting an endorsement from such a person? > \*\*in the world of antivax pediatricians (Paul Thomas is another example), it’s a typical M.O. to issue bogus warnings about vaccine hazards to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parents, while promoting their own limited/delayed vaccination schedules. It’s a great strategy in that one can appeal to diehard antivaxers _and_ vaccine-hesitant parents who are reluctant to dispense entirely with vaccines. Profit! > \*\*\*yeah, none of that mandatory vaccination crap for _my_ children! I’ve done my ''research"!! Bialik has long struck me as having one wheel off the track. And while lately she’s tried to sound like she’s pro-vaccine-ish, I have my doubts, based in part on [her refusal to give her children antibiotics:](https://www.eonline.com/news/515073/mayim-bialik-s-most-controversial-parenting-decrees-from-breastfeeding-to-attachment-parenting-and-more) > [@](#): > > “Between our two boys, ages six and three-and-a-half, we have dealt with just about every ailment, sickness and flu out there. However, neither of our sons has ever been on antibiotics, nor do we give them Tylenol, Motrin, antihistamines or cough syrup. I’ve learned from talking to other moms that almost everything you have right now in your home and your heart is enough to deal with most everything.” Doesn’t sound like someone with a PhD in neuroscience, does it? She doesn’t do any research in journals. No, she “learned” from “talking to other moms” that she didn’t need no stinkin’ medicines for her kids. I can’t help wondering how she got her PhD with such a mindset. Has she ever worked as a scientist? I rather think not. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/895 "2019-12-20T04:55:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Sure, the first thing you should do to confirm someone’s stance on vaccines is to rely on a short and less than revelatory paragraph on their Facebook page. :dubious: > > Bialik has another Facebook page statement describing how utterly delighted she was at one of her books receiving a wildly positive blurb from Bob Sears, a California pediatrician known for promulgating antivax views (while promoting an unscientific limited vaccine schedule).\* She has co-written a couple of child-rearing books with Jay Gordon, another pediatrician with a long antivaccine history, who also tries to soft-pedal his antivax nonsense by grudgingly allowing that a few vaccines are OK, sort of (my understanding is that both Bialik’s and Jenny McCarthy’s kids are patients of Gordon).\*\* > > "Bialik, who in addition to acting and parenting also holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, said in a 2009 interview with People magazine’s Celebrity Babies feature, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”… > On Kveller in 2012, Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books [with links to two books widely read in the anti-vaxxer movement] we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” > > Elsewhere in 2012, Bialik said on an NPR radio program, “My feeling is that everyone gets to decide and do research based on their family and their needs as to what they want to do.”"\*\*\* > > [http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/](http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/) > > Excuse me for being skeptical about Bialik being pro-vaccine (while intimating that her critics are angry and hysterical). I don’t see that’s she’s ever walked back her previous antivax statements or rejected support from prominent antivax pediatricians. Maybe her kids have received a few vaccines, but I’m highly dubious that they have been protected by anything close to the full recommended vaccine schedule. > > \*Bob Sears was disciplined by the California Medical Board for granting an improper vaccine exemption and not performing a proper neurologic exam on a young boy with a history of head trauma. As of this past June he was the subject of yet another complaint by the medical board for writing improper vaccine exemptions. Should one be gushingly proud of getting an endorsement from such a person? > \*\*in the world of antivax pediatricians (Paul Thomas is another example), it’s a typical M.O. to issue bogus warnings about vaccine hazards to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parents, while promoting their own limited/delayed vaccination schedules. It’s a great strategy in that one can appeal to diehard antivaxers _and_ vaccine-hesitant parents who are reluctant to dispense entirely with vaccines. Profit! > \*\*\*yeah, none of that mandatory vaccination crap for _my_ children! I’ve done my ''research"!! Bialik has long struck me as having a wheel off the track. And while lately she’s tried to sound like she’s pro-vaccine-ish, I have my doubts, based in part on [her refusal to give her children antibiotics:](https://www.eonline.com/news/515073/mayim-bialik-s-most-controversial-parenting-decrees-from-breastfeeding-to-attachment-parenting-and-more) > [@](#): > > “Between our two boys, ages six and three-and-a-half, we have dealt with just about every ailment, sickness and flu out there. However, neither of our sons has ever been on antibiotics, nor do we give them Tylenol, Motrin, antihistamines or cough syrup. I’ve learned from talking to other moms that almost everything you have right now in your home and your heart is enough to deal with most everything.” Doesn’t sound like someone with a PhD in neuroscience, does it? She doesn’t do any research in journals. No, she “learned” from “talking to other moms” that she didn’t need no stinkin’ medicines for her kids. What’s in your heart is enough.I can’t help wondering how she got her PhD with such a mindset. Has she ever worked as a scientist? I rather think not. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/896 "2019-12-20T05:27:13Z")
It seems to me that Bialik’s attitude towards antibiotics is very likely to be healthier (in multiple senses of the word) than the attitude of the typical middle-class parents who hysterically demand antibiotics from the doctor every time their child comes down with a minor illness. In many cases, the average immune system will clear up a minor-to-medium illness about as fast as medication will. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/897 "2019-12-20T07:05:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Sure, the first thing you should do to confirm someone’s stance on vaccines is to rely on a short and less than revelatory paragraph on their Facebook page. :dubious: > > Bialik has another Facebook page statement describing how utterly delighted she was at one of her books receiving a wildly positive blurb from Bob Sears, a California pediatrician known for promulgating antivax views (while promoting an unscientific limited vaccine schedule).\* She has co-written a couple of child-rearing books with Jay Gordon, another pediatrician with a long antivaccine history, who also tries to soft-pedal his antivax nonsense by grudgingly allowing that a few vaccines are OK, sort of (my understanding is that both Bialik’s and Jenny McCarthy’s kids are patients of Gordon).\*\* > > "Bialik, who in addition to acting and parenting also holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, said in a 2009 interview with People magazine’s Celebrity Babies feature, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”… > > On Kveller in 2012, Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books [with links to two books widely read in the anti-vaxxer movement] we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” > > Elsewhere in 2012, Bialik said on an NPR radio program, “My feeling is that everyone gets to decide and do research based on their family and their needs as to what they want to do.”"\*\*\* > > [http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/](http://timesofisrael.com/is-mayim-bialik-an-anti-vaxxer-its-complicated/) > > Excuse me for being skeptical about Bialik being pro-vaccine (while intimating that her critics are angry and hysterical). I don’t see that’s she’s ever walked back her previous antivax statements or rejected support from prominent antivax pediatricians. Maybe her kids have received a few vaccines, but I’m highly dubious that they have been protected by anything close to the full recommended vaccine schedule. > > \*Bob Sears was disciplined by the California Medical Board for granting an improper vaccine exemption and not performing a proper neurologic exam on a young boy with a history of head trauma. As of this past June he was the subject of yet another complaint by the medical board for writing improper vaccine exemptions. Should one be gushingly proud of getting an endorsement from such a person? > > \*\*in the world of antivax pediatricians (Paul Thomas is another example), it’s a typical M.O. to issue bogus warnings about vaccine hazards to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parents, while promoting their own limited/delayed vaccination schedules. It’s a great strategy in that one can appeal to diehard antivaxers _and_ vaccine-hesitant parents who are reluctant to dispense entirely with vaccines. Profit! > > \*\*\*yeah, none of that mandatory vaccination crap for _my_ children! I’ve done my ''research"!! For what it’s worth, she may have written what you referred to in 2012, but the Facebook post I linked to was posted in 2015, according to the timestamp on it. It’s possible that her opinion has changed. It’s also possible that she’s full of shit. Or it could be somewhere between those two things. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/898 "2019-12-20T12:41:14Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It seems to me that Bialik’s attitude towards antibiotics is very likely to be healthier (in multiple senses of the word) than the attitude of the typical middle-class parents who hysterically demand antibiotics from the doctor every time their child comes down with a minor illness. Sure, antibiotics used in the face of common viral infection are a problem, but she’s also not giving palliative things like acetaminophen and dextromethorphan that make the kid _feel better_. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/899 "2019-12-21T06:34:49Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It seems to me that Bialik’s attitude towards antibiotics is very likely to be healthier (in multiple senses of the word) than the attitude of the typical middle-class parents who hysterically demand antibiotics from the doctor every time their child comes down with a minor illness. > > In many cases, the average immune system will clear up a minor-to-medium illness about as fast as medication will. Uh-huh, but Bialik didn’t say she doesn’t believe in antibiotics for “minor to medium” illnesses that might clear up without antibiotics. Untreated strep throat can lead to rheumatic fever, which can damage the heart. Untreated bacterial pneumonia can lead to death. Unvaccinated children and those whose parents delay vaccination–and Bialik falls into one of those categories–can develop potentially fatal diseases such as diphtheria or pertussis, which require antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2019, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/900 "2019-12-29T03:22:37Z")
Seattle school system says if students aren’t vaccinated, they can’t return to classes: [Seattle school system says if students aren't vaccinated, they can't return to classes | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/28/us/seattle-public-schools-vaccines-exclusion-trnd/index.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626.md?page=46)