Major media loves to publicize exceedingly rare complications of vaccines. With the flu shot season in full swing, a case of a man contracting Guillan-Barre syndrome is making headlines. This is literally a one in a million complication, but you wouldn’t know that from the alarmist headline.
The flu shot vaccination rate is still too low, and Sam Solomon urges some perspective:
Did CBC News act responsibly by publicizing the story of one man whose case, according to a neurologist, is not representative and not making sufficiently clear the calculations and balancing of risks that have gone into developing public health and vaccination recommendations over the years? There’s no denying the public has a right to know what is going on, but at some point the editorial decision-making process has to draw a line about what is newsworthy and what is sensationalist.
Vaccines are safe. Don’t be fooled by the attention-grabbing headlines.
Related posts:
- The bird-flu vaccine at the expense of the flu shot
- Why doctors and nurses are dissing the flu shot
- A shot of adrenaline, for asthma?
- Don’t wait for the H1N1 vaccine before you get your flu shot
- Did the oral polio vaccine cause an outbreak in Nigeria?
- iPhone hysteria
- Do you really want to know every complication?
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Did you know that Plavix, a life saving drug used to prevent cardiac stents from clotting off, has a rare and potentially deadly side effect called TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura). Perhaps we should stop prescribing Plavix. I’ve never discovered any drug that doesn’t have a potential side effect. In fact, every drug is potentially deadly if you find you are allergic to it. Hell, some people are even allergic to water. The question is, does the risk outweigh the benefit.
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