The Word - Anti-Vax movements!

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Last week, we put a skeletal framework with a blogpost on conspiracy theories. As all of us know, nowadays we are in the very middle of the pandemic. So, it becomes very important to do everything possible to protect ourselves. Many companies are in the process of developing vaccines everywhere. But it is also a fact that many people have lost trust in the science as well as the vaccines. This was not an overnight phenomenon. It had been building up in the background for a very longtime. Let us delve into it and see how it came about.

History of Science: There are tonnes of things to say about Science. But a small blog cannot hold everything about Science. It is an ocean by itself. It was the curiosity of humans to understand about life, living, the physical Earth and the greater Universe out there, that truly started the faculty of science. What are we? Who are we? What is this Earth? Our place in it? What is the Universe, the outer space? How is it affecting us? What are the different forces, elements, aspects that drive and operate the Earth? It's relation to other planets, galaxies and more. This thought process that happened from a philosophical point of view slowly brought about the subject called science where the hypothesis or a basic theory has to be proven using experiments, assimilating the inference and later proving something is or is not or something exists or not.

As humans kept on wondering about nature and our place in it, slowly by 14th and 15th century people started getting more and more interested in science. In the16th century, from the time of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei, started the modern scientific age. He started observing the outer space through telescopes, found the outer rings of Saturn, the satellites of Jupiter and Sun spots. He also gave his contributions to Physics in the form of velocity, gravity, speed and free fall. He was an advocate of Heliocentrism of Nicolaus Copernicus, where Copernicus propounded that the planets were revolving around the central star Sun and it was not the way the society thought at that time of other planets and Sun revolving around the Earth.

Andreas Cellarius's illustration of the Copernican system,
from the Harmonia Macrocosmicaz
Image credits - Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

But the strong Christian Church opposition, which believed in Earth-centric existence as per holy scriptures led to Roman inquisition of Galileo in 1615 and Heliocentrism (Sun as the center of Milky way Galaxy) was drawn up as "foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture"(Wikipedia). So, in 15th and 16th century to be a scientist and speak about Science was considered Heresy (something contrary to orthodox religious, mostly Christian doctrine). In previous times before that, numerous scientists were burned, torched and hanged if they were found out as it was considered against the church. I am drawing this scenario to show, this is not the first time Science has come into deep conflict with religion and religious organizations.

At the same time, the Scientific Revolution of Europe started around 1543 with books like- On the Workings of the Human body (De humani corporis fabrica) by Andreas Vesalius and the book by Copernicus, De Revolutionibus. The era came to an end in 1687 with the publication of the book by Isaac Newton, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

Tussle with the religions: So, this was not the first time science and religion has collided. In the 15th and 16th century it was mainly church and science. There were times when people who practiced science or alchemy were rounded up and killed. In Roman times, there were inquisitions and charges were brought upon people who practiced something against the church. The Pope in those days was an extremely powerful and central figure who could bring wrath upon people who were not aligning to the teachings of the church. The church was also fighting the practice of witchcraft and divination. It was considered superstitious and making people fearful. 

Later, once church was able to bring that practice under control, then, it had to deal with the next area, of science. Now, let us come to the modern age, as we have to look at the current reality of the modern world. Today also religion has a deep say in the life of people who practice that particular religion. Let me share a few news clippings where people could have been saved due to science. If they had availed the treatments. There are religious sects that don't believe in modern medicine and try healing practices to cure their kids. But at 104⁰F or105⁰F, it is not healing songs and prayers a kid needs. First, they need medical treatment to bring the fever and the associated ailments under control. Then, use the healing songs and prayers.

Cristiano Banti's 1857 painting, Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition
Image credits -  Cristiano Banti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Deeply orthodox religious people are many times not practicing spirituality with rationality. True spirituality is very rational. Many times, the loving Universal source energy can come in the form of a vaccine, doctor or nurse. But when we say, no to it, we are actually saying no to that healing energy itself. Because tough diseases need tough medicines, vaccines, surgeries or ICU. The sickness polio was totally eliminated from the world. But due to the negligence of parents not to give vaccines, it reappeared in India in a few states and Pakistan.

The previous link compares how the Pakistan government is going to have difficulties for the Covid-19 vaccination, as the country has already tussled with the fight against polio vaccination. A video of a man shouting against the polio vaccination went viral and later the mosques joined the bandwagon asking parents not to vaccinate the children. The after effect, many children as they didn't get protection from polio virus became victims of leg handicaps. The link would elaborate more. 

The same scenario has happened in India in states like Uttar Pradesh. It seems in many places where people are not educated, the thought exists that polio vaccine is not truly polio vaccine, but a vaccine to induce sterility, so that a particular group of people's birth rate is kept under check. Due to this thought process of parents, it is the kids who are becoming handicapped for life, without the polio vaccine. The sad part is, in the hustle to protect the kids, the parents are actually helping the kids to become handicapped, even with a fantastic vaccine available for polio.

Vaccines and it's hassles: It is into this scenario, the new Covid-19 vaccine is coming. There is also a movement in the United States, where parents think vaccines cause autism. Even though scientists have proved it to the very hilt that vaccines don't cause autism, still many parents choose to believe it. As many celebrities and movie stars are associated with this movement, many times scientists find it difficult to vaccinate people. Here, I am also sharing the link, which brought that controversy in the first place. It was a British paper published in 1998, that brought all that controversy out. Later that paper was proven fraud by England's General Medical Counsel. But the damage was already done.

So, from all the above paragraphs it is seen that science had to fight religious organizations, superstitions as well as societal perspectives to survive. So, above pursuing science, scientists are asked to become advocates for scientific temper as well as the spirit. But that is not easy. Because on the other side it is powerful religious organizations and societal perspectives. So, it is not easy to vaccinate people, just like that. But here, science also has its cup of mistakes. Yes, I need to be very impartial and very objective.

Design and development of Covid-19 Vaccine
Image credits - Rabaan, A.A., Al-Ahmed, S.H., Sah, R. et al.,
via Wikimedia Commons

Science also has tried to take advantage of people and their emotions for a very long time. In the Nazi days, it was the Eugenics experiments conducted by the Nazi regime doctors and scientists. They had used people as guinea pigs to try nerve poisons, heart arrests, napam bombs and every kind of experiments on concentration camp prisoners, before sending them to gas chambers. Same way, in the US from 1932 to 1972, the lifecycle of the disease Syphilis was studied at Tuskegee, Alabama on African American Cotton farm workers without letting them know about the real study. They were not given medicines, even though they were made to believe the government was giving them free healthcare. This later brought down the trustworthiness of science and scientists a lot.

Fast forward to 21st century. Nowadays, science and medicine have become more like business, rather than health and healing. Let me, share a few news clips on that. Biotech companies are increasing the price overnight, drug makers are lobbying politicians to get approval for drugs, then marketing opioids as any other drugs, humans are used for vaccination trails without consents. All these actually decreased the trustworthiness on science and the gifts it can provide humanity.

So, science also has tried to take advantage of people. The biggest lobby in Washington DC is that of drug and Pharma companies. My question, if someone is doing truthful business, why maintain a big lobby to influence politicians and law makers. Correct? So, making science, medicine and drugs a business has its disadvantages as well. Now, a lot of people are finding fault with science, vaccines and related aspects. Above this, we are finding a huge pandemic called Covid-19.

How to overcome the suspicion and doubts on Science? Easier said than done. In the previous centuries, scientists were in the pursuit of knowledge, some money and honor. But now, scientists are more in pursuit of humongous benefits, kickbacks, collaborations with pharma and drug companies. Before it was supposed to find a cure for medicine. Now, it also has become to find a drug and then match it up with which disease would be able to be cured. I have not deeply read into this area of drug business and ethics of drug production. So, I am in the dark to write more about it.

But there are indeed a lot of grey areas, where the scientists and business people are taking group advantage of the people. The concept of medicine/ healing as business should stop. Yes, the business part definitely is there. But first and foremost, it should be about health and healing. Medicine and drugs are for the healing and health of patients, not to make money off of them. So, when people are feeling being taken advantage of, definitely they are going to be less trusting of medicine and healthcare.

Vaccines are important for children and (even adults)
image credits - Our World In Data, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Here, I have not even pondered on the organ business. That is another very dark side of medicine and business. If a patient cannot be sure, they would have their kidney or another organ after undergoing a minor operation, how can they go to a hospital being trusting of the doctor or the hospital system? So, we cannot just put the blame fully on the people. A lot of blame lies on the practice of health and healing as a business. Think, we are going to a car workshop. There, the mechanic repairs the car, but removes the new battery of the car and replaces it with an old battery. After some 5-6 months, the car comes to a standstill. Same way, we are going to a hospital for an appendicitis operation and the doctors removed one of our kidneys without our knowledge. How would we have trust on such institutions? We won't.

It takes time and effort to build trust. So, science and medicine should come out of the attitude of health and healing as a business and should practice the true nature of health and healing. Human health is not a business. It should be a right. Also, scientists instead of just sitting within labs, research institutions and biotech companies should come to the public, talk about their work, why they are doing what they are doing, how vaccines would be helpful for healing and health. For this they should collaborate with community and religious leaders. There would definitely be some common grounds, which can be used to align the difference in perspective and work from a common ground towards a common goal- health of humans.

Utopia? May be. But if we don't even put in the effort, how would we know? Science, religion and public would continue the tussles with their own perspectives and would find fault with the other. This would keep on continuing decade after decade. So, cooler, commonsense filled heads should prevail and find common solutions to the mistrust against Science. Science definitely has lots of gifts to bestow on humanity. But are we truly using the gifts of science or misusing it?

I wish you a good and safe weekend, and I'll see you next Friday! 😉

Next week: The Word - Inner Worlds!
Image Credits - Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay.