2cents: So we don’t disagree. I’m not saying the MMR vaccine is bad. I am saying that like most people, including doctors, I don’t have an accurate basis of information on which to draw. My argument is about the system, not the facts. You cannot assume that the CDC or the vaccine companies or even your pediatrician have the same interests you do, and when those interests are at odds with your own, you would expect them to protect their interests at the expense of yours.
For example, imagine there was a disease called “meamembella”. The disease can cause lasting damage to those who contract it, and it is highly contagious. The vaccine saves 5000 people a year from this lifelong damage. The vaccine itself has bad side effects in a very tiny minority of patients, and the effects appear to run in families; i.e. if your first child had the ill effects, your second child has a 50% chance of having them as well. Imagine the CDC knows all of this and is acting in the best interests of their constituents.
One day, news breaks that a child has these terrible side effects from the vaccine. You are the head honcho at the CDC. If you concede that some people get the side effects, hundreds of thousands of people will stop giving the vaccine, reasoning that if “only they” don’t vaccinate, they will be protected against both a breakout and the side effects. If you don’t concede, people will continue to get the vaccine, and the same tiny, tiny minority will continue to get these terrible side effects. In carrying out your job to the best of your ability, how do you address this news?