Morons

<p>On this day after Memorial Day, let&#39;s take a moment to recognize another group of heroes who deserve our boundless awe and admiration: pediatricians. Not only do they work hard to keep children healthy, but they have to deal with a <a href="https://www.someecards.com/news/news/clapbacks-at-anti-vaxxers/" target="_blank">dangerous group of people</a> who pose a real hazard to public health and safety: anti-vax parents. Imagine going through 8 years of schooling only to have to reason with a grown adult who refuses to vaccinate their child against <em>preventable diseases</em>, all because they read a conspiracy theory in a Facebook group called 'VaccInashunS CawSe AwtIsM.' It makes me want to punch a wall just thinking about it. Doctors and nurses in this position often face the difficult burden of having to try and change parents&#39; views, which is especially difficult when dealing with a group of people who operate in a space devoid of logic or science, which makes arguing with them nearly impossible. But, though success stories are rare, a Reddit user recently shared their story about how a pediatrician they worked with was able to change an anti-vax parent&#39;s mind. How? By speaking to her in a language she can understand: fake conspiracy theories.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>A fourth-year medical student who goes by _Haliax_ responded to a thread asking: <a data-click-id="body" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/br87g0/doctors_of_reddit_what_are_some_of_your_antivax/" target="_blank">Doctors of Reddit, what are some of your anti-vax parent stories?</a> They wrote:</p><blockquote> <p>4th year med student reporting in.</p> <p>Had a rotation with a pediatrician where we ended up in the classic encounter with an anti-vaccination parent.</p> <p>This lady was a conspiracy theory magnet. She casually mentioned everything from 9/11 to chemtrails. Of course she loved the idea of the vaccine conspiracy as well, opting to not protect her one year old to stick it to big pharma.</p> </blockquote><p>EPIC EYE ROLL/deep sadness. Luckily, the attending pediatrician had clearly dealt with this kind of person before and handled it brilliantly:</p><blockquote> <p>I relayed all of this to my attending after my exam (I would see the patient first, gather history and do my exam to present to my attending physician). He got this sort of lazy smirk on his face that screamed &ldquo;watch this&rdquo;.</p> <p>We go back into the exam room and we cover all of the important bits of a well-child encounter. Growth charts, behavioral milestones, nutrition, sleep...</p> <p>And then we get to vaccines. She lists approximately 15 reasons why vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they protect against (lol) in addition to the various evils of the pharmaceutical industry.</p> <p>My attending listens quietly until she&rsquo;s done with her soapbox (about one eternity later), and then interjects with:</p> <p>&ldquo;Have you considered the possibility that anti-vaccine propaganda could be an attempt by the Russians or the Chinese to weaken the health of the United States population?&rdquo;</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>This explanation was so crazy that.... it worked.</p><blockquote> <p>In a moment of catastrophic cognitive dissonance, I swear I heard a strange popping noise as her brain misfired. It actually broke her. The allure of the increasingly ridiculous conspiracy theory was just too strong.</p> <p>She ended up agreeing to a modified vaccine schedule. I was flabbergasted. My attending just grinned at me in response. To this day I&rsquo;m not sure the medical ethics of the situation are totally palatable, but goddamn the result was amazing.</p> </blockquote><p>So the moral of the story is: next time you encounter an anti-vaxxer in the wild, just speak to them in their own language and warn them that aliens are coming in UFO&#39;s to snatch up any and all unvaccinated children and to protect their children from being deported to Mars they must give them anti-alien vaccines. Just don&#39;t mention any facts or science. They hate that.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Also: we&#39;re screwed.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Pediatrician convinces anti-vax mom to vaccinate her child by inventing a conspiracy theory.

may wilkerson

On this day after Memorial Day, let&#39;s take a moment to recognize another group of heroes who deserve our boundless awe and admiration: pediatricians. Not only do they work hard to keep children healthy, but they have to deal with a dangerous group of people who pose a real hazard to public health and safety: anti-vax parents. Imagine going through 8 years of schooling only to have to reason with a grown adult who refuses to vaccinate their child against preventable diseases, all because they read a conspiracy theory in a Facebook group called 'VaccInashunS CawSe AwtIsM.' It makes me want to punch a wall just thinking about it. Doctors and nurses in this position often face the difficult burden of having to try and change parents&#39; views, which is especially difficult when dealing with a group of people who operate in a space devoid of logic or science, which makes arguing with them nearly impossible. But, though success stories are rare, a Reddit user recently shared their story about how a pediatrician they worked with was able to change an anti-vax parent&#39;s mind. How? By speaking to her in a language she can understand: fake conspiracy theories.A fourth-year medical student who goes by _Haliax_ responded to a thread asking: Doctors of Reddit, what are some of your anti-vax parent stories? They wrote: 4th year med student reporting in. Had a rotation with a pediatrician where we ended up in the classic encounter with an anti-vaccination parent. This lady was a conspiracy theory magnet. She casually mentioned everything from 9/11 to chemtrails. Of course she loved the idea of the vaccine conspiracy as well, opting to not protect her one year old to stick it to big pharma. EPIC EYE ROLL/deep sadness. Luckily, the attending pediatrician had clearly dealt with this kind of person before and handled it brilliantly: I relayed all of this to my attending after my exam (I would see the patient first, gather history and do my exam to present to my attending physician). He got this sort of lazy smirk on his face that screamed &ldquo;watch this&rdquo;. We go back into the exam room and we cover all of the important bits of a well-child encounter. Growth charts, behavioral milestones, nutrition, sleep... And then we get to vaccines. She lists approximately 15 reasons why vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they protect against (lol) in addition to the various evils of the pharmaceutical industry. My attending listens quietly until she&rsquo;s done with her soapbox (about one eternity later), and then interjects with: &ldquo;Have you considered the possibility that anti-vaccine propaganda could be an attempt by the Russians or the Chinese to weaken the health of the United States population?&rdquo; This explanation was so crazy that.... it worked. In a moment of catastrophic cognitive dissonance, I swear I heard a strange popping noise as her brain misfired. It actually broke her. The allure of the increasingly ridiculous conspiracy theory was just too strong. She ended up agreeing to a modified vaccine schedule. I was flabbergasted. My attending just grinned at me in response. To this day I&rsquo;m not sure the medical ethics of the situation are totally palatable, but goddamn the result was amazing. So the moral of the story is: next time you encounter an anti-vaxxer in the wild, just speak to them in their own language and warn them that aliens are coming in UFO&#39;s to snatch up any and all unvaccinated children and to protect their children from being deported to Mars they must give them anti-alien vaccines. Just don&#39;t mention any facts or science. They hate that.Also: we&#39;re screwed.