Jenny McCarthy, please cut it out

I get that some people are cautious about what vaccines their kids take. I understand that some pick and choose their children's vaccinations. But I think people like Jenny McCarthy are inherently irresponsible re: the relationship between vaccines and autism. A few weeks ago, her boyfriend, Jim Carrey, posted on Huffington Post in support of what I guess is now his cause, too.

I saw her on some tv show for a few minutes (because I had to turn the channel- it was making me angry) this morning. I have to back actress Amanda Peet here who is a part of a campaign to counter the irresponsible campaigning of people like McCarthy. As Peet says, if you want to know physics, you go to a physicist. If you want to understand medicine, go to a doctor before making a judgment on vaccines and autism.

The problem with McCarthy is, her evidence is purely anecdotal. This morning, she and the (quack) pediatrician she's paired up with to, I don't know, "fight" autism cited the successes of the children in his clinic, McCarthy's son a chief success case among them. The pediatrician, when confronted with questions from the show's dubious host, said that no one that questions his claims has come to see what's going on in his clinic. I would say this: there are reasons long term, large-scale studies are used and evidence is painstakingly collected. Anecdotal evidence is not valid, nor is it reliable. And it seems that that's all McCarthy has.

There are NO studies to support her claim, and others like her, that vaccines are to blame for the increased instances of autism in children. There are, however, studies that refute this position. I am the first to say that science can be used for negative things, but in terms of the greater public health, vaccines have gone a long way towards eradicating once-deadly diseases and are crucial to the maintenance of the public well-being.

So Jenny, please cut it out, before too many people listen to you and believe what you say. Please be responsible.