Anti-vaxxers? Not In My Back Yard!
I just completed what I believe is my very first strongly-worded letter to the editor. The Ball State Daily News, the provider of print journalism for the local university in my area, just gave front page coverage to the local Anti-vaccination, conspiracy theorist fringe group on campus.
This article serves as a follow-up over the controversy last month surrounding their attempt to convince the school's health center to stop offering flu vaccines containing thimerosol.
I don't know if you're all aware of this, but the claims of a correlation between vaccines containing thimerosol and autism is essentially bogus scaremongering. Still, it's gaining ground and causing all sorts of trouble for the people trying to stop the spread of MMR, among other diseases.
After reading this article my friend Carrie (who you may remember from podcasts 8 and 13) asked me to assist her in drafting a strongly worded letter to send to the paper's editors on behalf of the BSU Freethought Alliance. It was long, detailed, and unlike their article we cited our sources.
Hopefully it makes an impact, but given that sensationalism usually wins out over evidence in these cases I'm not going to hold out much hope. I'll post the contents of the letter for those who are interested in seeing it as soon as Carrie finishes it up and sends it off.
