The NHS, Alternative Medicine & Autism

I once spoke with a retired pharmacist on the topic of advertising medicine. In the US, I understand that drug advertisements are common place – whereas this is far different in the United Kingdom. This was always something that had confused me. Over the countless years of watching American television, reading American media, and engaging with American video game entertainment, I’m surprised that more Brits weren’t becoming accustomed to billboard advertisements for miracle cures. The pharmaceutical industry contributes £32.4billion to the UK economy (as of 2014). How on earth can an industry remain profitable with little or no direct advertising of the medicines they manufacture?

I learned that in the UK, the method is to raise awareness around the medical condition – which in turn drives those with suspected symptoms into their local doctor’s surgery and then to the pharmacy to purchase the medicine. Medicine supplies distributed by pharmacy wholesalers are expected to reach revenues of £38.5billion in the UK by 2018. We’re very lucky that big pharma in the UK works with the NHS to provide the best quality care for its customers. Not the other way around.

While Tory governments might appear to be taking a slightly alternative stance on the NHS, I haven’t come across much that would cause people in the UK to turn to alternative medicine. At least traditional medicine has some scientific bearing validity. After all, much of what we understand now comes from our development on crude medicine. The actual development of the world’s first vaccine stemmed from an observation based on traditional medicine itself, milkmaids that suffered from cowpox would never suffer from smallpox. Now, 200 odd years on and Edward Jenner has been said to have ‘saved more lives than the work of any other human’.

So when I see anti vaccination rhetoric spieled across my social media feed, I get slightly upset.

Since 2003, not one single scientifically recognised study has established a link between vaccinations and autism. Not one. Which means that the recent election of the President of the Free World is maybe rightly causing mass worry for some – who don’t have to think too far back to recall one notorious tweet: “Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn’t feel good and changes – AUTISM. Many such cases!”. The tweet, posted in late March 2014, highlights one of the most pressing social epidemics facing Western Society today.

My previous citation, linking studies on vaccination and autism (or the opposite, based on how you look at it) isn’t from some widely-disregarded scientist-gone-political-satirist. It comes straight from the CDC (Centre for Disease Control). Think back, even more recently than 2014, to Brexit. Does anyone else remember ‘who needs experts’ because I can’t be the only one feeling fairly reminiscent.

Deja Vu. Anyone?

President Donald Trump’s involvement with the Anti Vaccination Movement goes far beyond ‘off the cuff’ political commentary from his personal social media account. In fact, The Daily Beast reported that the Trump Foundation donated $10,000 in 2010 to Generation Rescue, Jenny McCarthy’s Autism Organisation. Jenny McCarthy, for those of you unaware, is perhaps the most renowned vaccination sceptic. While it may be apparent that I disagree, entirely with the anti-vaccination sentiment, I will concede that helping families of those affected by Autism is a fantastic idea. But I find scientifically disproven scaremongering, deplorable.

Elderly people, those with HIV, new-born babies, those undergoing chemotherapy, people without a fully functioning auto-immune system are all unable to receive vaccinations against diseases like whooping cough, Meningitis, and Hepatitis, as such – they rely ‘herd immunity’ from the other 95% of the population that are able to receive vaccines to protect them against live-threatening diseases. Perhaps, some part of me could understand the decision to deny a vaccine – if that person would be the only one affected by their decision.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.