Outlines
This part of the study guide is designed to offer you an outline of each of the texts in the source material, by presenting the different issues, aspects, and opinions found in the material with regards to the topic of vaccines.
Study: Spike in Parents' Refusing Vaccines
Author: ABC News
Genre: Video
Year of Publication: 2010
“Study: Spike in Parents’ Refusing Vaccines” was published on the website of the American media outlet ABC News in 2010.
The topic of vaccines is discussed by the anchor with ABC News Senior Health and Medical Editor, Dr Richard Besser.
According to some statistics, the percentage of American parents who refuse or delay vaccinating their children has risen from 22% in 2003 to 39% in 2008.
Dr Richard Besser claims that vaccinations have proven valuable in paediatrics and recounts how he saw some children suffer and die because of various diseases before some of the vaccines we use today were available.
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Nothing, Not Even Hard Facts, Can Make Anti-Vaxxers Change Their Minds
Author: Charlotte Alter
Genre: Article
Year of Publication: 2014
The article “Nothing, Not Even Hard Facts, Can Make Anti-Vaxxers Change Their Minds” was published in Time magazine in 2014.
The text presents the results of a study concerning parents’ attitudes towards vaccines. The results show that parents who are anti-vaccines do not change their opinion, even when given scientific arguments that vaccinations are safe.
According to Brendan Nyhan, who authored the study, facts fail to convince parents, so the power of informative messages is limited.
The study used four different informative materials about vaccines from CDC (Centre for Disease Control) and showed them to 1,800 parents: the “Disease Risk” message, the “Danger Narrative”, the “Disease Images”, and the “Autism Correction” message.
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Bill Gates: Vaccines Save Lives | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Author: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Genre: Video
Year of Publication: 2011
“Bill Gates: Vaccines Save Lives | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation” is an animated video published by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in which Bill Gates discusses the important role of vaccines.
Bill Gates narrates over an interactive drawing. He begins by stating that while saving lives is not easy, vaccines help save millions of lives at a very low cost. He argues that vaccines are miracles because giving children some drops or injections can prevent some of the most contagious diseases in the world. He gives the example of measles.
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Why I Wish My Daughter Had Been Vaccinated
Author: Sophie Heawood
Genre: Article
Year of Publication: 2013
The text “Why I Wish My Daughter Had Been Vaccinated” is an opinion article published on the website of the British newspaper, The Guardian.
The writer, Sophie Heawood, presents her personal experience as a parent who refused to vaccinate her child, but who subsequently changed her mind.
When Heawood’s daughter was born, she refused to have her child vaccinated because she thought most of the diseases children are vaccinated...
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