In the article “A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health,” Clyde Haberman examines the history, motivations, and repercussions of the anti-vaccination movement. The article was initially published in the New York Times five years ago, prompted by an outbreak of measles (Haberman). Nonetheless, vaccine hesitancy did not cease to be an ongoing issue that may hinder any progress apropos of the current pandemic.
The author strives to show the movement’s scientific shortcomings since it began with a discredited study linking the onset of autism to preceding the M.M.R. vaccine. Haberman does not rely on emotions to prove the point and uses empirical evidence and statistics, appealing to reason. Besides logical arguments, the author also employs ethical strategies. The reluctance and concerns that anti-vaccine activists experience regarding their children’s safety and their own are acknowledged respectfully, not overlooking the nature of this fear, which is grounded more in emotions than research. The article’s potential to change opinions could be seen as somewhat reduced – Haberman utilizes logical strategies in the case, where the opponents’ arguments stem from different considerations. Emotional and supplementary ethical strategies would have potentially rendered the article more persuasive to those who initially do not support the writer’s standpoint. On the other hand, whether the article aims to influence or provide a historical account of the events is pending.
“A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health” seems to be an example of writing grounded in logic. It demonstrates that reluctance that people may have in the face of vaccination can pose a danger. Even though a substantial amount of scientifically proven information denouncing anti-vaccination surged since the infamous study appeared, such articles as the one under consideration show the necessity to reiterate and reinvestigate established truths.
Work Cited
Haberman, Clyde. “A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health.” New York Times, 2015, Web.