Can’t believe I actually have to discuss this in 2019.

— The Anti-AntiVaxxer.

I guess it’s pretty evident to anyone who happens to stumble across my blog, that I have have a pretty strong dislike for the AV movement. Last night, I let all my inner-rage out and set the scene for this blog, then powered down my laptop, and then as always, planned to spend a few minutes browsing Facebook on my phone, before popping on my favourite podcast, (This Podcast Will Kill You — get on it, so good) to knock myself out.

But…in those ten minutes of browsing Facebook, I came across a post, that I knew I’d be writing about in the morning.

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This was posted in a particularly rabid AntiVax den, Stop Mandatory Vaccination. You know the type of group where they discuss with all seriousness whether flat feet is a vaccine injury, or encourage one another to attack and harass anyone who speaks out against their bullshit.

While I was thrilled to see that some members called them out on this, the overwhelming majority of the comments were like these below.

• I’ve been questioning this for a while
• Very true/I’m a firm believer/No doubt – or any variation of the same
• I wouldn’t dought [sic] it either. I know of hose who have struggled with this. So sad. He succeeded in his suicide attempt.
• I’ve been saying this for YEARSSSSSSSSS. How can your own DNA contribute to your developing body…but DNA from some foreign completely unrelated origin has zero barring [sic].
• Well it makes sense, God help us all

There were pages and pages of this shit, with the odd, “Don’t be so stupid”, “What a bunch of bigots”, and “No wonder we get treated like idiots when theories like this are even shared!”

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These comments on the left, both from the same person sums up for me! This what we are up against!!!!!!

Someone who’s testing their DNA to see where they descended from, but can’t see past their immediate predecessors. Not only does this comment, that they have no clue about how vaccines are made, but also that they have no knowledge around the history of their own fucking country. Maybe someone should teach this woman American history!!!!!

Another particular stand out comment, was the one following. Not only are they using the antivax mantra “VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM”, but they are using it to build on their bullshit theory of vaccines causing gender confusion.

For the record, Vaccines DON’T CAUSE AUTISM, and they don’t cause gender confusion either.

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Where did this bullshit come from?

What makes Anti-Vaxxers even come up with this shite?

Well, it’s all do with the cells that are used to make a vaccine. Simply put, it’s like soil we use to grow our vegetables. Some veggies grow better in soil, some grow better hydroponically in clay. It’s the same with vaccines – when you are working with viruses that infect humans only, sometimes it only grows best in human cells. Only a few vaccines use these cells in the childhood schedule – like Rubella, Chicken Pox & Hepatitis A. (funny how they use this an excuse to dodge all vaccines though :S)

You’ll notice that antivaxxers will always refer to Human Diploid Cells – as aborted fetal cells, hoping that the negative association with abortions will stop you vaccinating. They try to make it sound like we need to abort to make vaccines, but the truth is the very same cells that were used over half a century ago are still being used in the process today – how cool is that? Two abortions were carried out for elective reasons back in the 1960s, the their cells are still going strong, still saving thousands of lives! (side note – even the staunchly anti-abortion Catholic Church permits and recommends vaccination, but that a topic for another day.)

Antivaxxers believe that parts of these cells persist and make it into the final vaccine. Remember the veggies, we grow, pick the veg, shake off the soil, then wash them before eating – well, the process is similar in vaccine manufacture, though a shit load more technical that that. Sometimes if you don’t wash the carrots right, what happens? You eat a bit of soil. What’s happens? Do you turn into soil?? No – of course not. Same goes for vaccines.

So the Anti-Science crew love to allege that left over bits of cells that the viruses were grown in, make their way into a vaccine – and this causes all sorts of damage ranging from gender confusion, to autism, to autoimmunity.

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Here’s what they say in their own words:

We KNOW this is bullshit. Why do we know it’s bullshit?

Well for one, any residual DNA fragments, are filtered out in the manufacturing process. I’ve attached a document below which explains it in more detail.

But let’s say a DNA fragment DID make it’s way into a vaccine – what harm could it do? As i mentioned above, in the carrot analogy, eating a bit soil won’t hurt you, neither will receiving a fragment of DNA, hell even a full strand of DNA wont hurt you. How do we know?

1. Blood Donations for a kick off – that’s receiving a whole transfusion of someone else’s whole blood cells. Hell, Organ Donations as well. There are absolutely FUCK ALL reports of someone receiving a blood donation then suddenly questioning their gender.
2. We take in DNA from other humans in normal circumstances – think Pregnancy. When you are pregnant, the baby’s DNA circulates in your blood stream – we can test this to screen for chromosomal issues from W10 of pregnancy, so that’s a whole other person’s DNA floating around in your body, and that doesn’t have any effect on the mother. What’s more we know male babies DNA can remain in their mothers for a long time – I’ve had two boys and I’m not confused about my gender!
3. More human DNA is received during sex……
4. We eat DNA from a variety of sources – it doesn’t turn us into cows, or carrots
5. Insects put their DNA into us when they bite us – SPIDERMAN IS FICTIONAL

What does this tell us about AntiVaxxers?

Well apart from the fact, that their understanding of science is flawed, the fact that they as a group, not only believe this sort of nonsense, but that they actually spread it gives the impression that their attitudes to anyone they view as less than themselves are to be despised and feared. The blatant homophobic/transphobic attitudes are quite frankly abhorrent in this day and age. It shows the extent they will go to perpetuate this fear of vaccines, and it fits in nicely with their “damaged” rhetoric. Chuck in a hole heap of ableism and you’ve pretty much got yourself a cesspool of ignorance that needs to stopped, RIGHT NOW!