Celebrity Advocacy: The “Experts” Weigh-In on the Vaccine Controversy

Have you ever purchased a product because you saw your favorite celebrity on television use it? The idea behind this marketing strategy is called celebrity endorsement. Celebrity   endorsement involves a well-known person using their fame to advertise and promote a product, service or idea. To a certain extent, this is not bad at all. However, it takes a toll in society when a celebrity advocates for their belief on a controversial topic that is beyond their field of expertise.

Jenny McCarthy is an American model, actress, television host and as some may say, an anti-vaccine activist. She claimed, “Time magazine’s article on the autism debate reports that the experts are certain ‘vaccines don’t cause autism; they don’t injure children; they are the pillar of modern public health.’ I say, ‘that’s a lie and we’re sick of it.’ ”

Jenny McCarthy via buzzfeed

Since Jenny McCarthy is under great public attention in the media, she brought attention and awareness to the vaccine controversy but in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons. She failed to realize that, if we stop vaccination, many diseases would come back. This bad publicity could result in reduced vaccine uptake and the return of many diseases.

Picture from Toronto Public Health Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada

Instead, social media coverage and the public should focus their attention on reliable sources regarding the vaccine controversy and any future scientific topics.

Dr. Gregory A. Poland, a health care professional who holds a MD from Southern Illinois University, claimed that no credible scientific evidence supports the idea that Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines cause autism; More than 20 carefully-performed scientific studies supported this claim. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also concluded that there is no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics made similar conclusions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Af9rgAL-0

In this video, Dr. Gregory A. Poland talked about the importance of vaccines and the diseases that have been eradicated and controlled by the use of vaccination. He also addressed the dangers of opposing vaccination.

False beliefs and biases have lead to parents deciding not to immunize their children with vaccines because of the fear that autism is associated with Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. This puts children in the likelihood for acquiring measles and other diseases. The health of numerous children is at great risk because of continued misinformation and unscientific beliefs.

The way forward is that public health concerns should be addressed more carefully by the media. Claims that have no credible data must be ignored no matter how passionate an individual is about their belief. Social media should stop giving celebrities who comment on scientific controversies more attention than scientists who are experts in this field.

The public should not misunderstand celebrity status and fame for authority. We shall always seek for scientific claims that have been supported by experts in the field, peer-reviewed and supported with raw data before believing anything. Thus, we should not be quick to believe Jenny McCarthy’s campaign.

Brigette Wee