Lori Harvey is an Iowa-based anti-vaccine activist who has made a (little bit of a) name for herself through various antics like ranting at public hearings on legislation concerning vaccines in various Midwest states. Harvey is affiliated with the groups Vaccine-Free Health and Iowans for Health Freedom, and describes herself as an independent researcher on the dangers of vaccines, meaning that she has access to google and peruse various antivaccine and conspiracy websites. And like most conspiracy theorists, Harvey see nefarious financial motives behind support of vaccine. For instance, at a 2013 public hearing held by the Nebraska Legislature’s Education committee on requirements concerning a vaccine against certain types of meningitis, Harvey pointed out that “Sanofi stand to make money from this law being mandated,” and although “their vaccine has been approved by the FDA,” that means nothing since the FDA is just a puppet for Big Pharma as shown by the fact that every “other drug on the market” is FDA approved, too. Just think about it.
Part of Harvey’s justification for her opposition to vaccines – and in particular legislation that would make exemptions from, say, school mandates harder to obtain – is, in part, alleged studies allegedly (but not) linking vaccines and autism. According to Harvey, “[a]utism has skyrocketed because of the mandate every single child be vaccinated,” she said, which commits the impressive feat of linking a non-existing phenomenon to a correlation that isn’t there and fallaciously inferring a causal relationship that demonstrably doesn’t exist either.
Diagnosis: Local loon who seems to be sufficiently colorful that she might potentially be a liability to her denialist movement rather than an asset. … these days, that suggestion might involve some serious wishful thinking, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment