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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

A Consensus Is Not Science

You cannot vote on science. Science either is or is not. So a consensus is not science.

In 2010, The CDC's Advisory Committee On Immunization Practice voted. They voted that everyone over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against the flu. (1)

Personally, I'm in favor of the flu vaccination. But, I will admit this is my opinion and not science. It is not science that the flu vaccine will prevent you from getting the flu. In fact, the flu vaccine, in the years researchers are the most accurate at guessing what viruses will be in the air in a given season, is only 40-60% accurate. (2)

This is because there are many, many, many different flu viruses. It's also because the flu virus can mutate. So, even if you are vaccinated against the H1N1 influenza A virus, you can still get the H1N1 virus.

This happened in 2009. The H1N1 flu virus is one of the most popular flu viruses. You are vaccinated against it every time you get a flu vaccine. But, in 2009, the virus mutated as it passed from birds to chickens to swine. It picked up swine DNA. This made it a different H1N1 virus. Even if you were vaccinated against H1N1, you could still pick up this virus. (3-4)

Another good example of how a consensus is not science is global warming. Ninety-seven percent of scientists are said to agree with global warming. But, a consensus is not science. Science either is or is not. So, just because 97% of scientists vote in support of global warming does not make it so. (5)

This is compounded by the fact that their same data suggests there has been no increase in global temperatures since 1998. (6)

I'm just saying.

References.

  1. "Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine," CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm, accessed 11/7/18
  2. "Vaccines Effectiveness: How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work," CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm, accessed 11/7/18
  3. "The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: Summary, Highlights, April 2009-April 2019," CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm, access 11/7/18
  4. Micklos, John, Jr., “The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Core Events Of A Worldwide Outbreak,” 2015, Capstone Press, Canada, pages 10, 12-13
  5. "Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate Is Warming," https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/, accessed 11/7/18
  6. Lindsey, Rebecca, "Did Global Warming Stop In 1998," https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/did-global-warming-stop-1998, accessed 11/7/18

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