Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic

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Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic is widespread, [1] [2] but there are notable differences within the trade. [3] Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine founded on the idea that all disease is caused by disruption of the flow of "innate" (or innate intelligence) in the spine, by so-called vertebral subluxations – a pseudoscientific concept. Over time chiropractic has divided into "straights" who adhere to the subluxation theory and "mixers" who adhere more closely to a reality-based view of anatomy. "Straight" chiropractors are very likely to be anti-vaccination, [4] but all chiropractic training tends to reduce acceptance of vaccines. [5]

Contents

Chiropractic anti-vaccinationism has led to negative impacts on both public health and mainstream acceptance of chiropractic. [6]

Details

Most chiropractic writings on vaccination focus on its alleged negative aspects, [1] claiming that vaccination is hazardous, ineffective, and unnecessary. [6]

It is certainly the case that most chiropractic writings on vaccination focus almost exclusively on the negative aspects, either ignoring the huge amount of evidence supporting the benefits of vaccination or summarily dismissing this as "bad science" or government/industrial propaganda. [1]

This is done despite an enormous body of legitimate studies, [7] peer-reviewed work [8] and real-world proof that vaccines lessen the impacts of, [9] and even eliminate, [10] dangerous and deadly diseases. [11] Nonetheless, this area where chiropractors and vaccines intersect has drawn attention, split the profession, [12] led to misinformation, [13] and been the subject of study. [5] Meanwhile, chiropractic training tends to increase opposition to vaccination, [5] and prominent anti-vaccinationists such as Andrew Wakefield have spoken at chiropractic conferences. [14]

Although most chiropractic colleges try to teach about vaccination in a manner consistent with scientific evidence, several have faculty who seem to stress negative views. Some chiropractors have embraced vaccination, but a significant portion of the profession rejects it, as original chiropractic philosophy traces diseases to causes in the spine and states that vaccines interfere with healing. [6] The extent to which anti-vaccination views perpetuate the current chiropractic profession is uncertain. [1]

Positions of organisations

The American Chiropractic Association and the International Chiropractors Association support individual exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws, and a 1995 survey of U.S. chiropractors found that about a third believed there was no scientific proof that immunization prevents disease. [6] The California Chiropractic Association lobbied against a 2015 bill ending belief exemptions for vaccines. They had also opposed a 2012 bill related to vaccination exemptions. [15]

The Canadian Chiropractic Association supports vaccination; [1] a survey in Alberta in 2002 found that 25% of chiropractors advised patients for, and 27% against, vaccinating themselves or their children. [16] Chiropractors have lobbied against pro-vaccination measures such as the removal of personal belief exemptions to vaccine mandates. [17] A survey of a 1999–2000 cross-section of students of Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC), which does not formally teach anti-vaccination views, reported that fourth-year students opposed vaccination more strongly than did first-year students, with 29.4% of fourth-year students opposing vaccination. [18] A follow-up study on 2011–12 CMCC students found that pro-vaccination attitudes heavily predominated. Students reported support rates ranging from 84% to 90%. One of the study's authors proposed the change in attitude to be due to the lack of the previous influence of a "subgroup of some charismatic students who were enrolled at CMCC at the time, students who championed the Palmer postulates that advocated against the use of vaccination". [19]

In the United States, courts have examined chiropractic objections to vaccination. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled in the 1985 case of Hanzel v. Arter that belief in chiropractic ethics did not constitute a religious belief justifying exemption from vaccination under a statute permitting religious exemptions. [20] In the 2015 case of Head v. Adams Farm Living, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a chiropractor was not competent to attest to the need for a medical exemption for vaccination. [21]

The Australian Chiropractors Association supports the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, but is against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiropractic</span> Form of pseudoscientific alternative medicine

Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscientific ideas.

A subluxation is an incomplete or partial dislocation of a joint or organ. According to the World Health Organization, a subluxation is a "significant structural displacement" and is therefore visible on static imaging studies, such as X-rays. Unlike real subluxations, the pseudoscientific concept of a chiropractic "vertebral subluxation" may or may not be visible on x-rays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertebral subluxation</span> Chiropractic concept

In chiropractic, a vertebral subluxation means pressure on nerves, abnormal functions creating a lesion in some portion of the body, either in its action or makeup. Subluxations are not necessarily visible on X-rays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaccine hesitancy</span> Reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or have ones children vaccinated

Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. The scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and effective is overwhelming. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, the World Health Organization characterizes vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinal adjustment</span>

Spinal adjustment and chiropractic adjustment are terms used by chiropractors to describe their approaches to spinal manipulation, as well as some osteopaths, who use the term adjustment. Despite anecdotal success, there is no scientific evidence that spinal adjustment is effective against disease.

Viera Scheibner is a Slovak-Australian anti-vaccination activist and retired geologist. From 1958 until 1968 she was assistant professor in the department of geology at Comenius University, Bratislava. Since her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources, New South Wales, Australia in 1987, Scheibner has been active in the anti-vaccination field, writing and giving lectures opposing vaccines and vaccinations.

Vaccination and religion have interrelations of varying kinds. No major religion prohibits vaccinations, and some consider it an obligation because of the potential to save lives. However, some people cite religious adherence as a basis for opting to forego vaccinating themselves or their children. Many such objections are pretextual: in Australia, anti-vaccinationists founded the Church of Conscious Living, a "fake church", leading to religious exemptions being removed in that country, and one US pastor was reported to offer vaccine exemptions in exchange for online membership of his church.

The National Association for Chiropractic Medicine(NACM) was a minority chiropractic association founded in 1984 that described itself as a "consumer advocacy association of chiropractors". It openly rejected some of the more controversial aspects of chiropractic, including a basic concept of chiropractic, vertebral subluxations as the cause of all diseases. It also sought to "reform the chiropractic profession away from a philosophical scope of practice and towards an applied science scope of practice." It stated that it was "dedicated to bringing the scientific based practice of chiropractic into mainstream medicine" and that its members "confine their scope of practice to scientific parameters and seek to make legitimate the utilization of professional manipulative procedures in mainstream health care delivery." "While the NACM is focused on furthering the profession, its primary focus is on the rights and safety of the consumers." The NACM was the object of much controversy and criticism from the rest of the profession. It quietly dropped out of sight and its demise apparently occurred sometime between May 30, 2008 and March 6, 2010.

Chiropractic education trains students in chiropractic. The entry criteria, structure, teaching methodology and nature of chiropractic programs offered at chiropractic schools vary considerably around the world. Students are trained in academic areas including scopes of practice, neurology, radiology, microbiology, psychology, ethics, biology, gross anatomy, biochemistry, spinal anatomy and more. Prospective students are also usually trained in clinical nutrition, public health, pediatrics and other health or wellness related areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of chiropractic</span> History of chiropractic

The history of chiropractic began in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard.While Lillard was working without his shirt on in Palmer's office, Lillard bent over to empty the trash can. Palmer noticed that Lillard had a vertebra out of position. He asked Lillard what happened, and Lillard replied, "I moved the wrong way, and I heard a 'pop' in my back, and that's when I lost my hearing." Palmer, who was also involved in many other natural healing philosophies, had Lillard lie face down on the floor and proceeded with the adjustment. The next day, Lillard told Palmer, "I can hear that rackets on the streets." This experience led Palmer to open a school of chiropractic two years later. Rev. Samuel H. Weed coined the word "chiropractic" by combining the Greek words cheiro (hand) and praktikos.

Throughout its history, chiropractic has been the subject of internal and external controversy and criticism. According to magnetic healer Daniel D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, "vertebral subluxation" was the sole cause of all diseases and manipulation was the cure for all disease. A 2003 profession-wide survey found "most chiropractors still hold views of Innate Intelligence and of the cause and cure of disease consistent with those of the Palmers". A critical evaluation stated "Chiropractic is rooted in mystical concepts. This led to an internal conflict within the chiropractic profession, which continues today." Chiropractors, including D.D. Palmer, were jailed for practicing medicine without a license. D.D. Palmer considered establishing chiropractic as a religion to resolve this problem. For most of its existence, chiropractic has battled with mainstream medicine, sustained by antiscientific and pseudoscientific ideas such as vertebral subluxation.

The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Arizona in 1989 that serves as the voice of conservative "straight" chiropractors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Chiropractors Association</span>

The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) was founded by B.J. Palmer in 1926 in Davenport, Iowa, US. Palmer served as it President until his death in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel David Palmer</span> Founder of chiropractic (1845–1913)

Daniel David Palmer was the founder of chiropractic. Palmer was born in Pickering Township, Canada West, but emigrated to the United States in 1865. He was also an avid proponent of pseudoscientific alternative medicine such as magnetic healing. Palmer opposed anything he thought to be associated with mainstream medicine such as vaccination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friends of Science in Medicine</span> Australian association which supports science-based medicine

The Friends of Science In Medicine (FSM) is an Australian association which supports evidence-based medicine and strongly opposes the promotion and practice of unsubstantiated therapies that lack a scientifically plausible rationale. They accomplish this by publicly raising their concerns either through direct correspondence or through media outlets. FSM was established in December 2011 by Loretta Marron, John Dwyer, Alastair MacLennan, Rob Morrison and Marcello Costa, a group of Australian biomedical scientists and clinical academics.

Various organizations of practicing chiropractors have outlined formal codes of professional ethics. Actual practice has revealed a wide range of behaviors which may or may not conform to these standards.

Trace Amounts: Autism, Mercury, and the Hidden Truth is a 2014 anti-vaccination biographic film by Eric Gladen, who claims to have experienced mercury poisoning after receiving a tetanus vaccine. In the film, he presents his investigation on the cause of his condition, argues that vaccines should be made without mercury, and claims that mercury and aluminium content of vaccines is linked to autism, a claim that is contrary to the scientific consensus. The film questions a 2011 journal article which described the vaccine-autism connection as "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years".

California Senate Bill 277 (SB277) is a California law that removed personal belief as a reason for an exemption from the vaccination requirements for entry to private or public elementary or secondary schools in California, as well as day care centers. The final version of the bill was enacted by the California Legislature in 2015 and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on June 30, 2015.

Texans for Vaccine Choice (TFVC) is an anti-vaccine Facebook group turned political action committee in Texas which advocates for personal belief exemptions to vaccination requirements, based on "a collection of fake news, half- truths, and conspiracy theories". Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced former medical researcher and originator of the MMR autism hoax, and infectious disease specialist Peter Hotez, both describe TFVC's lobbying as very effective, with the rate of Texas students opting out of at least one vaccine at least doubling in around five years and over 50,000 Texas schoolchildren not being vaccinated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaccination policy of the United States</span> Overview of the vaccination policy in the United States of America

Vaccination policy of the United States is the subset of U.S. federal health policy that deals with immunization against infectious disease. It is decided at various levels of the government, including the individual states. This policy has been developed over the approximately two centuries since the invention of vaccination with the purpose of eradicating disease from the U.S. population, or creating a herd immunity. Policies intended to encourage vaccination impact numerous areas of law, including regulation of vaccine safety, funding of vaccination programs, vaccine mandates, adverse event reporting requirements, and compensation for injuries asserted to be associated with vaccination.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Busse JW, Morgan L, Campbell JB (2005). "Chiropractic antivaccination arguments". J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 28 (5): 367–73. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2005.04.011. PMID   15965414. It is certainly the case that most chiropractic writings on vaccination focus almost exclusively on the negative aspects, either ignoring the huge amount of evidence supporting the benefits of vaccination or summarily dismissing this as "bad science" or government/industrial propaganda.
  2. ↑ Frketich, Joanna (2015-02-27). "Anti-vaccination attitudes high among alternative health care providers". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  3. ↑ Wardle, Jon; Frawley, Jane; Steel, Amie; Sullivan, Elizabeth (2016). "Complementary medicine and childhood immunisation: A critical review". Vaccine. 34 (38): 4484–4500. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.07.026. ISSN   0264-410X. PMID   27475472.
  4. ↑ Vernon, Leonard F.; Kent, Christopher (2009). "SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research". Complementary Health Practice Review. 14: 36–50. doi: 10.1177/1533210109333771 .
  5. 1 2 3 Gleberzon, Brian; Lameris, Marlee; Schmidt, Catherine; Ogrady, Jillian (September 2013). "On Vaccination & Chiropractic: when ideology, history, perception, politics and jurisprudence collide". The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 57 (3): 205–213. ISSN   0008-3194. PMC   3743646 . PMID   23997246.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Campbell JB, Busse JW, Injeyan HS (2000). "Chiropractors and vaccination: a historical perspective". Pediatrics. 105 (4): e43. doi:10.1542/peds.105.4.e43. PMID   10742364.
  7. ↑ "Immunizations". www.hopkinsmedicine.org. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  8. ↑ tjordan_drupal. "Peer review of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine data confirms 100% effectiveness in adolescents | AHA News". www.aha.org. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  9. ↑ "The chickenpox virus has a fascinating evolutionary history that continues to affect peoples' health today". Department of Biology. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  10. ↑ "Smallpox vaccines". www.who.int. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  11. ↑ "ACIP General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunization | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  12. ↑ Astor, Maggie (2021-07-14). "Vocal Anti-Vaccine Chiropractors Split the Profession". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  13. ↑ "Anti-vaccine chiropractors capitalizing on Covid and sowing misinformation". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  14. ↑ Lee, Bruce Y. "Are Chiropractors Backing The Anti-Vaccine Movement?" . Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  15. ↑ Mason M (March 5, 2015). "Chiropractors lobby against bill ending belief exemptions for vaccines". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ Russell ML, Injeyan HS, Verhoef MJ, Eliasziw M (2004). "Beliefs and behaviours: understanding chiropractors and immunization". Vaccine. 23 (3): 372–379. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.05.027. PMID   15530683.
  17. ↑ Mason, Melanie (5 March 2015). "Chiropractors lobby against bill ending belief exemptions for vaccines".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ↑ Busse JW, Wilson K, Campbell JB (November 2008). "Attitudes towards vaccination among chiropractic and naturopathic students". Vaccine. 26 (49): 6237–6243. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.07.020. PMID   18674581.
  19. ↑ Lameris M, Schmidt C, Gleberzon B, Ogrady J (September 2013). "Attitudes toward vaccination: A cross-sectional survey of students at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College". The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 57 (3): 214–220. PMC   3743647 . PMID   23997247.
  20. ↑ Brian Dean Abramson, Vaccine, Vaccination, and Immunization Law (Bloomberg Law, 2019), 6–35.
  21. ↑ Brian Dean Abramson, Vaccine, Vaccination, and Immunization Law (Bloomberg Law, 2019), 6–30.
  22. ↑ "Position Statements". ACA.
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