General Question

Irukandji's avatar

Why do people trust the CDC about romaine lettuce but not about vaccines?

Asked by Irukandji (4623points) November 21st, 2018

When they tell us a handful of cases indicates that our lettuce might be tainted, we have no problem throwing it all away. But when they tell us that a huge body of research indicates that vaccines are safe and effective, conspiracy theories abound. It’s the same agency!

To be perfectly clear, you should be throwing away your romaine lettuce and getting vaccinated. You should also donate to the UNICEF vaccine fund in some anti-science person’s name.

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6 Answers

raum's avatar

I think it’s easier for people to accept: X is questionable. Don’t put it inside your body. Trust me.

Than: X is perfectly fine. Put it inside your body. Trust me.

For the record, I’m pro-science and vaccinate.

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

^^agreed, I vaccinate as well.

Jeruba's avatar

GQ, @lrukandji, details and all.

josie's avatar

This is a great question.
Unfortunately, it is tough to answer without impugning the intelligence of the folks you describe.
Some of them inhabit this site, plus it is politically incorrect these days.

FYI
I was vaccinated.
So were my children.
I threw away my Romaine lettuce.

janbb's avatar

Someone somewhere else said that for some people the idea of being told to put something in your body is harder to accept than the idea of being told not to put something in your body.

Although I do both, this seems like an explanation for the dichotomy.

JLeslie's avatar

@janbb GA.

Not only what @janbb said, but also most people in America haven’t seen measles, but they know what food poisoning looks like. Feeling like you will likely get food poisoning within hours of eating a food is different than you might get measles eventually some time in the future, and then people in your other ear telling you that measles is basically extinct (which it isn’t).

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