“Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.”
“Global warming is not occurring.”
“Mercury in vaccines is a proven health hazard.”
Legitimizing extreme points of view, without critical evaluation, not only is wrong but can lead to flawed, and sometimes deadly, personal and policy decisions. A Nov. 13 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report aired such an alarmist viewpoint (“Most flu shots contain mercury, but few know it”).
Jonathan L. Temte is an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and chair of the Wisconsin Council on Immunization Practices.