Shot Of Confusion

HLSC 3820U: Public Health

Dr. Wally Bartfay

Rajvi Chandarana 100745869, Dhroov Paul 100765406, Virginia Wood 100739552

September 25,2020

1) What is the rationale, claimed mechanism, and/or basis for so-called homeopathic treatments

related to immunity and their efficacy?

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The rationale claimed mechanism, and the basis for the so-called homeopathic treatment

that relates to immunity and their efficacy is that the homeopathic treatment is not effective.

Homeopathic treatments do not boost the immune system, since the treatment is diluted which

lowers their chance of efficacy [1]. Homeopathic claims that the treatment has an over 90%

efficacy, even though the homeopathic alternatives have been scientifically tested which was not

done properly in a well designed, and high-quality research center [2]. According to the article,

“ Homeopathic Medicine and the Immune System”, By Dana Ullman MPH, it stated that

homeopathic treatments do not stimulate the body, but rather calm the body down as it heals [3].

The article also stated that homeopathic treatment is best for autoimmune illness, such as

arthritis, and is not used for bacteria or virus infection [3]. The mechanism behind the

homeopathic treatment is very simple. This alternative treatment uses a small dose of a

molecular from the previously infected organism and dilutes it with water claiming that the water

will have the “energy” or “memory” of that organism [4]. In the results of the treatment being

diluted, this can result in making the treatment non efficient making homeopathic not a perfect

alternative for vaccines.

The reason why many parents with young children prefer homeopathic treatment is due

to the fact that homeopathic treatments do not stimulate their undeveloped immune system like

how vaccines stimulate the immune system [1]. Many parents think that Homeopathic treatment

is one of the most natural ways since it doesn’t involve heavy chemicals, such as zinc and

mercury [10]. Not only do parents see homeopathic treatment has the most natural way of

treatment, but also the safest treatment as well. It is normal for a parent to care and treat their

sick child, but they also wanna protect their children from giving them heavy chemical

treatments that might cause side effects, such as feeling nausea and losing sense of taste [10].
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2) What scientific evidence, if any, is used to justify homeopathic interventions? What claims do

they make related to vaccination?

Homeopathy is composed of a variety of homeopathic interventions, the most outstanding

being the employment of tiny amounts of natural substances to stimulate the immune system.

Most interventions come in the form of pills and consist of small samples of plants, minerals, or

in most cases microorganisms [5].

In the video, it can be noted that Isaac Golden's ideology is to use diluted solutions

containing the organisms for a specific vaccine [1]. According to his theory, the result of this

method makes the solution extremely diluted, but the ‘energy’ or ‘memory’ of that infected

organism is in the water, making it ‘effective’. During the video, Isaac Golden stresses people to

not focus on how his method works but the evidence of whether it does work. Unfortunately,

there are no clinical studies to justify his ideology, just his own research. When asked about the

reasoning and justification behind his findings, he averts the question instead of discussing the

premise of his findings. Similar to this, a homeopathic vaccine paper by Richard Moskowitz was

analyzed and deemed unreasonable due to not having a control group or any solid evidence to

whether his homeopathic vaccine alternative worked [6]. The idea that water or other solvents

contain a ‘memory’ to memorize the original molecules structure is absurd when compared to

mechanisms known to science. For homeopathic pills to show promising outcomes, it would be

necessary for the ‘memory’ of the highly diluted molecules to be transferred on the pills, then

pass into the patient's body to exert biochemical effects [6]. From what is known currently, it is

evident that biological sciences don’t offer any explanation to how such ‘memory’ could alter
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bodily functions. It is believed that Dr. Isaac Golden is simply promoting pseudo-scientific

jargon with his ideology due to insufficient scientific evidence.

It is this very lack of scientific evidence that causes many homeopathic practitioners to

make false claims related to vaccination. Homeopathic practitioners make these false claims to

sell themselves as trustworthy. Examples of these claims include too many stimulations of the

baby's immature immune system, large amounts of shots are overwhelming to the baby's immune

system, homeopathic pills are just as effective as vaccinations, vaccines being the cause of

autism in children. When asked about the science behind their methodology in a CBC interview,

they avoid it by conveying their ‘90-95%’ success rate [1]. In other words, homeopaths attempt

to imprint fear into parents’ minds to sell their homeopathic products. Firstly, unlike what is

thought by homeopaths, vaccines don’t cause autism and have already been debunked by

scientists [6]. Furthermore, vaccinating babies at an early age doesn’t damage their immune

system. In addition, homeopaths believe that children don’t truly get sick, however, if diseases

were to onset then the baby’s immune system can easily fight them off. Unfortunately, the

publications of few positive studies regarding homeopathy treatment has allowed homeopaths or

homeopathic doctors the ability to cherry-pick isolated favorable studies. Ignoring their apparent

flaws.

3) What are the implications for public health in terms of the spread of infectious disease and/or

herd immunity?

The implication for public health in terms of the spread of infectious disease and herd

immunity will increase if parents are not willing to vaccinate their children [1]. Herd immunity

lessens the chances of catching an infectious disease. Herd immunity is when a group of people
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becomes immune to a virus or disease through a vaccine, which reduces the risk of spreading

[11]. When the majority of a community is vaccinated it becomes more difficult for a disease to

spread, it will even protect the people who have not been vaccinated. If someone were to get sick

there is less of a chance of an outbreak because it is difficult for the disease to spread from

person to person. The disease will then become more rare in that area, and can eventually get

wiped out altogether, such as smallpox. Infectious diseases can impact communities or if they

get out of control they can infect other countries. Especially with modern-day globalization, it

has become very easy to spread infectious diseases. Someone who has been infected can get on a

plane and be anywhere in the world within twenty four hours. For example, during early 1920,

the Spanish flu killed over 50 million people, which impacted the world’s population [7].

In the 21st century, humans have improved living conditions which can prevent the

spread of infectious diseases, such as washing hands and disinfecting [7]. Not only has the

improvement of our living conditions helped us to live longer, but the invention of vaccines

helps to prevent the spread of viruses which has greatly helped the general public. The spread of

infectious diseases can impact public health by causing stress to the healthcare system as a

whole. What stresses the public health system is how fast the infectious disease can spread, how

long it lasts on the host, and most importantly how the disease can become resistant to the

treatment [8]. As the spread of infectious disease increases, it can increase the rates of morbidity

and mortality rates, causing stress for the public health system [9]. The spread of infectious

disease can also be a factor in the evolution of resistant strains to treatment [9]. Which can cause

further stress to the health care system because of increased research costs, and strains that are

more difficult to treat can result in lengthen hospital stays and increasing morbidity rates.
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Bibliography

[1]. Vaccines: Shot of Confusion - Episodes - Marketplace [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2020Sep19]

Available from:

https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2014-2015/vaccines-shot-of-confusion

[2]. Johnson B.

http://ncirs.org.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/homeopathy-vaccination-fact-sheet.pdf.

Fact Sheet. 2018;

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[3]. Ullama D. Homeopathic Medicine and the Immune System [article]. 2017 [cited

2020Sep19]. Available from:

https://homeopathic.com/homeopathic-medicine-and-the-immune-system/

[4]. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Mechanisms of Action — Towards a Molecular Understanding.

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understanding molecular mechanisms of action of homeopathic drugs: an overview.

2003;:253–345.

[5] Ratini M. What Is Homeopathy? [Internet]. WebMD. 2019 [cited 2020Sep22]. Available
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https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-homeopathy#2

[6] Smith K. Homeopathy Is Unscientific And Unethical [Internet]. ResearchGate. 2012 [cited
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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
224050795_Homeopathy_Is_Unscientific_And_Unethical

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[8]. Collinson S, Khan K, Heffernan JM. The Effects of Media Reports on Disease Spread and

Important Public Health Measurements. Plos One. 2015;10(11).

[9]. Khalil I. The Global Burden of Shigella and Enterotoxigenic E. coli: Results from the Global

Burden of Disease Study 2016. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2017;4(suppl_1).

[10]. Schmidt C. Is homeopathic medicine a good alternative for my child? [Internet].

2017 [cited 2020Sep22]. Available from:

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https://www.arnoldpalmerhospital.com/content-hub/is-homeopathic-medicine-a-good-
alte

rnative-for-my-child

[11]. Herd immunity and COVID-19 (coronavirus): What you need to know [Internet]. 2020

[cited 2020Sep24]. Available from:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/herd-immunity-and

-coronavirus/art-20486808