Scientific ignorance

Re: Broad vaccine doubts, Feb. 13

I found it quite disturbing on reading this story to learn that about 40 per cent of the Canadian population does not understand the science behind vaccination.

It is becoming more and more obvious that a very significant percentage of our population, including, it seems, members of government cabinets, have practically no knowledge of basic science and do not understand mathematics, either. They seem to think that there is something greatly mysterious about math and science and that only a handful of eggheads can understand the concepts. The science behind vaccinations is over a century old and is well understood. While vaccines for things like flu are of variable effectiveness because of the wide variety of viruses and the speed with which they mutate, vaccines have eradicated smallpox and all but eliminated polio from the face of the Earth, and probably would have eliminated them entirely if it were not for superstitions and ignorance about the science behind them.

While very few of us would have the natural abilities and inclinations to actually develop vaccines ourselves, there is absolutely no reason why every high school student should not have a basic understanding of most scientific concepts, including the science behind vaccinations. Bruce F. Simpson, Ottawa