Dr. Bob Sears is a charter member of what I like to call The Quack Pack, a group of physicians who peddle pseudoscience in exchange for popularity and financial remuneration.
I’ve written about his ethics, or lack thereof, on many occasions.
In his book on an “alternative” vaccine schedule Sears wrote:
I also warn [parents] not to share their fears with their neighbors, because if too many people avoid the MMR, we’ll likely see the diseases increase significantly.
In other words, hide in the herd, but do not tell the herd you’re hiding; otherwise, outbreaks will ensue…
His grandiosity is really quite impressive. He likens his patients to victims of the Holocaust.
[pullquote align=”right” color=”#9f0b0b”]Dr. Bob has worked tireless to advance the cause of … Dr. Bob.[/pullquote]
Scarlet “V” anyone? No, not scarlet. Let’s make it yellow. And not a V – a star would be better. That way everyone can know at first glance who is safe to be around and who is not.
He’s just cashed out and filed for moral bankruptcy with this:
DR. PAN STOLE MY AWARD.
What’s up with that? Can’t believe he got the award instead of me. Oh well. Maybe next year.
What’s up with that?
Well, let’s see. Dr. Pan has worked tirelessly to advance the cause of children’s health personally, professionally and through his government service. Dr. Pan has undoubtedly saved many lives already and will save far more in the future. As a result of that work, he faces a recall campaign instigated by anti-vax activists.
In contrast, Dr. Bob has worked tireless to advance the cause of … Dr. Bob.
A scathing piece in this week’s Economist notes:
Precisely because most children are immunised, he tells parents that it is probably safe to skip or delay jabs for their offspring. This strategy amounts to “hiding in the herd”, he says delicately, as he sips a late-afternoon coffee near his surgery. Put another way, his patients worry more than most about possible side-effects from vaccinations, above all the (thoroughly discredited) claim that vaccines cause autism. Dr Bob—as he is known to fans of “The Vaccine Book”, his best-selling guide to “selective” immunisation—does not say that worried parents are right. He just thinks that, on balance, they can safely indulge their anxieties by “taking advantage of the herd all around them.” When pushed, he makes “no claim” that the alternative vaccine plans that he offers (involving fewer jabs, or jabs administered over a longer period than most doctors recommend) are safer. He concedes that if everyone refused vaccinations, some diseases would roar back.
In other words, when pressed by someone who might actually know something about vaccines:
- Sears acknowledges that vaccines work
- Sears acknowledges that there is no evidence that his alternative vaccine schedule is safer
- Sears acknowledges that anti-vaxxers are “free riders” because they enjoy the benefits of herd immunity without the risks of vaccination
What’s heroic about that?
Nothing. It’s actually morally bankrupt, the exact opposite of the selfless, caring spirit associated with heroism.
Does Dr. Sears actually think he deserves an award for heroism?
I doubt it. He’s just riling up the ignorant faithful the same way he has been riling them up and profiting from them for years.
