Driving in a car is dangerous.
When you get behind the wheel or in the passenger seat,
you're risking your life.
To minimize that risk, we wear seatbelts.
This is proven technology.
And there are regulations around the world about this.
And I know what you're thinking, "Really, Bill?
A prop gag, that's it?"
Today's show is all about safety.
So, I thought we'd start with this.
♪ Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill ♪
♪ Save the world Save the world ♪
♪ Save the world ♪
Welcome. Welcome to the show.
I'm Bill Nye, and I'm here to save the world.
Yeah!
A few moments ago, I used a seatbelt to demonstrate a safety fundamental
that, believe it or not,
was once controversial.
I presume you all made the obvious connection.
Today, we are talking about vaccinations.
And how they prevent bad things, just like seatbelts do.
No kidding.
Vaccines are to germs
as seatbelts are to car wrecks.
Well, seatbelts work, they save lives.
The science is settled.
Vaccinations work, they save lives.
That science is settled.
Both are for the public good.
We've known this about vaccines since the 1790s,
when Edward Jenner made vaccines that worked pretty well.
That means we've had vaccines longer than we've had Frisbees.
Here's how they work.
They have an angle of attack and that produces lift,
and the spin stabilizes them. Just like the tail...
- on a, uh, airplane. - Ooh!
Nice catch.
Here's how vaccines work.
We study a germ,
that is a bacterium, or a virus.
We call this particular one Gary.
Next, we study the outside of Gary the Germ.
And let's say, like the pattern on this envelope,
it's recognizable as Gary.
Then inside, you'll find the germ's guts.
Maybe inside this one.
You'll find the germ's guts.
Vicious bits of molecules that can make you sick.
So, to make a vaccine, scientists take the bug
and modify it so that it can't hurt you.
Then by placing it in your bloodstream...
like this,
your white blood cells learn to recognize that germ.
And when they do,
they attack it.
Destroy it!
Ahem. Sorry.
When they come across the actual infecting form of this germ, they remember it,
and they shred it.
Take that, Gary.
Oh, yes, my friends.
I want you to not get sick.
But the main reason I want you to get vaccinated
is to protect me.
So, I don't get sick.
This is called the paradox of protection.
If everyone around you is vaccinated,
indeed, there is less chance that a troublesome germ will infect you.
So, you think, "Hey, I don't need to get vaccinated."
But what if a big, bad, tiny germ...
infects you?
There's an excellent chance that germ will mutate into something new.
Then our current vaccines will no longer work against this new bug
that you helped create.
Thanks, Typhoid Gary.
Now, say you believe you have the right to not wear a seatbelt.
There was a time when some people didn't trust seatbelts.
They thought they caused more harm than good.
We now know that's just not the case.
Now, suppose you wanna leave your kids unbuckled.
Not cool, negligent, illegal even.
Okay. Well, what if you don't wanna get vaccinated,
can you have your kids left unvaccinated?
You see where I'm going here?
Many countries have laws that require seatbelts.
So, should we have laws that require vaccinations?
I'm not kidding about this, people. It's serious.
I went to school with a kid who had polio.
Let me tell you something. You do not want polio.
You do not want your friends to get polio.
Unless you're in Afghanistan or Pakistan,
there's virtually no chance you will ever get polio.
Because now, due to vaccines,
the disease has been nearly eradicated.
We are all protected. It's what we do.
But it wasn't always that way everywhere,
as our correspondent Emily Calandrelli shows us.
Oh.
Wait.
Victory has many looks.
Many faces.
On athletic fields and battle fields.
In backyards and on the world's biggest stages.
Humanity celebrates its victories in similar but different ways.
In India, which has been waging war against polio for a quarter century,
victory is written on the faces of every child who gets vaccinated.
Polio is an infectious disease that attacks nervous system.
And it causes paralysis within hours.
This leaves children deformed pretty much for the rest of their life,
and sometimes can kill them.
As long as there's even one child in the world that has polio,
every child is at risk for polio.
India is a huge country.
What were the challenges of taking on such a daunting task here?
For vaccination, we have to reach children under five,
and there's 170 million children under five.
Why was it important for you to bring your son here today?
For the polio vaccine, we've come to the clinic.
Now, when you were growing up,
did your parents worry that you might get polio?
Yes, they had that fear.
In the early 1990s,
Polio was at crisis levels in India.
More than 150,000 children per year were paralyzed by the disease.
The Indian government went on the offensive,
launching nationwide vaccination programs
aimed at immunizing a staggering 172 million kids twice a year.
Thanks to these incredible efforts, India is now polio-free.
But Indians must now face the legacy of the disease they have conquered.
Everybody in India knows somebody with polio.
Whether it's an aunt or uncle or family member,
they have a living memory of polio being a real and dangerous threat.
I met a successful IT professional who was paralyzed by polio,
and is now confined to a wheelchair.
Many Americans think vaccines aren't necessary.
What would you say to them?
They should at least see people who are affected by polio...
how they are suffering, what other problems they are facing.
And then they will come to know what is the importance of vaccination.
Pretty cool.
So, how...? Okay.
Hundred and seventy-some million people got vaccinated?
- Yes. - How did they organize such...?
It's a Herculean effort, right?
This is the second-largest most populated country in the world.
- So dense, too. - It's so dense.
The Indian government must've been strongly motivated.
There are so many hands involved. There had to be.
So, Rotary International, UNICEF, the Indian government...
They all had to contribute to make this work.
- Who paid for it? This is just a... - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
They invested over $400 million into it.
- Yeah. - So...
Running the numbers...
- You're a mechanical-aerospace engineer. - I am. Yeah.
Just, uh...
Just thinking out loud.
You got 170 million, in order of magnitude.
That's 200 million, and 400 million...
That's only two bucks a person.
Yeah. So, they're just little drops,
what they're giving out, the polio vaccine.
You saw, it's just a little drop in a baby's mouth.
The kids there get four doses up until they're six years old.
They have to keep coming back and getting these doses.
- They get them for free. - Was there a resistance?
Did people say, "I don't want needles"?
Well, you know, the people I spoke to,
that was such a thought that was so far from their mind.
Not wanting a vaccine, uh, was a ridiculous idea to them.
'Cause to them, it's literally a life-saving medicine.
Because polio is such a recent memory for them.
The last reported case of polio in India was in 2011.
So, it's still very scary for them.
What is it gonna take? There's still a few places where you can get it, right?
Right. So, there's still three countries left in the world that have it.
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. These countries really need
to step up their game with their vaccination programs.
But those places...
At least Afghanistan and Pakistan, they've got wars going on.
- Which has gotta complicate things. - I'm sure that it does. Yeah.
It takes resources to eradicate a disease like this.
It takes resources to bring these vaccines to kids all around the country.
So, it's gonna take money.
It's gonna take time, and a lot of organization.
- Emily Calandrelli. Thank you. - Thank you.
Thank you.
In many parts of the world, parents are skeptical of vaccines.
So, here to discuss this is our panel of experts.
Oh, sorry.
We're starting here with Kristen O'Meara, former anti-vaxxer parent.
And you changed your mind after three children got the rotavirus.
- Is that right? - Mm-hm.
Dr. Jennifer Reich. Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Denver.
Yup.
Why Parents Reject Vaccines.
And Dr. Lanre Falusi.
Pediatrician in the Washington, D.C. area...
Go, Nationals.
And former president of the D.C. chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Thank you so much for coming. Thank you.
So, of course...
I don't need to know, but I wanna know.
Why do parents choose to not get their kids vaccinated?
Jennifer.
A quick answer for a long question.
I spent about a decade talking to parents trying to understand that choice.
The evidence in science seems really clear. Vaccines prevent diseases.
Many parents now have never seen a lot of the diseases
that we're vaccinating against.
And so, what I hear from parents is that
they really believe that they should be doing their own information gathering.
And in the end, they really feel like they're experts on their kids.
And the claims that vaccines are really necessary
are starting to feel less compelling
as they've never seen these diseases in their lifetime.
So, people wanna gather their own information.
- Mm-hm. - Uh...
Is that what happened with you, Kristen?
Yeah, I felt like I had the responsibility
to do the very best that I possibly could for my kids.
How old were they at the time when you were thinking these thoughts?
I've got a set of four-year-old twins and a six-year-old.
So, when my six-year-old was... Before she was born...
When I was pregnant with my very first child,
was when I was really, um,
feeling it necessary to investigate.
I knew I'd heard some things about, you know, "Vaccines are dangerous."
There's all these scary ingredients in them.
Don't trust what you hear because, you know,
Big Pharma is paying for the studies
"and you can't believe what anyone says about it."
So, I felt like it was my duty to make the very best choice I could for my kids
- and so I decided to research on my own. - But something happened?
- So, something happened? - Yeah, they, um...
When...
In 2015, in March,
we all came down with rotavirus, which is, like...
What is that? Like the flu times three?
It's like stomach flu on steroids.
So, like, the typical stomach flu that you would get would be norovirus.
Um, rotavirus is...
much... Like, you know.
You know that something is up. It's worse.
It's many, many days of misery and unpleasantness.
And when I realized that that's what they had,
and I knew that there was a fairly recent vaccine for rotavirus,
I thought, "Oh, my gosh."
Maybe we didn't have to just suffer through this."
So, let me ask you this.
What is all the fear about autism?
So, that, thankfully, has been debunked.
The one study that purported a connection
between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine
has been debunked.
- The physician who created that study... - He's notorious.
Exactly. It's been notorious.
- His medical license has been revoked. - That's a big deal.
His paper was revoked. It's a huge deal.
And the scientific community has, really, over years and years,
and thousands and thousands of patients,
has shown that there really is no data to support any link
between autism and any vaccine.
- What about...? - One thing I'd add...
Please.
The number of parents who opt out of all vaccines is really quite small.
What's important to think about though is we know that as many 20 percent of parents
are not following national recommendations for vaccines.
And because parents see themselves as experts,
they're designing their own schedules often.
You see that in your practice, probably too, right?
That parents are coming in and really picking and choosing
in a cafeteria style manner, which is raising
very different kinds of questions about public health.
And the risk of these sort of "alternative schedules"
is that children do remain unvaccinated and unprotected for longer.
They're more vulnerable to these diseases that could've been prevented.
I think the question of vaccine-hesitant parents, in my research,
is it raises important questions about where parents weigh information,
who they trust, how we're communicating science,
whether the parents trust the science that goes into this.
And whether they think pediatricians know their family,
and understand their family,
and understand their children as unique individuals.
- Did you feel that way? - Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, when I was kind of interviewing pediatricians...
um, one of... When my daughter was six months old,
I already decided I probably wasn't going to vaccinate.
And I found a pediatrician, and I was sort of shopping.
And when I told him,
"Yeah, I don't vaccinate... She's not vaccinated yet."
I could just see him roll his eyes in his head and groan, and just say,
"Great. I have one of these crazy people that I have to deal with in my office."
He didn't say that, but his expression and the way he was talking to me and...
I kind of feel like if I had been lucky enough to find
a pediatrician who, you know, would ask, you know, ask me specifics.
"What are you specifically concerned about?"
Someone who would kind of be willing to work with me
instead of, um, to sort of belittle my concerns and say,
"But they're safe. What's your problem?"
I think I might have been ready to vaccinate sooner.
That's such a great point. And the research shows,
in my own personal experience, I've seen too that
that one-on-one individualized counseling with the child's doctor, um,
really is the most important factor, I think, in deciding to vaccinate.
Should vaccines be mandatory?
- So, I think... - Should that be the law?
In most states... Actually, all states have requirements for vaccines.
So, when it comes to entrance into child care or to public school
and many, also, into private schools.
Um, they all also have medical exemptions,
which is completely acceptable, right? For children who are either too young
or, for medical reasons, can't be vaccinated.
So, they are mandatory in many settings.
Did you have to negotiate with schools?
Um...
My oldest daughter was in preschool
and what I had to do was to write, like, a philosophical/religious exemption letter.
It had a religious tone? That doesn't surprise me.
You know, I'm not a religious person, so I... And I refuse to lie about things.
So, I had to kind of word it really delicately and sort of opaquely.
And then after the measles outbreak,
which was right around the same time that we all came down with rotavirus,
which has definitely, you know, played a role in me changing my mind...
her preschool said that, you know, as of next year,
they would no longer accept those letters and everyone had to be vaccinated
unless they had a medical exemption.
So, in a lot of ways, we can think of it as part of the social contract.
If you wanna participate in public education
or child care settings,
then you have to pay into the community
to use community resources.
If you don't wanna vaccinate, you don't have to.
It means you have to make different kinds of educational choices for your kids
and different kinds of resources.
But what happens is as vaccination rates go down in certain communities,
those who cannot be vaccinated are at risk.
We like to say at the American Academy of Pediatrics,
we're almost disenfranchising
those who can't be protected by everyone else around them
who otherwise would be vaccinated.
So, those really young infants, those who are immunocompromised,
patients who are going through chemotherapy for cancer.
Our job as a society, as I see it,
really is to help protect them and by vaccinating ourselves,
it's a benefit to us as individuals but also to those who can't be vaccinated.
Yeah, it's...
The seatbelt analogy is, to me, is pretty good.
The kid doesn't have a choice.
"I don't wanna wear a seatbelt, Dad." "No. No, you gotta put your seatbelt on."
The Man makes you wear a seatbelt.
One thing to think about with those pockets, though,
is that those pockets are not randomly distributed across the country.
So, the parents who opt out of vaccines by choice
are most likely to be white, college-educated, and have a higher...
That is tremendous irony. As a science educator, I failed!
And if they... College-educated and have a higher family income.
And I think part of why that is the story of people who resist vaccines
is because they really imagine that they can manage disease.
If their kids get sick, they can handle it.
If their kids are quarantined for 21 days in their house,
they're not gonna lose their jobs.
Or they're not gonna be
inconvenienced in a way that they feel they really can't manage.
I heard from parents all the time,
"We are really healthy." "We eat organic food."
"I breastfed my kids."
"I do all these health-promoting behaviors,
so, my kids are gonna be okay."
There's a couple of problems with that. One is that
it's not a conversation about other kids in the community.
But also that, often, viruses and bacteria don't care if you eat organic food.
- That you can't manage risk perfectly. - I've spoken with them, the viruses.
- Yeah. Great. - One of your guest speakers?
This has been fantastic. Thank you all very much.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
You know, we often worry about the kids...
but what about all those germs that we're putting out of work?
Take a look.
Thank you, Polio, we'll, um... We'll be in touch.
Yeah.
Oh, what do you expect, man? All those cocky vaccines are taking all our jobs.
I blame Jonas Salk.
Before him, I was global.
Egypt. India. Bhutan.
They even took Poland from me.
Oof.
Now I'm selling plasma to pay my car insurance.
Dude, I use to be weaponized.
I have a body count of over 300 million.
Look at me now.
Last month I couldn't afford toilet paper so I had to use a coffee filter.
What, HPV, you think you're better than me?
Well, well, well, living legends here. What's up, rock stars?
- Well, same old, same old. - Ahh.
How about you?
- Oh, I've been super-busy... - Here we go.
You name one country, I've been there in the last three months.
Yes. Infections up, lives are down.
They are sick with me, but they are not sick of me.
- Is that Flu I hear? - I'll catch you plagues uno minuto.
So good seeing you.
- So busy. Insanely busy. - Yeah.
Busier than chlamydia at Arizona State.
If they have a new outbreak they are casting that douche.
Let's hit snack time at a Waldorf school.
Hey, hey, hey. Listen, I'm sorry. Is this a good time?
Or do you all want some more time to bitch and moan?
Who is it for you, Rabies?
Who's your Moby Dick? Is it Air Bud?
You know what? Just shut up. I'm trying to do you losers a solid.
What's up?
- Anti-vaccination forum? What the heck...? - Shh!
Shh! No, listen. It is a list of towns popping up in the world
that have stopped vaccinating.
- Are you serious? - Yes.
- Money! - Yes.
- This is on the DL. - Okay.
Just fantastic. Phenomenal. Thank you for coming in.
So great running into you beasts again.
Ebola, I am but a cold compared to you.
Yeah, well, Ebola's not looking that great.
Yeah, I don't mean to tell you how to run an outbreak,
but you ever think about re-inventing yourself, like, seasonally?
Give you something to noodle on there.
Ooh.
Stay fresh, gentlemen. Stay fresh.
What I wouldn't do to give his sack a rash.
Yeah.
Hey, guys, good news. We had some last minute drop outs.
Anyone interested in working with Jenny McCarthy?
- Oh, yeah. - Yes.
That's my girl.
Come on. That was fun, right?
I hope by now we've made the case
that vaccines do amazing things for the world.
But they're not just about the greater good.
They're also about the health of the individual.
Just gotta put on this unusual lab coat.
The one with the black patches.
Personally, there's one individual I care deeply about.
This guy.
Me. Bill-freaking-Nye.
Like you, I don't like getting sick.
But just for a moment,
let's pretend it's not all about me.
You see, vaccines work best
when the vast majority of the population gets them.
Like, these fine folk.
Imagine their raincoats are vaccines.
Further imagine that I'm one of the few people
who can't get vaccinated. Maybe I'm allergic,
or I've got a compromised immune system.
Whatever the case, I can't get my own vaccine raincoat.
So, I'm vulnerable to nasty, little viruses.
Like these.
Fortunately, enough fine citizenry around me are vaccinated.
So, the virus doesn't spread.
And I don't get sick.
Suck it, germs.
You ain't getting a piece of this.
We call this herd immunity.
And it's one of the reasons we should all take a shot in the arm
for those who can't get a shot in the arm.
But imagine more and more people choose not to vaccinate,
they may think, "Hey, I'll take the risk."
I'll probably live through whatever illness comes my way."
And they may be right.
But what about me?
What if that same virus is likely to kill me dead?
As more people get sick,
more people spread the virus.
And the chances I'll catch it go up and up.
You see how quickly this becomes all about me?
Or in your case, you.
Or anybody who might be vulnerable for reasons they can't control?
Which brings us back to, well, us.
Society at large.
Now, hear me out.
When you get vaccinated, you are not just protecting yourself,
you're protecting the most vulnerable among us.
The sick.
The immunocompromised.
The very young and the very old.
That's why I get frustrated with healthy people
who choose to not get vaccinated.
What are they thinking? They're not thinking. It's selfish.
So, I implore you to get vaccinated and tell others to do the same thing.
Even if little rubber balls are bouncing off of them.
Let's make vaccines cool, a badge of pride.
After all, it's not just the smart thing to do,
it's the right thing to do.
Now get out there. Do some shots.
And save the world.
Whoo!
♪ Save the world, Bill Now ♪
♪ Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill ♪
♪ Save the world Save the world ♪
♪ Bill, whoo, Bill, whoo, Bill, whoo, Bill ♪
♪ Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill ♪
♪ Save the world Save the world ♪
♪ Bill, whoo, Bill, whoo, Bill, whoo, Bill ♪
♪ Save the world ♪
♪ Save the world, Bill Now ♪