Common sense is not so common. Health and Rehabilitation Sciences graduate student Eric Davis said the gap in our knowledge about the HPV vaccine is enormous. (“Research exposes major gaps in HPV vaccine knowledge,” Western News, March 19.) The question is, who is to blame – the culture, system, public perception, information sources or the people?
The problem begins with a lack of reliable information sources. We need tighter regulations on information dissemination. Even The Toronto Star, which presents information to a large group of people, just recently retracted their statements about the HPV vaccine.
How can people be informed if their informants are not?
The Internet contains a plethora of good information, but it is also riddled with fear mongering and unreliable information. How can a person know what the real issues are? Apparently, they cannot.
Over the past few decades, information accessibility has skyrocketed. I believe the amount of information, however, is too daunting. Ultimately, the people cannot be blamed fully for ignorance. There is so much conflicting information, in the end, people just ignore it. They choose ignorance over confusion.
Would you not do the same?
Luca Marescotti