Childhood Vaccination Controversy

In the article, “Vaccines Cause Autism,” Michael Snyder, an attorney and writer, attempts to convince parents of young children that autism is directly linked to childhood vaccinations. He claims that numerous toxins, including thimerosal, are present in vaccines that are forced into the bloodstream, later causing neurological and brain damage to children. He says that autism has risen by 78 percent over the past decade, and that 1/88 children in the US have an autistic disorder. Snyder believes that most autistic individuals start out completely normal, and that the vaccinations they are given are harming them. He blames the pharmaceutical companies for being too

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

Every child born in America is unique: whether it be because of skin color, hair color, birth weight, complications while still in the womb, or difficulties at birth. Yet when it comes to vaccinations they are all treated equal and are expected to follow the government recommended vaccination schedule. Once these vaccinations have been given, they cannot be removed from a child’s body. The harm they may have caused a child, cannot be reversed. Parents need to be aware of what is in these vaccines and the possible harmful effects they can have on their child. While the official cause of autism has not been clearly determined, parents of young children and expecting parents need to be aware that research shows a definite link between

There is much debate and controversy about child vaccinations being safe or not. Parents wonder should they get

In the past couple of years controversy over immunizations has become a large debate in society. Many parents have come to the belief that if their child is given vaccinations their chance of getting autism spectrum disorder increases; therefore they choose not to vaccinate their child. However, evidence has show that vaccines have no correlation with autism spectrum disorder. A meta-analysis conducted of five cohort and five case studies found no evidence for the link between vaccinations and the subsequent risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014). The cohort study consisted of 1,256,407 children and the case studies consisted of a total of 9,920 children (Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014).

After much consideration, I have decided to research the controversy of childhood vaccinations and the risks associated with it. This issue has been brought up during my Biobehavioral Health (BBH) classes throughout my education. These classes have included: health promotion, public health, and epidemiology. The study of BBH can be described as an interdisciplinary program that enables students to explore all factors including: biological, behavioral, social/cultural, and environmental that influence the health of individuals and groups. In the BBH program, I have been able to view the topic of childhood vaccinations through the biological aspect of how they work, the behavioral and cultural aspect as to how individuals react to vaccinations,

However, several studies following Andrew Wakefield’s link between MMR and autism did not display any association. One example of these studies was conducted by Brent Taylor and his co-workers of University College London in 1999, entitled ‘Autism and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for casual association’. Taylor investigated documentations of 498 children from 8 different health districts with autism; 261 of core autism, 166 of atypical autism, and 71 of Asperger's syndrome. Even though there has been a steady increase of cases of autism, there was no sudden increase after the introduction of the MMR. In addition, there was no age difference in diagnosis of autism in vaccinated and unvaccinated children before or after eighteen months.

Autism is not an immune-mediated disease. There is no evidence of immune activation or inflammatory lesions in people with autism. No studies have compared the incidence of autism in vaccinated, unvaccinated, or alternatively vaccinated children. Twenty epidemiologic studies have shown that neither thimerosal or MMR vaccine causes autism. There have been studies in many countries by different people who have tried multiple statistical methods. A meta-analysis of ten studies involving more than 1.2 million children reaffirms that vaccines don’t cause autism. Immunization was associated with decreased risk that children would develop autism, a possibility that’s strongest with the measles-mumps-rubella

Autism is being linked to early vaccinations to illnesses, and by doing so may cause children as their body is developing serious complications. Though the topic is still up to debate there have been numerous accounts of children obtaining autistic effects shorty after being immunized from illnesses such as the meals, mumps, and chicken pox. One such account Came Parsippany New Jersey, the parents of a 15 month year old toddler had just been to the clinic to vaccinate their child against the illness of the measles. Following the weeks after the child though fine before the vaccination in the year of 1986 started to show signs of different behavior and was having trouble communicating, by 1989 three years after his treatment he was diagnosed with autism. Now this may be just another short story to stop vaccinations but it’s backed by many of the same cases. Where autism comes from is unknown and many believe it to be a genetic defect

There are sound medical reasons to follow these recommendations as parents: 10 of the diseases we are usually vaccinated against in our childhoods can be easily passed from one person to another, as they can travel through the air.

Vaccines are safe and effective. At the same time no drug or vaccine is 100% safe and risk free. There have been instances when vaccines have been withdrawn from market because of the serious adverse effects. Rota virus vaccine (Rotashield) was

The purpose of this research is to find whether there is an actual link between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. The research also aimed to dispute the notion that MMR vaccines caused autism.

autism were studied, it was suggested that measles was related to autism. Seven years later they did another study that involved 4000 children and found just the opposite, shots had no connection to causing a person to receive the diagnosis of autism”. (Offit 1) (Thinktwice 1) There are probably multiple causes for

Living in an environment where we are prone to many viruses, it’s very important that one take the proper precautions or considerations to control the risk of getting affected. However, when utilizing the ability of not becoming infected, one may question the fact weather there’s an actual effective form of prevention or not. To clarify the uncertainty, over many years one of the most strategic methods that have been used for the control and preventions of viruses are vaccinations. A vaccination takes advantage of one’s body natural ability to primarily learn how to eliminate almost any disease causing germ or microbe that affects it. Therefore vaccinations are considered one of the most effective ways to prevent severe outcomes initiated by viruses.

Autism rates in developing countries have risen in the past 20 years. In 2004, one in sixty-eight children would receive an ASD diagnosis. Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that usually presents in early childhood and that is thought to be influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Back in 1998, Andrew Wakefield and 12 colleagues published an article in the Lancet, proposing that the measles vaccine could cause autism in susceptible children. This study was shown to have many problems associated with it, firstly, the investigation included only 12 children, 9 of whom were diagnosed as being autistic. This sample was too small to make any claims regarding a possible connection between MMR and autism. Second, the study had