Controversy Over Vaccines Study

Some parental concerns persist that vaccines may cause Autism. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed throughout the years. There is a major worldwide increasing rate of Autism diagnoses. Theories have centered on measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, thimerosal, and the large number of vaccines being administered. Studies have showed that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. An Institute of Medicine in 2001 did a report on eight different vaccines given to children and adults found that rare exceptions, these vaccines are very safe. In 2013, another study added to the research stating that vaccines do not cause Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many vaccine-averse parents argue that while vaccines might

Many parents are skeptical about getting their children vaccinated because of the fear that it may cause autism. The question of whether vaccines cause autism is still a controversial subject among many citizens today especially parents. Some citizens argue that vaccines are not safe and could potentially cause autism. Parents believe that vaccine caused their child to develop autism because autism symptoms become apparent around the same time that children were getting their routine vaccinations (WebMD). Many people believe that vaccines are completely safe and do not cause autism in fact some citizens argue that all children should be vaccinated to prevent sickness and serious diseases in fact there have been many studies conducted to prove that vaccines do not cause autism. Despite controversial claims, there is no scientific evidence that links vaccines to autism.

This old wives tale has been spread by mouth for many years and people believe it. People believe it so much that 2.1 million American children are not vaccinated. That might not seem like a very large number, but once 1 person has the illness it can be transferred on to people. Around 90 percent of newborns are vaccinated but these vaccines are rendered useless if just 1 person has the illness.

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

Martin Kramer, a spokesman for the Health Resources and Services Administration, said “There is no reliable scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism even in cases where an acute encephalopathy, brain damage, following vaccination has occurred” (Udesky 3). Since the researchers have been coming up with no reliable scientific evidence to prove that vaccines cause autism and the controversy has been going on and on, it is very complicated to believe in Wakefield’s study. Thus, I would agree with the majority of the researchers.

Cornell states that there is no solid legitimate link between vaccines to autism, and that researchers have been able to purify vaccines over time. Pediatricians in general support vaccines and the fact that the all save lives.

The topic of the article is the connection (or lack of) between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. Contrary to popular opinion, vaccines are not linked to autism in any shape or form and there is no scientific evidence to support it.

Still, though, there are people that still believe MMR vaccinations cause autism. Andrew Wakefield is one of those individuals that believe that MMR vaccinations cause autism. Wakefield has been found guilty of fraud and dishonesty. Thus, causing him to lose his credentials. Wakefield still denies that he was wrong and he denies the allegations of fraud (Godlee et al., 2011). The GMC (General Medicine Counsel), the organization that removed Wakefield’s credentials; furthermore the GMC has asked him to either reproduce the results or say he was wrong. Wakefield has neglected to do either. One of the worst things about this is five years after being retracted one out of four Americans will not get their children vaccinated because they believe that MMR vaccinations cause autism. Vaccination rates are higher than they were ten years ago, but they are still not high enough. In the United States of America, MMR vaccination rates are at 92% and in the UK they are at 90%. These percentages are pretty good considering that in the UK rates dropped below 75% and below 58% in some areas (Kolodziejski, 2014. p.165), (Burgess et al,. 2006. p.3921). The numbers are improving, but it is still not high enough it should be around

Do vaccines cause autism is a question that has been bouncing around for over twenty years. The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased significantly and due to the impact this has in people’s lives several studies have been done in an effort to determine the cause. More specifically the MMR, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, vaccination has been accused of being the cause of autism. This accusation then contributed to families not vaccinating their children. Even though science disproves the link between vaccines and autism in several studies done in the United Kingdom, California, and Canada, many people cling to the vaccination-autism connection (Gerber, 2009).

In fact, The BMJ, or the British Medical Journal, chimed in on Wakefield’s paper. “By the time the paper was finally retracted 12 years later, after forensic dissection at the General Medical Council’s (GMC) longest ever fitness to practise hearing, few people could deny that it was fatally flawed both scientifically and ethically” (Godlee, “Wakefield’s”). Furthermore, Wakefield’s license to practice medicine was stripped away by Britain’s General Medical Council because of misconduct, including the time Wakefield paid his son’s friends £5 each to take blood samples during his son’s birthday party (Burns, “British”). More recent studies also prove that the vaccine-autism link is nonexistent. One study, performed by the Journal of Pediatrics, found that, “ … of MCO members, increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines during the first 2 years of life was not related to the risk of developing an ASD” (Destefano, “Increasing”). In other words, having a young child exposed to the ingredients of vaccines does not result in the child developing autism (Destefano, “Increasing”).

Today, parents are not vaccinating their children for a number of reasons, whether it is religious beliefs, it is not natural, and some parents are even trying to link vaccinations to the rise in autism. This however has been proven false and stated in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The increase in vaccinations and the increase in children with autism happened at the same time, which leads some parents to believe that is why their child was diagnosed with autism, but this is correlation not causation. There is no real scientific test to diagnose autism and it is based off of the child’s social and communication skills and their behavior. A retrospective study was done from 1980 to 1994 where scientist recorded the amount of children receiving the measles vaccination and the amount of children diagnosed with autism. Over this time span, there was only a 10% increase in the amount of children receiving the MMR vaccine and 572% increase in children with autism. If the MMR vaccine was the cause of autism, then they should have increased at the same rate and therefore concluding that autism is caused by other unknown factors.

The argument that vaccines cause Autism began in 1998 when British surgeon Andrew Wakefield published a study, suggesting that the MMR vaccine given to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella increased autism in children. Autism is a mental condition involving issues in the brain development, it is

I stand firmly in believing that getting my children the recommended vaccinations for their age or what grade they are going into is the right thing. I do not believe the myths, I never have. I also do not feel there is enough evidence to show that autism is linked to vaccines. These vaccines are not only protecting my children but they are protection children around them including family and school. Today’s society with some many people moving to the United

In 1998 a study was published by Andrew Wakefield theorizing that there was a link between autism symptoms and receiving a MMR vaccination. However, his findings are to be inconclusive considering he did not take the proper procedures to conduct a controlled study. First, he did not include control subjects in his study, so the results cannot be compared properly if there were any changes in the subjects. Second, the endoscopic or neuropsychological assessments were not done blind and the data was not collected systematically or completely. Third, the symptoms found between the children with autism and gastrointestinal problems were inconsistent. In reality, many health groups are theorizing that a vaccination does not cause autism by any

Live Science Contributor, Stephanie Pappas tell us that, “Wakefield was getting money from lawyers planning on suing vaccine makers, and he owned a patent on an alternative to the MMR (measles) vaccines,” [2] this statement is clear evidence of fraudulent activity and proves that Wakefield had corrupt reasons for undergoing this study in the first place. The second flaw to Wakefield's paper was the questionable practises of his study, for starters he based his study on twelve children that he “cherry picked,” and “although the paper claimed that cognitive problems developed a few days after the MMR vaccine, a simple investigation of hospital records revealed that wasnt so; and in several cases parents reported problems before the vaccine,” [2]. In summary, the investigation was sloppy and provided no tangible evidence that links autism to the MMR vaccine. Furthermore, it should be noted that the the link between autism and vaccines is purely coincidental, the symptoms of autism typically appear at around the age that vaccines are administered, in fact director of the Vaccine Education Centre at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr Paul Offit confirms this says, “Children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months, the age at which autism symptoms typically