Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

For years there has been public controversies over the advancements in science and all of the health risks that have been around, but now the use of the media has certainly boosted the amount of confusion throughout the public. Frightening stories regarding the progressions of science have been appearing online and in print. One particular example of this issue was the MMR vaccine debate. The MMR vaccine is an immunization vaccine which fights against rubella, measles, and mumps. During the 1990’s the media played a huge role in the decisions parents made regarding whether or not they allowed their children to get vaccinated. The media portrayed the MMR vaccine as having a possible link between autism. Which left the public worried about the MMR vaccine and having conflicting views and feelings towards the safety of vaccinations. In the MMR vaccine debate scientist and the media played two different roles which helped citizens make decisions regarding vaccination.

Doctor Andrew Wakefield’s study, published the 28th of February, 1998 in the scientific magazine The Lancet, is constantly cited as being the catalyst for the ongoing debate on whether or not vaccinations have any connections to autism. In the case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s study on the connections between autism and the M.M.R. (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, proper scientific experimental procedures were not seen to, such as his not including a control group. That is to say, in an act transgressing scientific integrity, he documented the cases

Science is supposed, to tell the truth, but because humans are the ones performing the experiments sometimes there are flaws.  For instance, Andre Wakefield in 1998 of Royal Free Hospital in London, England, said the Measles, Mumps, and rubella vaccines were to blame for autism. Andrew Wakefield came to this conclusion based on results found in eight out of twelve children. His results were then published in a medical journal called Lancet. Andrew Wakefield condemnation of vaccination caused the public to become scared ("vaccinations and Autism". . .). Andrew Wakefield's research was the starting point of the conspiracy theory that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations cause Autism. Furthermore, It made people, especially parents of autistic kids, question and lose trust in vaccinations. Without Wakefield's research people, might not question vaccinations as much as

Wakefield published a study on the effects of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)-vaccine, specifically the “mercury” based and the vaccine instigating the onset of autism (Wakefield para 3). Wakefield’s study involved 12 individuals whose medical background was altered in order to support his study (Goodlee para 2). After 12 years of Wakefield’s research being published, his findings were found to be inaccurate. Many doctors and scientists alike have proven his theory wrong, causing the magazine that published the article to fully retract it (Goodlee para 2). However, the damage caused by Wakefield’s false findings has yet to be undone. The number in vaccinations dropped and the number of deadly diseases ultimately rose (Goodlee para 8). Despite study after study proving that Wakefield blatantly falsified his findings, many parents including, celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, continue to advocate against vaccinations and blame the MMR-vaccine for her child’s autism diagnosis.

One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,

Anti-vaccination movements are hurting children and the people surrounding them. On the contrast, there is a pro-vaccination movement to advocate for those who cannot protect themselves. However, this movement is diminishing due to skewed facts in the media. This only comes back to haunt the parents who do not vaccinate their child, and the people who cannot be protected against it. Using vaccinations can irradiate diseases that have evolved over the years, saving millions of lives, and giving peace to lives lost from the disease (Jacobs, Charlotte DeCroes).

Vaccines have become an important innovation to health throughout the years. A vaccine is a product that produces immunity from a disease and can be given by the nose or the mouth.

The debate around vaccination has been raging on for many years now and it’s a strongly polarizing one at that. With many parents (and even some quack doctors) taking a stance against vaccinations, it has once again become a heated topic in light of the recent outbreaks (the major one being that at Disneyland, California). Herd immunity is becoming a lesser option as fewer and fewer children are being vaccinated. While there have been laws proposed to counter this problem, it is not the solution. Proponents of the anti-vaccine movements over the years have come up with various concerns about vaccinations. The biggest one being autism. Sensationalist and rumour-driven journalism has created a false-positive correlation in the minds of parents between the increased amounts of required childhood vaccinations and recent increase in cases of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Andrew Wakefield was the first to draw a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in 1998. But it soon became evident that he had falsified his evidence, and his “research” was retracted. Wakefield was subsequently banned from practicing medicine in the United Kingdom (his home country), for “serious professional misconduct”, but the damage had already been done. The vaccine-autism hypothesis became the forerunner in the anti-vaccine argument and has been for years now. To add fuel to the fire, it gained main stream attention when celebrity Jenny McCarthy publically blamed vaccination for the cause of her son’s

The choice to vaccinate a child holds much debate in society today. As a person that lives in America, you may feel it is your right to be able to choose what medical needs and necessities you would want for your child or yourself. “The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines (plus a yearly flu shot after six months old) for kids aged 0 to six. No US federal laws mandate vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Even though vaccines are considered extremely safe there are cases where in some people have a type of allergic reaction. Most states offer medical and religious exemptions; and some states allow philosophical exemptions” (Wadman, 2017). This point calls for a lot of debate, both in the scholarly world and among average citizens. Some people claim that such medical conditions, such as autism are the result of over vaccinating or dosing at early ages of development. Reasons on the topic vary, and concerns can end up in long legal disputes. Such disputes have raised the question of vaccine safety, prevention, and government intervention.

In the 1990s, an article was released in The Lancet by Andrew Wakefield. He composed a study of the effects of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccines on children. The study suggested that the MMR vaccine can be linked to causing autism or personality disorders. The published study sparked controversy, and stopped families from taking their children to get vaccinated out of fear. Scientists and doctors quickly disproved Wakefield’s findings, claiming his work was inaccurate and fraudulent (Mnookin, 2011). However, parents continue to distrust vaccines and spread the inaccurate information about autism around to other parents who are unsure what to think about vaccines.

“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively.”.” (Machiavelli) Making an informed decision to vaccinate is a challenging and irreversible one. Parents rely on friends, family, community, celebrities and health professionals for advice to influence this difficult choice. They must traverse a murky sea of prevarication and controversy to come to a critical decision. In fact, in 1998, a fraudulent study linked autism to childhood vaccines. “Andrew Wakefield, a former physician who has been eliminated from the General Register in the United Kingdom, fabricated data supporting a connection of the measles vaccine to autism, in a paper that was formally withdrawn.”

Vaccines that prevent individuals from contracting deathly illnesses are one of the greatest achievements in the history of epidemiology. A vast majority of individuals choose to get their children as well as themselves vaccinated. However, there are some people who choose not to get vaccinated because they believe that vaccines are dangerous and unnecessary. This dilemma emphasises the vastness of the controversy between choosing to get vaccinated or not. The subject of this dispute is difficult to resolve since each individual has their own opinion on the topic and is in control of whether or not they want to get vaccinated.

The original controversy cause a big stir around the world. A result the publication of the Wakefield research, the rate at which people got the MMR vaccine fell from 59% to 41%. The rate at which parents were getting their children vaccinated heavily declined after the article came out. Parents were afraid of getting their children vaccinated because they did not want their children to autism. As this happened this caused a global health problem, more children got these preventable diseases because they were not vaccinated because they believed in the evidence of the original article. The legal implications that came out of the article being published were horrific. Wakefield went through so many legal battles due to the publication of the paper. Subsequent studies included doing individually testing on the ingredients in the vaccines, which seemed to have no connection and also testing a bigger test

Over the last couple decades the debate over vaccines has been heated. In the last week there seems to have been a renewed interest. This is likely to the recent occurrence of measles around this country. I feel compelled to share some basic information that will hopefully address concerns regarding vaccines. At the very least, my friends and family can know where I stand.

The recent outbreak of measles has cause more debate between people who support vaccinations and anti-vaccination groups. One of the major debates against vaccines is that it is causing autism in children, but, according to CNN, they have found no link to vaccines and the rising number of children with autism (Christensen and Kounang, 1). Andrew Wakefield, “Father of the Anti-Vaccine Movement,” has said that ““The responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of those that have been involved in vaccine policymaking, which is totally inadequate and bordering on dangerous” (Ziv, 1). Vaccines have been proven to be safe, and these arguments continue to be proven to be incorrect.