The Anti Vaccination Movement :

In summary, there is no contest between the science community and the anti-vaccinations movement. Any fact brought up by the anti-vaccine movement may be discredited by reviewing credible research. So why do so many parents not believe that vaccines are safe? One reason may be in the increase in the cases of autism. The number of cases in California has grown by seven to eight fold since 1990 (UC Davis). However, currently there is only speculation for the increase. In an article by Maria Cone for Scientific American, Cone mentions new research connecting autism to environmental factors such as household chemicals. "It's time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California,”

In these blog post “Enough is Enough with Blaming ‘Anit-Vaxxers’” by Modern Alternative Health and “Enough is Never Enough with Blaming ‘Anit-Vaxxers’” by SciBabe, they each gave their opinions about vaccination choice and their reaction to the 2015 measles outbreak at Disneyland. While Scibabe is more on the offensive side and pointing out Modern Alternative Health’s flaws, Modern Alternative Health stays more on the defensive side in order to get her point across. Just one thing that both of these blogs post can agree on is that children are suffering one way or another, no doubt about it, the children are the first priority.

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,

Vaccines are helpful. They heal sick people, prevent diseases, and strengthen immune systems. In the words of Bartoszewska, Patel, and Carter-Blanks, “Since their discovery, some of the world’s deadliest diseases have been eradicated, countless others have been prevented, and hope continues to be found as new and improved vaccinations are being developed” (283). Yet as the efficiency of vaccines keeps growing, so does the number of people opposed to them. The anti-vaccination movement, or AVM for short, is the term used to describe the growing wave of hesitancy or outright refusal to vaccinate. This normally would not be so controversial; however, some parents who are anti-vax also refuse to vaccinate their children, which is incredibly serious. It is important for us to understand the anti-vaccination movement because we as people do not make decisions in a vacuum, we make decisions in an environment with other people and those decisions usually tend to affect those other people. This issue is largely a psychological issue, and just as psychology can help people understand other people, it can also help us understand anti-vaccinators.

When it comes to anti-vaxxers, I think child abuse. Fear-mongers and false prophets have come forward to preach about the evils of vaccination and all the harm it is doing to children. When in reality it is hurting our children by not vaccination them. Anti-vaxxers use a shock and awe approach, with no credible evidence, they parade around autistic children and claim that their brain abnormality is caused by the MMR vaccine. All evidence that has come forward to support this has been debunked. According to the World Health Organization, in the article “10 facts on immunization” “Over 1 million infants and young children die every year from pneumococcal disease and rotavirus diarrhea … these deaths can be prevented through vaccination”.

The anti-vaccination movement started from a falsified doctor report that took off when famous people, who had a wide audience, started to spread the information without checking the facts. While the rise of vaccinations increased the chances of people not obtain a virus, people will forever be skeptical of medicine that will prevent the disease due to the fact the information is not easy to understand. This paper will begin with the Italian government having certain regulations to keep school children healthy by mandating all children getting the vaccination before they can enter their school. Then how they polled parent to see if they would listen to their doctor if they had recommended a vaccination that was not forced by the government.

Anti-Vaccination, it is a dangerous movement that recently began and is killing hundreds of innocent children. Certain vaccinations should be mandatory for the health and safety of our children and communities because parents who do not vaccinate their children not only put themselves at risk, but other innocent children.

During the course of this paper, I hope to demonstrate my grasp on applied anthropology (changing human behavior through the usage and understanding of anthropological concepts and ideas)(textbook pg 38), and value free philosophy (the aversion of personal viewpoints interjected)(page 44) to argue in the favor of criminal charges for citizens that do not choose to vaccinate, a subject of medical anthropology as it concerns culture and its effect on health, (page 12). I will be operating from the specialized role of an impact assessor, who measures the effect of a particular policy or program on people and the consequences of that policy as it affects those people and those around them, (page 40). As the impact assessor, I will be

Vaccinations have been around for many years, preventing many generations from encountering harmful diseases that at one time lead to death. Recently, there has been an anti-vaccine movement composed of parents debating over whether or not their child’s safety is in the best interest due to harmful side effects that have been identified when it comes to specific vaccines. The CDC recommends each child have a set of sixteen different vaccinations by the age of 6 years old, of those being the MMR which comes in 2 separate doses. By giving children vaccines there is an opportunity to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to other children and gives the whole society the chance to build immunity against an outbreak. Even though the incidence of many diseases has fallen drastically due to the result of these vaccination programs, individuals who are apart of the anti-vaccine movement continue to forgo their children from receiving the vaccinations, like the MMR vaccine because of the fear of possible side effects, including autism. Scientists and doctors are using their voices to show that science has found no link that the MMR vaccine causes autism, while most anti-vaccine movement members have chosen to use the false information as their explanation for not vaccinating their children. Parents should always be given the right to choose what they think is best for the children, but given the health benefits, safety precautions and scientific evidence of low incidence rates

The first argument that I found compelling – in the manner that someone with little formal training in science might be susceptible to – was the claim that there are unnatural and dangerous chemicals and poisons in vaccines. Through looking at a short list provided by the Healthy Home Economist, you can see things that would make any parent nervous: formaldehyde, aluminum, mercury, antifreeze, and many more. These are dangerous chemicals, and the anti-vaccine movement argues that they should not be injected into the bloodstreams of children, which sounds absolutely reasonable. However, the key here is dosage. A large dose of anything can be dangerous; you can drown in water, or have your kidneys fail incurring hyponatremia if you drink too much water without replenishing sodium lost through sweat during intense exercise. The same principle occurs here. Formaldehyde is ever present in day to day life. It is found in car exhaust, household products such as carpets, upholstery, and paint, and even in cough drops and mouthwash. In low doses, it is not harmful. Aluminum is also consumed on a daily basis, with the average adult consuming 30 to 50 mg per day through food, drinking water, and medicines. Vaccines that contain aluminum typically contain .125 to .625mg, which is only 1% of what is consumed daily regardless of vaccination. Mercury is perhaps the easiest to dismiss, as it naturally exists in breast milk and

According to Rao & Andrade (2011), Andrew Wakefield and 12 of his partners carried out a selective unethical sample on few children to support their idea and the result gotten from their case study was released to the public through Lancet, suggesting that measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, commonly called MMR may affect children’s behavior and damage their developmental growth (MMR vaccine is likely going to set off autism) in 1998. The public received the false information with good faith and lo and behold the MMR vaccination rates started dropping due to the erroneous report.

When parents are trying to decide whether to vaccinate their child, they generally research the risks and benefits of vaccination. Johnson and Capdevila stated that in their study, “The participants stated that they had learned about… vaccinations through media coverage, the Internet, health professionals… and other mothers” (2014.) The media can be seen as friend or foe because they always cover popular controversies; however, it is well known that what mass media publishes isn’t always truthful or accurate. For instance, when Wakefield published his study regarding the MMR vaccination and autism in 1998, it sparked the media’s interest. The study became well known and many parents such as the celebrity Jenny McCarthy decided that they were against vaccinations.

In similar fashion to government employees lobbying against climate change, there are special interest groups which promote the belief that vaccine’s cause Autism or are generally unnecessary. Despite all evidence to the contrary, in recent years support for the anti vaccine campaign has grown. Statistics from the last year indicate that one in ten United States citizens consider vaccines to be dangerous. However, it is this unfounded fear which may prove to be dangerous to the population. In recent years’ diseases which were once though to be rare in the United States have started infecting young children and other vulnerable individuals. While uncommon infectious diseases continue to emerge with greater frequency, more parents are opting not to vaccinate their children. Families choosing against vaccination may cite personal or religious reason and still enroll their children in public school while failing to meet state requirements. Up until now, this has not had a significant effect on public health due to herd immunity. Since majority of citizens being vaccinated, those who are not are still protected. However, as the public’s opinion on vaccination becomes increasingly negative, the percent of the population receiving vaccines may drop. If this were to occur,

In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield and 12 of his medical colleagues published research claiming the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine was linked to causing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children (Rao et al., The MMR Vaccine). Though these claims have now been debunked, along with Mr. Wakefield’s medical certification, a new anti-vaccine movement has spiraled out of control in the United States. Influenced by the Wakefield publication, actress Jenny McCarthy fed the anti-vaccine fire when she claimed her son contracted autism after being vaccinated. Though the CDC and FDA have proven there is no link between vaccines and autism, many still believe this false claim ignited by McCarthy. Since then, parents across the country have advocated for vaccine-free children, even though it is required to attend public schools. Many believe their children’s immune systems are being negatively affected by the ingredients of vaccines, when really our immune systems adapt to vaccines to fight off diseases that at one time killed millions. Parents believe they are responsible for making their children’s healthcare decisions, and that the government should not have any say on what happens to our bodies. However, vaccination is not a choice, it is a civil responsibility. It is necessary to continue requiring vaccination to maintain herd

Vaccinations are one of the greatest medical achievements known to man. Diseases that may have been occurring decades ago, are now increasingly rare because of vaccines. Measles, polio, rotavirus, pertussis (whooping cough), neuropils influenza, diphtheria, and several other illnesses are prevented due to the phenomenon that is a vaccine. Sixteen types of diseases are now preventable, and lifespan has increased thirty years thanks to vaccines. However, there have been several arguments about the vaccine between parents and physicians for as long as the vaccine has existed. There have been various conspiracies that have been researched online. The most argued theory is: “The MMR shot is a cause of Autism”. Even though doctors have backed up that this statement is not true with medical evidence, parents seem to still go against their physician’s advice and don’t get their children vaccinated. The decision to not vaccinate a child has been a controversial issue widely discussed. Not vaccinating a child may seem like a safe and healthier route, but in reality, it may be the most harmful option.