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Vaccination Argumentative Essay

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Lauren Shaak
July 17, 2015

Autism and Vaccination: 5 Things Worth Knowing

Overview
The public debate about autism and vaccines is emotionally charged. Rightly so. No matter the source, parents fear harm and illness befalling their children. The implication that harm stems from vaccination, a practice meant to promote overall wellness is terrifying and angering. Doctors and scientists insist that there is no immediate link between routine vaccination in healthy children and the onset of autism. Parents of children with autism stand in vehement disagreement. The truth of the issue is muddy.

Timing
Many cases of autism are termed “regressive.” A child diagnosed with regressive autism experienced normal, healthy development before the onset of symptoms. In other words, the child was not born with evident developmental impairments. Parents firmly believe that vaccination is the culprit in such cases. Doctors, on the other hand, point out that vaccinations are administered right around the time when symptoms of ASD typically present themselves.

Vaccine Overload …show more content…

Children are inoculated for several diseases at a time, often over the course of several month or years. It makes sense to give vaccines in periodic doses; doing so helps the body develop antibodies over time. The argument, however, is that children are given too many shots at once. Vaccines for MMR, rotavirus, pneumococcal pneumonia, varicella, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, and whooping cough are grouped into conjugate vaccines. Primarily, this saves children—particularly infants—from the undue pain of numerous injections. Anyone hugging a wailing infant is grateful that the child received two injections rather than, say, upwards of five. Still, critics say that the amount of material injected can overload a child’s small and developing body, thereby aggravating an underlying

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