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
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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
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).
For recurrent generations, there encompasses numerous controversies surrounding vaccinations for children in addition to the unfavorable reactions that may arise. The chief concerns are whether vaccinating causes serious developmental delays such as autism in children. The aim of this composition is to enlighten others that vaccinating children does not bring about autism. By means of scientific exploration along with advanced medical diagnosis in children, researchers currently recognize that the increase in autism claims are not vaccine linked.
Vaccines do not Cause Autism Outline Thesis Statement: Autism a neurological disorder not related to bad behavior and by researching the controversial topic, disproving the myth that vaccines can cause autism. 1. What is autism? a. Definition - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder defined by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities (What Is Autism, n.d.). b. Rate of incidence – Results from the CDC - 1 in 69children has been identified with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder, 2018).
vaccinations are said to cause autism and other mental disorders for the children later on
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
One subject that has been very controversial for many years is the role of vaccinations causing Autism spectrum disorder in children. Since Eric Gallup was a healthy baby until he received was his first measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in 1986. His parent noticed his behavior and ability to communicate after took the vaccinated. Eric had a serious reaction to the vaccine, according to his parent. In the year of 1989, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Eric Gallup’s parents developed a hypothesis that childhood vaccine was responsible for Eric's autism spectrum disorder.
“You have to follow your own heart when it comes to medical decision-making,” stated author and mother Emily Matchar when voicing her opinion on childhood vaccines. When it comes to vaccine parents are given the privilege to exempt their child based on medical, religious, or philosophical values, varying by state. This has allowed many to deviate from the original meaning of these exemptions and manipulate them as they see fit. This has helped to fuel the anti-vaccine movement that pushes for parents to fully decide which vaccines their child will receive without government regulations. Since 1998, the movement has harassed the public health community. With the introduction of incomplete, faulty research that “proved” Autism Spectrum Disorder
Chronic illnesses such as autism are said to have a relationship with these vaccinations, however,
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).
The risk of Autism through vaccination theory was once again disproved by a study conducted in 2013 by the Journal of Pediatrics. At the head of the study was Dr. Frank DeStefano, who is the director of the Immunization Safety Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study was conducted using 256 children who had autism and 752 children who did not (Lindeman para 3). By looking at “antigens, the substances in vaccines that cause the body’s immune
Ever since the invention of vaccines, there has been debates going on between whether or not vaccines cause autisms. In the past couple of decades, there has been a decrease in children receiving vaccines by the autism fright. The dispute between vaccination still continue even to this day even though the claim that vaccines cause autism have been proven by research as false while the benefits of vaccines have outweighed the risks. Vaccines protect small children from life threatening diseases but build their immune system to help in defending
This essay explores how many people have tried to link Autism and vaccines, and it continues to be a heated source of controversy.
In America, nearly half of the parents refuse to vaccinate their children because of the fears that have been inputted in their head through the media. If the child wishes to attend school, they will need vaccinations against serious diseases like polio, rubella, and mumps. These vaccinations are needed to make sure there is no outbreak of deadly infectious diseases again. In the past decade, as the occurrence of many diseases has fallen drastically as the result of new vaccinations, some American parents have decided to not vaccinate their children, due to the fear of side effects, but there is no scientific evidence to back those theories up. Vaccination rates are declining due to a growing culture of distrust in “big pharma” (1). Not vaccinating
Many believe the measles mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine triggers autism spectrum disorder in some children. Many Hollywood celebrities in the acting community that have birthed children that suffer from autism spectrum disorder have concluded that this is how their child developed autism. These celebrities being very vocal about this link between vaccinations and autism spectrum disorders and have in turn influenced the increase in many ordinary middle-class parents refraining from getting the medically recommended vaccinations for their children. The medical community has done extensive research on this theory. However, to this date no reliable study shows a link between autism spectrum disorder and the measles mumps-rubella vaccine. In fact, the medical community have continued to recommend childhood vaccinations and continue to emphasis the danger of a non vaccinated child catching and spreading serious diseases like whooping cough (pertussis), measles and mumps (Mayo Clinic, 2012).
Despite significant progress in the fight against preventable disease, millions still die needlessly each year. According to UNICEF, originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a vaccine preventable disease is responsible for 2 million fatal infections worldwide each year. About 75% of these deaths occur in children under five years of age. (N) In more vivid terms, UNICEF notes that vaccine-preventable diseases kill a child every 20 seconds. (D) Due to high rates of childhood vaccination, the United States has experienced a dramatic reduction in such deaths. A comparison of the years 1950 and 2010 clearly illustrates the benefits of vaccinations. During this 60-year period, deaths from diphtheria reduced from 410 to 0, tetanus from 336 to 3, pertussis from 1,118 to 26, and polio from 1,904 to 0. Measles deaths dropped from 468 in 1950 to 0 in 2008, the last year a United States death rate was recorded. It’s not surprising that vaccinations have been touted as one of the top ten health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).