Vaccine Argumentative Essay

170). Thimerosal was first introduced in the 1930’s and is a preservative that eliminated the bacterial contamination in vaccines, but could possibly sit in the brain and cause neurological damage (Mooney, 2009, p. 60). Before 1989, American preschoolers had to only receive three vaccines; for polio, diphtheria-pertussis, and MMR. In 1999 the FDA and CDC decided that vaccine users should reduce or even get rid of the amount of thimerosal used in vaccines. The CDC also recommended that newborns should wait to get the Hepatitis B vaccination until a thimerosal free vaccination became available (Miller & Reynolds, 2009, p. 170). According to head of the chemistry department at University of Kentucky, Dr. Boyd Haley, “‘You couldn’t even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe, it’s just too darn toxic. If you inject thimerosal into an animal, its brain will sicken. If you apply it to living tissues, the cells die. Knowing these things, it would be shocking if one inject it into an infant without causing damage’” (Kennedy, 2005, p. 59). With the being said, vaccine manufacturers began working to find a way to make a thimerosal-free vaccination, and eventually they made one. Then a decade later, children were receiving a total of 22 vaccinations by the time they started first grade. As the number of vaccines that children needed went up, the autism rate stayed

Throughout research done on the possible link between vaccines and autism, there have been three hypotheses: (1) the combination MMR vaccine causes autism by damaging the intestinal lining, which allows the entrance of encephalopathic proteins; (2) thimerosal, an ethylmercury-containing preservative

Another concern with vaccines is the addition of a form of mercury called thimerosal. “Thimerosal is best known as a preservative used in some vaccines to keep them from becoming contaminated”

But there was studies by the Institute of Medicine, where they gave children eight different vaccines and there were no reports of autism (CDC 1). It is a rare exception if there is some illness caused by the vaccinations. Someone might argue that the ingredients that the vaccine is made of might be the slight chance their child develops autism, but there is also no link. The Institute of Medicine studied thimerosal that is use to prevent contamination of multidose vials of vaccinations. They concluded that the evidence rejects any evidence that the ingredient causes ASD, measles, mumps, or rubella in children. (CDC 1). As a precaution, thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccinations except for some flu

The goal of “Neuropsychological Performance 10 Years After Immunization in Infancy With Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines” study was to investigate if thimerosal has any affect to neuropsychological development (William.). Children who were born in 1992-1993 were conducted in this study. A total of 15,601 healthy children, 2-month-old infants were enrolled in the Italian Trial on Pertussis Vaccines. These children were randomly assigned into four groups, under double blind condition to receive 3 doses of 1 of 4 vaccines, 2 of which were DTaP vaccines from 2 different

He believed that vaccines for mumps, measles, and rubella or MMR are unsafe due to the fact that all these vaccines have thimerosal. Thimerosal prevents contamination and is also a preservative. Thimerosal contains mercury which is harmful for the brain. He claimed, “Government health agencies colluded with Big Pharma to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public. . . . A chilling case study of institutional arrogance, power, and greed” (qtd. in Vaccination Nation, 2012). He concluded that children were poisoned by the pharmaceutical industry. This idea led people to believe vaccines cause autism, which is another danger. The rubella or MMR vaccine contains live microorganisms. According to one article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, written by Bridget Kuahn, “The MMR vaccine can cause febrile seizures and this vaccine can cause inflammation in some individuals with severe immune deficiencies” (2014). This statement proves that vaccines have effects in the brain, which is another reason society believes vaccines can cause autism. Another example of adverse side effects from vaccines is the polio vaccine. The polio disease can trigger the disease in the body. The polio vaccine has “inactivated” polio microorganisms, and can trigger an infection. In the article, Vaccines: The Real Issues in Vaccine Safety, written by Roberta Kwok, a writer. She talks about a father, John, who vaccinated his son. She states, “David,

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Safety Datalink, “Preliminary results from the VSD Thimerosal Screening Study published in 2003 did not find an association between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and recent ecological studies has not found a correlation between thimerosal content of vaccines and autism rates”. Numerous studies by many scientists have been done and prove that Thimerosal and autism are not related. Examples: Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “Multiple studies have shown that thimerosal in vaccines does not cause autism”.

The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (2013) states that vaccines contain a set of ingredients that serve as a vaccination opponents’ main reason against vaccination. However, experts say these ingredients (indicated below) are found in too low amounts to be considered serious (NCIRS, 2013). Adjuvants are used to enhance the immune response to a vaccine. They include aluminium salts which some claim is toxic. However, experts state that there is far less aluminium in the vaccine than there is in common diets and medications (NCIRS, 2013). Moreover, preservatives are used to prevent the fungal and/or bacterial contamination of vaccines. These preservatives include Thiomersal, derived from toxic metal Mercury though found in too small a trace to cause any harm, and Phenoxyethanol, an aromatic ether which resulted in one rare case of eczema (NCIRS, 2014). Lastly, some trace components in vaccines may cause allergies in some people, although this is rare. Vaccines may contain cell cultures, egg proteins, yeast, certain antibiotics and inactivating agents. People with severe allergic reaction to any antibiotic must be assessed by an immunisation provider before being vaccinated. People allergic to egg or yeast can safely take the vaccine, even if they are anaphylactic, as the traces are minute

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

Research has been done, but there still is no definitive answer to whether or not vaccines are directly involved with the onset of autism. An ingredient within children’s vaccines is a mercurial substance called thimerosal has been blamed for being the actual cause of autism in children receiving vaccines (Madsen and Kreesten 1.) The National Academy of Sciences stated “methylmercury (thimerosal) exposure alone may cause neurological problems in 60,000 children in the United States annually” (Rimland, Bernard, and McGinnis 4.)

The measles is one disease that has seen a recent outbreak across the globe. Michael Snyder makes a correlation between the rise of vaccines administered to children and the percentage of ASD in children. The current ASD rates are in “numbers well below 1 in 100 in states like Minnesota... Published studies in the 1970s showed an autism rate of 1 in 10,000, so autism has grown 100-fold, or 10,000%” (Handley). Also according to J. B. Handley, the amount of total shots kids received before the age of five have gone up from 10 to 36 since 1989 and there have been tens of thousands of cases in which parents report their children being diagnosed with ASD after getting these childhood vaccines. “Vaccines are known to cause brain damage, and parents report regression and later autism after getting them” (Handley). The ingredients in these vaccines are also what parents believe are the causes of impaired brain development in their children. One particular ingredient that is getting attention is thimerosal which contains the element mercury, the most toxic and dangerous

There are diseases such as autism that is frequently linked with vaccinations. This has been a recent topic in the news and has cause quite the uproar. In a recent program on PBS, the topic of vaccinations and their actual relation to autism is discussed. The program initially focuses on “our faulty risk perceptions around vaccines, how many people are vastly more scared than they ought to be of a tiny risk (vaccination) while ignoring a huge one, the return of deadly diseases” (Mooney). The program shows a “tough scene of a tiny infant suffering from whooping cough, its mother weeping, nurses running in constantly to sit the baby up (he cannot even raise himself) so that he does not choke” (Mooney). The episode then takes a turn to focus on an autistic 16-year-old living in the United States. Her condition was initially, said to be caused from the MMR vaccination she received at birth. The mother of the girl says how “the studies that were originally thought to link the MMR vaccination to autism were proven false” (Mooney). This documentary lays out the “overwhelming science demonstrating the safety of vaccines and also shows you how the immune system

Kelley King Heyworth noted that, “Many people believe that the increased number of vaccines… are to blame for the rise in kids with autism spectrum disorders (Heyworth) .” The main ingredient that was believed to cause autism was Thimerosal. The CDC released a statement saying that even after the ingredient was removed from all children's vaccines and most flu shots, the number of kids with autism disorders continued to increase ("Thimerosal in Vaccines"). If thimerosal in vaccines really causes autism then the numbers of children diagnosed with ASD would not have continued to increase after this ingredient was

The number of individuals who are unvaccinated or infected in the United States has increased (Sun). Vaccines recommended for children are crucial and result in fewer health risks and greater healthy lifestyles. Proponents agree that vaccines are safe and effective, while opponents disagree and believe that vaccines create more negative outcomes than positive ("Should Any Vaccines..."). Opponents attempt to influence and persuade the majority of individuals to stray away from their viewpoints relating to the encouragement of vaccinating children. The rising percentage of children and parents who reject immunization and protest safe vaccines indicate less triumph for sufficient immunization for the population. There are many detrimental risks that affect unvaccinated children, and supporting childhood vaccinations profoundly benefits each parent and child.

Mercury can also be found in the compound called thimerosal, which is used as a preservative for vaccines. Not long ago, when this information was introduced to the public, there was a scare which caused a decline in the amount of vaccines given to young children. To me, not vaccinating a child seems more dangerous than exposing the child to a trace amount of mercury. The article states how the FDA has been trying to ban the use of thimerosal, which they have been successful in doing in most drugs, besides the flu vaccine.