Vaccines and Development of Autism

(Video: 40 seconds) Vaccinations contain a dead or weakened strand of a virus that is injected into the body so that it can begin fighting the virus and make antibodies.

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).

Vaccines are designed to put foreign antigens into the body so the body will produce antibodies to fight it off. When an antigen is

Many people come into the clinic receiving vaccinations, unsure of how they work. A vaccine is a product that produces immunity

Vaccination is a process by which an individual is made immune to a particular pathogen, typically via injection. To understand vaccines, it is best to first understand how the human immune system works. In his book, Immunobiology (2001) Charles Janeway, a notable immunologist, states that there are two arms to the human immune

In order to understand the importance of a life-saving vaccine, it is essential to learn how they work. Amy Boulanger discusses the process in “What Do You Want to Know About Vaccinations?”. A vaccine injected into one’s body contains a weakened germ, which is responsible for causing that specific virus. By injecting that vaccine, the body is now able to recognize a new virus. It then activates and begins making antibodies. The body also “remembers” that virus. Through this process, immunity to the potentially deadly virus or disease will be quicker, therefore keeping vaccinated people protected from harm (Boulanger) .

Vaccinations are considered to be one of the greatest medical advancements of our time. The first vaccine was created in 1796 and many more have been created since. These deadly diseases such as smallpox, polio, and diphtheria are now being prevented. Since vaccines have been doing their job, we do not see them around anymore. The media is now displaying vaccines in a negative way and people are listening to the misconstrued knowledge. Parents are worried about the risks associated with the vaccines instead of the diseases they are preventing. They believe there may be a link between vaccines and the development of autism. Parents also believe there is an issue with the current immunization schedule. They believe that the children are getting too many vaccines at one time and this might cause other health related problems. This does not only affect the child who is not being vaccinated, it is a danger to children who cannot receive the vaccine due to weakened immune systems or other health related problems. The CDC states that there is no connection between vaccinations and autism. They also state that the immunization schedule is safe. Since more and more children are not being vaccinated, this might cause a global health epidemic in the future. These deadly diseases that were prevented from vaccines may reappear. It is important for health care workers to be up to date on the scientific facts regarding vaccinations so they can provide parents with accurate knowledge.

Vaccines are made up of a weakened version of the bacteria or virus, or dead forms of the organism, or in other cases, an inactivated toxin that is produced by the bacteria. Upon the introduction of vaccine into the body, the immune system is manipulated into thinking that the body is under attack and produces specific antibodies as a defense mechanism. These antibodies stay in the bloodstream, protecting the body against actual infections for months, years or even a lifetime.

The controversy of the link between vaccinations and autism has been a hot topic recently. Many parents claim that the vaccinations their child received resulted in their child’s autism. There have been enormous debates regarding the possibility of a link between vaccinations and the development of autism (Miller, Moro, Cano, & Shimabukuro, 2015; Miller, & Reynolds, 2009; Moro, Arana, Cano, Lewis, & Shimabukuro, 2015; Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014).

… Today, a common topic among those opposed to vaccination that of the link between vaccines and neurological conditions, particularly Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Many argue that ASD and neurological conditions can be triggered or even caused by vaccines, particularly those with the mercury-based preservative known as thimerosal. Aluminum is also present in some vaccines and excess aluminum in the human body is known to cause neurological harm. Also among the many other toxins and carcinogens present in vaccines is Formaldehyde, exposure to which can cause serious side effects, including central nervous system depression. Never ending are the reports of bright-eyed healthy children up until the day of a vaccination, which is closely followed by rapid decline in developmental progress as well as emotional and psychological regression. Although many scientific studies have concluded that vaccines do not cause ASD, anti-vaxxers are skeptical due to the involvement of pharmaceutical companies in the investigations. 9 major studies have been released since 2003 finding no correlation between vaccines and ASD. All 9 of the studies were funded or conducted by the CDC, an organization that profits immensely from vaccine sales. This only adds to the distrust with which so many people seem to think about the pharmaceutical branch of the medical system. Another issue that is commonly discussed among those with a dubious approach to vaccines is that of fast-tracking. That is, if a particularly promising vaccine is developed by a pharmaceutical company, that company may put in a request for that drug to be fast tracked. If the request is approved by the FDA, experiments and safety testing may be accelerated in order to get the drug on the market as soon as possible. The issue with this, is that there is not always enough time allowed to

Let’s talk about the mercury in the vaccines. Some of you may think that the mercury is the culprit that causes autism. Many say big pharmaceutical companies (purposely?) do this. A question I have for this theory is: Why would these people vaccinate if vaccines caused autism?

A vaccine is defined as a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. Vaccinations are an extremely important modern-day tool in helping us prevent potentially deadly diseases, and they are the best defense we have to protect ourselves.

Young children were being given harmful vaccines and immunizations that could cause several side effects like autism, and speech delays, “Tom Verstraeten, who had analyzed the agency 's massive database containing the medical records of 100,000 children, a mercury-based preservative in

A vaccination is an injection of a weakened strain of an infectious microbe or pathogen that causes the body to undergo artificial active immunity (vaccines.gov). The Influenza vaccine is “taken from an influenza virus that has been grown in embryonic hens’ eggs, highly purified and then killed.” Once the antigen enters the body, through an injection or by mouth, a macrophage recognises it as foreign. It engulfs the pathogen and displays the viral antigen on its surface. This actives helper T cells which recognise the antigen on the macrophage. Helper T cells then activates cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which kill infected cells and produce memory T-cells. B-lymphocytes are also activated; some of which are divided into memory B-cells that remember

A vaccine works by tricking the body’s immune system into creating antibodies that fight an innocuous form of the virus. The antibodies then remain in the body, and if the person encounters the real virus, they are protected against it. The history of vaccines actually goes as far back as 200BC India or China, when it was discovered that some diseases do not infect those who have already been infected by it. This discovery led people to infect themselves with inoculated matter, thus protecting them from the disease. The first vaccine dates back to 1796 when Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine using a weakend version of the cowpox disease. The concept of vaccinations through inoculation is considered by many to be one of the great science revelations of the 20th century.