Preview

Autism And Vaccines

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1835 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Autism And Vaccines
The Controversy of Autism and Vaccines

Recently, there has been a decline in children receiving vaccines due to the autism scare. The controversy linking autism and vaccines continues today even though the claim has been refuted by research while the benefits outweigh the risks. Vaccines not only protect children from life threatening diseases but build their immunity. Autism on the other hand is not a fatal disorder, it is a neurological disorder that regresses and can range from moderate to severe. There are many misunderstandings about what autism is and possible treatments when accurately diagnosed. Evidence has shown that the research presented that connects autism to vaccines was in fact fraud. A researcher by the name of Andrew Wakefield
…show more content…
These are just a few of the diseases that immunizations protect against, and ensure the health of our community. So why would parents opt not to protect their children? It is obvious that the benefits tremendously outweigh the risks. Autism should not be an excuse for parents not to protect their children. A decision to vaccinate not only our children but ourselves as well is a decision to help protect the entire communities from diseases which are spread by person-to-person contact. By not vaccinating puts the individual and community at risk. When immunization programs achieve high levels of immunity or the "herd" immunity as scientists refer to that means "the indirect protection of a community, including unvaccinated individuals" (Statcher 6.) The probability that an infected person may spread the disease to a susceptible individual is greatly decreased. "Community immunity provides indirect protection to children who may be too young for certain vaccinations or have other health problems that prevent them from being immunized, yet are still susceptible to the disease" (Statcher 6.) According to the CDC research suggest that the …show more content…
It is a disorder that is connected to abnormal biology and chemistry within the brain and is genetically a problem. Also, autism appears within the first three years of life. A child can seem developmentally normal and meeting all milestones that are age appropriate and then begins to regress; hence autism is a regressive disorder. The increase of autism in children is due to the new types of the disorder. For example, cancer has various types, breast, prostate, leukemia, bone, lung, etc. Autism has a wide spectrum as well from moderate, where the individual has hyperactivity and unable to focus on one given task while a more sever type would include a non verbal person along with behavior problems and may be violent. "Other pervasive developments disorders include: Asperser Syndrome, Rhett Syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder" (Signs of Autism 5.) Most autistic patients are sensitive to sensory and have an increased senses, such as touch. In an interview with a pastor whose son is autistic, explains his child's diagnosis. At birth, Pastor adopted a little boy. At eighteen months during the routinely visit at his pediatrics clinic he inquired his physician about some behavioral issues that he was concerned about. Not only was his son throwing violent tantrums but unlike other autistic children he

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Do Vaccines Matter

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Parents blame vaccines for issues with their children because their child’s speaking is stopped or slowed or deteriorating behavior. A.J Smuskiewicz states in defense of vaccines ” Public health experts note that all reliable scientific data shows that any side effects and complications that might occur with vaccines are usually minor and within acceptable risk limits”(Smuskiewicz). He defends vaccines through an unstated study about how vaccines usually have small implications and autism is a large implication and autism may not be related to vaccines. Another study done in 2001 states that there isn't enough information to say vaccines cause Autism and they have not found a connection between them yet stated in the Vaccinations Under Scrutiny: An Overview,…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Today one in every 150 children has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum; 20 years ago that statistic was one in 10,000” (Mooney, 2009, p. 58). There are many vaccines that are administered to children today that protect them from measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, tetanus, invasive Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) infections, etc. (Miller & Reynolds, 2009, p. 167). Among these and many other diseases children are currently being vaccinated against 14 diseases, and these take place from infancy until the start of kindergarten. These childhood vaccinations are given as early as they can be to make sure the children are protected against any diseases that can occur in their early childhood (Miller & Reynolds, 2009, p. 167). Many parents have begun to question the need for these vaccines, and if these vaccines are possibly leading to their children developing a form of autism. The health providers that administer the vaccinations are required to provide documentation of all the parts of the vaccination. This includes the lot number, product, site of administration, and method. If something would happen to go wrong with the vaccinations, and the parents would need to contact the administrator, they could then track the vaccination if there could be a possible recall on that particular vaccine (Miller & Reynolds, 2009, p. 167). According to Miller & Reynolds, “In 1986, The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was passed to provide compensation for those found to be harmed by specific vaccines. This Act also requires healthcare providers to report any serious adverse events within 30 days of administration” (Miller & Reynolds, 2009, p. 167). The on-going mystery right now is whether or not these various vaccines lead to autism.…

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vaccines Pros And Cons

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The CDC reports that all vaccines pose a life threatening risk of allergic reaction, anaphylaxis. Vaccines also may produce other side effects. Typical side effects are of minor nature including: a rash or swelling at site of infection, itching, a mild fever, headache, dizziness, nausea, and muscle or joint pain. However, encountering any reaction is a one in one million chance. In addition, some anti-vaccine advocates believe vaccines have a direct link to debilitating illnesses. Asthma, autism, SIDS, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and more are feasible illnesses attributed to vaccine side effects. The greatest and most pressing concern for vaccines is the possible link to autism. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield and colleagues published a case series in the Lancet, concerning children who had behavioral and personality changes after receiving vaccinations. The series received wide-spread publicity and caused vaccination rates to decrease. Twelve years, after publishing the article was retracted as the findings found were proved inconclusive and highly selective (Eggertson E199-E200). Numerous studies resulted in insufficient evidence to know whether vaccines are the root of health conditions (“Vaccine Myths…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wakefield's Autism Study

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After reading the article and watching the videos regarding Wakefield’s autism study, I think that the Lancet was justified in retracting Wakefield’s research paper. Firstly, Wakefield consistently changed the participants’ medical histories to support his hypothesis that MMR vaccines will induce the likelihood of autism and bowel disease. His action was very unprofessional and despicable because scientific discovery should be based on actual evidence; however, in this case, the evidence that Wakefield used were mainly fabricated data. After obtaining the initial clinical reports and observations of the study, the committee found out that none of the information mentioned in the study in regards to the MMR vaccines correlate with the actual…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some people believe that not immunizing their children is better for them. They believe that the vaccination will harm their children more than the actual disease will. Since most of the disease we vaccinate against are rare, parents don't believe there is a chance of their child contracting the disease. Considering that these diseases are rare, parents have never seen the side effects of most of the diseases. They believe that there are chemicals in the vaccines that can cause their child to develop other conditions such as Autism.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some people are strongly against vaccinating their children. They feel it is unsafe and can even lead to autism. There have been many reported cases where vaccines have actually done a lot of harm. As the amount of vaccines being administered to children has risen, so has the percentage of children with autism. This is ground-breaking evidence to the anti-vaccine movement. They assume that the more vaccines a child receives, the higher they go up on the autism spectrum. It is believed that a child starts to show signs of autism around the time they are receiving an abundance of vaccinations. In addition to autism, they claim that it is too dangerous to inject infants with such harsh viruses and bacteria. They can not fight this off properly,…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Parents do have the freedom of choice, in many cases, to decline vaccinations for their children. Also some children cannot get the vaccines because of medical conditions such as leukemia or other childhood cancers. Because of mass vaccination there has been a steep decline in these diseases. A large number of developed countries experience this which is called “herd immunity.” People who have not or could not get vaccinated are protectioned slightly based on the idea that marjority of children and adults they encounter are vaccinated . Immunization has minimized the threat of outbreak and exposure to communicable diseases . Coincidentally many believe the vaccinated are protecting the unvaccinated. This is one of the many reasons we should encourage parents to vaccinate. This can help protect the children who are too ill or unable to be vaccinated. The increases in denial to vaccinate can destroy the system of “herd immunity” and cause outbreaks of vaccine preventable…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The biggest reason parents choose not to vaccinate their children is the belief that it causes horrible side effects. This belief stems from the controversy surrounding the MMR vaccine. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a study linking the vaccine and autism. Proven fraudulent, the journal that published the study retracted it, and Wakefield lost his medical license. “Since then, large studies have found no connection between vaccines and Autism” (Knopf 1). This one false study, however, created the long-standing belief and rumor of dangerous…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vaccines are responsible for minimizing the risk of many deadly diseases and even eradicating some completely. People today are privileged enough to live during a time where the fear of dying from a disease like measles or smallpox is negligible. Even so vaccines are not without dissenters. There is a segment of humanity that believes there is a credible association between vaccines and rising autism rates. The following articles will show that there are varying ideas on the best way to disprove vaccination opponents, yet no solid solution has been reached on how to convince vaccination opponents that their fears are unfounded.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over 40,000 people die each year from diseases like I noted earlier, and it could have been prevented if they just would have got their vaccinations. I believe that some parents don’t prefer them because they over think and get scared because they don’t really know what is specifically in the vaccine but studies show that a lot less children and adults and prevented by certain diseases because they went and did what they had to do to stay safe.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr. Andrew Wakefield conducted an experiment in regards to vaccinations. His experiment had caused him his license and he was convicted for the misleading of people to believe that vaccinations were harmful and caused autism. “The fact that so many individuals were at risk for the disease because of their lack of vaccination is a significant threat to public health in the United States. This trend originated from parents fearing that the vaccine could cause autism. In 1998, British researcher Andrew Wakefield suggested in a published report that the MMR vaccine triggered autism. This study was determined to be fraudulent in 2011, and the article was retracted by the journal. However, its influence remains strong despite widespread press coverage and discussion. Many parents of autistic children still believe that autism is directly linked to vaccines and their preservatives, including the mercury-based thimerosal that was the original topic of the study by Wakefield. Thimerosal was removed from vaccines following the study in 1998 to try to reassure parents that the vaccines were safe. Despite this removal and the debunking of the study by Wakefield, many parents continue to fear that vaccination could cause autism in their children. (Pierce)”. “The article discusses an outbreak of measles in southwest Wales that some connect to claims made by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in the late 1990s about an alleged link between autism and immunization for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). At the time, many parents reacted by refusing to get their children immunized. Between November 2012 and early July 2013, 1219 new cases of measles were reported in southwest Wales. (WHALEN)”. The medical board felt that the experiment made by Dr. Wakefield was not relevant and that he had to be removed for making people believe something that was not true. “The UK researcher who…

    • 1900 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These parents will risk their children contracting preventable diseases just to make sure they’re not handicapped in anyway, and in my opinion, that seems like bad parenting. In “Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child,” the author compares getting children immunized to the “importance of car seats” for babies, and I couldn’t agree more. If I were a parent, I would want to go to the greatest lengths possible for my child to give them the healthiest life possible, and I don’t feel that parents supporting the anti-vaccination movement are really doing…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mandatory Vaccination

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Alesha E. Doan and Kellee Kirkpatrick, professors at the University of Kansas, do not support mandatory vaccination of children based on the grounds of ethics behind immunization companies. For example, the Gardasil vaccination. Merck, the company behind Gardasil, is pushing Gardasil to be a mandatory vaccination. “Experts predict that Gardasil sales could net Merck between $1.6 and $2 billion dollars annually (Smith, 2006). Making the vaccine mandatory, which requires injecting three doses per individual at a price of approximately $360 per dose, could increase those projected profits.” (301) Karin Gross and colleges the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, do not support mandatory vaccinations because immunizations are not natural, therefore, they can overload the child’s small immune system. For example, a mother experienced her child become sick from an immunization. “He reacted very strongly, he was afterwards constantly sick, well, he was permanently sick.” (4) Stephanie Cave, integrative medical practitioner at Cyprus Integrative Medicine, does not support mandatory vaccinations because vaccines contain harmful toxins that can lead to physical and mental problems. While Cave does state there is not a direct link between vaccinations and autism, she cites a study in which children with autism had higher concentrations of mercury in their teeth than children without autism.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Children Vaccinations

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Those same individuals also believe the rate of Autism cases has risen since the vaccination of children has become more of a common thing to do in todays’ society. What these people fail to realize is even though the number of vaccinations from late 1990 to 2012 has increased, the amount of antigens in the vaccines has decreased in a great amount. Frank Destefano who is the director of the Immunization Safety Office of the CDC explained in an article “that the dramatic reduction occurred because vaccines have become more precise in the way they stimulate the immune system”.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vaccines are an essential part of preventative care throughout life. Their purpose is to protect people and prevent them from catching diseases that can be dangerous and even life threatening . Before vaccines were created, almost everyone in the U.S. contracted the measles and a about couple hundred would die yearly from it. Today, it’s rare for a doctor to see someone infected with measles. The development of vaccines is a long and complex process that takes about 10-15 years. Vaccines protect people and those who cannot get vaccinated due to either being too young or allergic, there are a few people who voluntarily opt out from having their children getting vaccinated. People of the anti-vaccine movement refuse to have their children vaccinated because of their personal beliefs, and in return can be threatening for those who are unable to be vaccinated due to age, health and pregnancy. Even though there has been evidence that autism is not linked to vaccines, many people still refuse to have their children vaccinated. While some children are being protected by others that are vaccinated, it is only weakening the immunity herd as vaccinations decline. Immunity herd is when a large portion of the community is immunized against contagious disease in which there is a less chance of an outbreak. For those who cannot get…

    • 1778 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics