Childhood Vaccines Lead to Autism, Fact? or Fiction?
Childhood Vaccines Lead to Autism, Fact? Or Fiction? “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. Many families are saying that they have taken their son or daughter to get their vaccines, and shortly after their kid(s) become sick, and act differently than