Childhood diseases are nearly a problem of bygone days. Modern generations of parents no longer have to worry about the fear of their child living in an iron lung, suffering from polio, or having a child go deaf from contracting mumps. The introduction of vaccines has helped the number of infected children sharply drop. However, in the past decade certain childhood illnesses have become more prevalent in the United States, specifically cases of measles and pertussis. The increase in cases for these diseases can be partially attributed to parents refusing or delaying mandatory vaccinations because of their fear of complications or the chemicals within the vaccines.
At birth an infant’s immune system is not fully developed. Their immune system …show more content…
These diseases are what are commonly referred to a childhood illnesses. Prior to the introduction of lifesaving vaccines, contracting at …show more content…
This scare exploded in the late 90’s when a study by Dr. A. J. Wakefield claimed to find that the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine helped spur autism in over half of the patients studied. This caused parents throughout Western civilization to reconsider injecting their children with the MMR vaccine. However, several subsequent studies disproved Wakefield’s study entirely. In fact, 10 of the 13 authors have since denounced the study, and parts of Wakefield’s data were proven to be altered to produce his results (New York Times). Later examinations of Wakefield’s “study” found no controls and relied heavily on parent’s memory rather than tests (Godlee). Furthermore, it was later found that every single child’s data had some form of fabrication (Godlee). Other, more recent, studies affirm the exact opposite of Wakefield’s study. A study from Poland published in 2010 as well as a study done in Japan published in 2012 both confirmed that the MMR vaccine had no effect on whether or not a child would develop an Autism Spectrum Disorder (Mrozek-Budzyn; Uno). Furthermore, the main ingredient that people who oppose vaccinating their children, Thimerosal, is no longer present in the vaccines used for childhood diseases (Biba). Anti-Vaccine advocates continually dwell on scientific, vaccine information that is no longer
At birth an infant’s immune system is not fully developed. Their immune system …show more content…
These diseases are what are commonly referred to a childhood illnesses. Prior to the introduction of lifesaving vaccines, contracting at …show more content…
This scare exploded in the late 90’s when a study by Dr. A. J. Wakefield claimed to find that the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine helped spur autism in over half of the patients studied. This caused parents throughout Western civilization to reconsider injecting their children with the MMR vaccine. However, several subsequent studies disproved Wakefield’s study entirely. In fact, 10 of the 13 authors have since denounced the study, and parts of Wakefield’s data were proven to be altered to produce his results (New York Times). Later examinations of Wakefield’s “study” found no controls and relied heavily on parent’s memory rather than tests (Godlee). Furthermore, it was later found that every single child’s data had some form of fabrication (Godlee). Other, more recent, studies affirm the exact opposite of Wakefield’s study. A study from Poland published in 2010 as well as a study done in Japan published in 2012 both confirmed that the MMR vaccine had no effect on whether or not a child would develop an Autism Spectrum Disorder (Mrozek-Budzyn; Uno). Furthermore, the main ingredient that people who oppose vaccinating their children, Thimerosal, is no longer present in the vaccines used for childhood diseases (Biba). Anti-Vaccine advocates continually dwell on scientific, vaccine information that is no longer