Autism And Vaccination Essay

Improved Essays
The relationship between vaccinations and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one that is very controversial. Annually, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians jointly publish a schedule of recommended immunizations. Children today are routinely vaccinated against 14 diseases during their infancy and preschool years (Miller & Reynolds, 2009). In today’s society, vaccinations are used to prevent childhood diseases and have been very effective for many years (Miller & Reynolds, 2009). There are many questions surrounding the correlation between the diagnosis of autism in a child and vaccinations for childhood diseases. Autism is a serious developmental disorder that …show more content…
Uneducated parents are falling victim to unproven theories of possible links between vaccinations and autism. Although parents believe that vaccinations do prevent childhood diseases, there are still around 40% that believe that vaccinations also cause autism (Mutter, et al., 2007). The medial is an outlet that is used to fuel the debate between vaccinations and autism (Mathis, 2009). The media reports causes people to become scared and confused as to what is the truth. In a sample study of parents of children with autism, these parents trust the doctor’s opinion towards vaccines and feel that their child would benefit if there was an option to give the vaccinations later in life (Mutter, et al., 2007). “Why can’t the vaccinations be given later in life?” These parents feel that since the incidence time of diagnosing autism is usually before three years old, waiting until after that would be a better time to vaccinate the child. Due to skeptic, the vaccination rate has decreased (Mutter, et al., 2007).Through all of the confusion, more children are dying from diseases that are completely preventable (Mathis,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Saad Omer’s “How to Handle the Vaccine Skeptics”: A summary and Analysis In his New York Times essay, “How to Handle the Vaccine Skeptics”, Saad Omer discusses the growing number of outbreaks of diseases once believed to be eradicated. In his article he shifts his gaze to parents who do not wish to vaccinate their kids for nonmedical reasons, most of which he believes are basing their arguments on “false notions like that of a link between autism and the measles vaccine” (Omer). Omer then focuses on how to reduce the number of nonmedical vaccine exemptions.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I Want Your Fear Summary

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hundreds of studies have been conducted on autism and its possible link to vaccinations. The medical community agrees that autism results from abnormalities in the brain and that a vaccine would not cause autism. According to the article, “Autism-Vaccine Link” by WebMD, “Since that initial finding, 14 studies including millions of children in several countries consistently show no significant difference in autism rates between children who got the MMR vaccine than those who didn't.” Children getting autism right after a vaccination does not prove that the vaccination caused the autism. In reality, it remains a mere coincidence and autism does not result from these…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    More than a decades ago, there was a proposed correlation between MMR and autism from the research study. However, this proposal did not proof the statement even though many parents still feels hesitant to administer this vaccination. The author stated that autism is a horrible disease…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ver since the invention of the first smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been plenty of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination and immunization When it comes to immunizing their children, an increasing numbers of parents aren't just relying on their practitioners advice — they're making their decisions based on rumors and advice spread online through websites, message boards, and blogs. Dinner parties or playdate conversations can be enough to instill doubts about vaccine safety or the necessity of giving multiple vaccines in one shot especially for new parents. Even when the science or sources behind anti-immunization stances are proved unreliable or even completely discredited, it can be difficult for some parents to accept that vaccines are safe. How does a medical journal compete with an A list celebrity stating that their child was diagnosed with Autism after receiving an injection.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The reason for the lack of immunization correlated to the misinterpretation of the risks of receiving an immunization such as the fraud of a British study that linked autism back to childhood vaccinations as well as religious beliefs on…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over the past few years, there has been debate over vaccinating children. Many people believe the invalid study that was conducted by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 which linked vaccinations to autism. Others refuse to vaccinate because of toxins in vaccines. This movement against vaccination could potentially lead to a large scale outbreak of diseases that were once thought to be on the path to eradication. I believe that all school aged children should be required to be vaccinated.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vaccine War Essay

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The War on Vaccines The “Vaccine War” produced by PBS, enriched my views on vaccination and it’s benefits, because i didn 't know the power of herd immunity before the documentary. Before, I believed that vaccinations should be up to an individual and they should do as they want. Now, I think that vaccination should be required, due to the high potential risk of turning it down as compared to the risks of adverse reaction due to the vaccines. In regards to the connections between autism and vaccination.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The school has a waiver that parents can sign, signifying that their children did not receive vaccinations because of their religious beliefs. However, there are individuals requesting that all children be vaccinated because of the children that cannot receive vaccinations, such as those with immunodeficiency disorders and those with cancer. There was a frenzy related to the correlation between autism and the MMR vaccination because the symptoms of autism first occur in the same time span that children begin receiving vaccinations. However, this ‘theory’ was disproved by Mrozek-Budzyn, Kieltyka, Majewska, and Augustyniak (2014) when the study found there was no correlation between children’s cognitive development and the exposure of MMR…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    One of the many arguments individuals against vaccines believe is that building immunity through vaccinations is not how immunization would happen in nature. They argue that the chemicals in vaccines are harmful and can potentially develop various other dangerous diseases or disabilities. Often, natural immunity can provide more complete protection from viruses than vaccines, and many parents feel more comfortable leaving immunization up to nature than to risk anything going askew. One common rumor leading to the increase in anti-vacciners is that vaccinations, and the chemicals contained inside, can lead to autism. Parents who wish to not vaccinate their children because of claims such as these would rather choose to opt out of vaccinations…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The notion that children are receiving multiple immunizations and it is leading to autism is flawed in multiple ways. The infant immune system is immediately capable of generating protective responses; vaccinations do not overwhelm the immune system. Vaccinations, although they contain a strain of the disease which aid in the generation of antibodies, do not overpower the immune system. The speculation that an exaggerated or inappropriate immune response to vaccinations precipitates autism is at discrepancy with current scientific data that addresses the pathogenesis of…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Heather Andes Professor Baumgartner English 1020 SG1 Essay #4 Rough Draft August 7, 2014 Autism and Vaccines: A World Torn Between Fact and Fiction Children all around the world receive vaccines. Vaccines are used to protect the general public from preventable diseases and they have been fairly successful. In the past 14 years, there has been a decline in vaccination and a rise in preventable diseases.…

    • 2680 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mandatory Vaccines

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In a recent survey of more than 1,500 parents, one quarter believed that vaccines can cause autism in healthy children, and more than one in 10 had refused at least one recommended vaccine.14 Doing this can not only effect the life of a child, but also that of a parent. If a child is exposed to a disease, the likelihood of an unvaccinated parent contracting the disease from an unvaccinated child is substantially higher than an unvaccinated parent contracting it from a vaccinated child. To prevent a mass plague among a community, parents should continue and start vaccinating their…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vaccines and Autism Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist caused a widespread panic with a now vastly discredited and retracted paper from 1998 that linked the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Since his paper, there has been a ton of scientifically unsupported theories linking vaccines and autism. Many parents also stopped vaccinating their children as a result (Gross, 2016). In 2011, Dr. Mercola published an article titled How to Help Eliminate the Hidden Enemy That Triggers Autism.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A vaccine is a biological preparation that consists of antigens that cause the immune system to produce antibodies to fight certain diseases. Vaccines cause the body to act as if it has been infected with a disease without actually infecting the body. Vaccines are estimated to prevent 2.5 million deaths globally each year and are used in medicine to help control or completely stop the spread of infectious diseases. With the rise of untrustworthy internet blogs and false information spreading to gullible, uninformed parents; child vaccine rates continue to drop as parents fear the rare side effects that could occur and inadequate links to autism. Vaccines are medicine’s greatest lifesavers that have been proven in several experimental trials…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Vaccine War Many illnesses have haunted the humane race for centuries and throughout that time we have developed ways to prevent them and protect our children. So, why are parents now choosing not to vaccinate? Is the anti-vaccination movement decreasing child safety? Does MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine cause autism? How much are our children at risk by the MMR vaccine?…

    • 1502 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays