Growing up I remember multiple occurrences of receiving my
yearly immunizations. Even though the doctors visit was rather unpleasant, I
always understood there was a reason they were sticking me with a huge needle
multiple times. My mother said it would help me stay healthy, so why would I
think otherwise? Recently, however, the controversial link between autism and
vaccinations has become more common in the news. Many celebrities speak out
about their choice to not vaccinate their children, and advocate for others to
do the same. While it is the parent’s right to choose whether or not they want
to vaccinate their children, sometimes they are not aware of the implications
their children will face or how they could be harming others.
Autism is a disease that is somewhat a mystery. The causes,
prevention, and detection are still being researched, and a lot of money is
being detected in the hopes of more knowledge and answers. Recent estimates
from the CDC have said that 1 in 68 children in the United States born in 2002
have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). According to the National Institute of
Mental Health, ASD is described by
- Persistent deficits in social communication and social
interaction across multiple contexts;
- Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or
activities;
- Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period
(typically recognized in the first two years of life); and,
- Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in
social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
Children in the US receive many different vaccines around
the age of two, and the symptoms of ASD are coincidentally detected around the
same age. Some parents and others made the connection between vaccines and ASD.
Many people are concerned with the controversial ingredient thimerosal.
Thimerosal is a mercury-based chemical that was once used in the manufacturing
of vaccines to extend the shelf life, but has since been removed since 2001.
While this chemical was removed from the production of vaccines, the prevalence
of ASD has continued to rise. This could be due to many different reasons, such
as better detection and diagnosis to environmental factors.
The court decision in 2009 related to vaccines caused
research to shift towards different causes of ASD. There are studies being
conducted about the relationship between autism and certain environmental
toxins, specifically some that are found in California, genome, autoimmune
diseases, and brain abnormalities. It may be years or even decades before there
is a definitive answer for the cause of autism, but research efforts are still
being conducted and more theories for the cause are being examined every day.
The more common disease outbreaks can be attributed to the
anti-vaccine movement in North America. Herd immunity is a term that relates to
a portion of the population that has been vaccinated and develops immunity and
in turn they protect those who have not been vaccinated. There was a journal
that was published years ago trying to prove that the measles, mumps, and
rubella vaccination was not safe to use. Many people discontinued the use of
the vaccination, and in turn the prevalence of measles has tripled in the
United States in 2013. As long as parents continue to not vaccinate their
children, the rate of diseases that have not been a problem in the United
States for decades will continue to rise.
Research will continue, and theories will be devised on the
true causes of autism, but until then parents should continue to vaccinate
their children to protect them and everyone around them. If not, the rate of
disease will continue to increase in the United States, and perhaps all around
the world.
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