The Role of Vaccines in Autism - Research Paper Example

The Role of Vaccines in Autism Children will have natural immunity when they are born, as certain antibodies will pass from the mother to the fetus in the womb before birth, thereby protecting the baby from certain type of infections. Breast milk is also enriched with a lot of effective antibodies and so breastfeeding will protect the baby further. However, this natural immunity will normally wears off within the first year, thus exposing the child to various diseases and infections. This is where the role of external vaccinations assumes significance. Vaccination is the process during which ‘tuned’ or ‘modified’ versions of viruses and bacteria will be injected into the child’s body. They ‘without causing’ any harm to the child will help the child body produce antibodies, which will stay in the body for a longer time, fighting off viruses and bacteria in future as well. However, this vaccination process is not without controversy because there is a view among particular sections of population that it could lead to Autism. Autism is a developmental disorder of brain function. Symptoms of Autism usually occur before the age of 3 and include; impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and imagination, and unusual or severely limited activities or interests. People with Autism can exhibit a wide variety of symptoms and behaviors, thus Autism is considered a spectrum disorder. The exact cause of Autism was not yet cornered. However, researches believe it can be caused by specific genes. Other researchers link Autism with vaccinations. Still others believe toxins and pollutants could cause it. Among these reasons for Autism, the reason that vaccination could cause Autism has been subject of controversy for some time, with one section opposing it while another section believing it. Description of controversy / topic The crux of the controversy is that vaccines given to children as part of immunization for various diseases could act adversely and could damage the brain regions leading to Autism. This controversial news entered the public domain in 1998, when British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield and his team published an article in The Lancet focusing on the detrimental role of MMR vaccines in causing Autism. (Godlee, Smith and Marcovitch 77). Wakefield and his team examined the digestive tracts of 12 children with behavioral disorders, nine of them being Autistic, who were given MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. On examination, they found that the 9 Autistic children had inflammation of the intestines. Based on this observation, they conjectured that inflamed intestines let toxins loose in the bloodstream, which then traveled to the brain, affecting it and causing Autism. (Mooney). These findings sparked instant media frenzy in Britain and then spread to United States as well. With relation between vaccines and Autism put forward, researchers in US came up with an additional finding regarding the contents of the vaccine. That is, many vaccines at that time including MMR contained Thimerosal, a preservative to make vaccines safer. However, Thimerosal is made up of 50 percent mercury and as mercury is considered to be a potent neurotoxin which could affect brain, vaccines were further considered to be a main risk factor of Autism. The government banned as well as restricted the use of Thimerosal. Also, many studies conducted by leading researchers came up with conclusions that vaccines do not cause Autism. However, with Autism being a serious condition, badly affecting children’s normal life as well as their families’, making a financial dent, this controversy is still brewing. Description of the arguments in favor of the topic Various sections of the population clearly state on the basis of scientific as well as sociological evidences, that vaccine cannot cause Autism. They base their argument on the findings done all over the world which clearly state that key vaccines like MMR does not cause Autism. Likewise, now banned Thimerosal also does not have any negative impact and all the hue and cry over Thimerosal was an overreaction. Before delving into the discussion of various studies that disapproved this correlation between vaccines and Autism, the first and main study, which gave rise to all this controversy, was discredited in 2010. That is, the study and results given by Wakefield and his team were found to be flawed due to falsification of data. “By the time the paper was finally retracted 12 years later, after forensic dissection at the General Medical Council’s (GMC) longest ever fitness to practise hearing, few people could deny that it was fatally flawed both scientifically and ethically.” (Godlee, Smith and Marcovitch 77). For MMR, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a branch of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the government’s top independent scientific adviser, examined 16 studies. All but two, which were dismissed because of “serious methodological flaws,” showed no evidence of a link between MMR and Autism. For Thimerosal, the IOM looked at five studies, examining populations in Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States and all of them came in favor of Thimerosal. (Mooney).This was also validated by the ruling of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. which specifically denied any link between the MMR vaccine and vaccines with Thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative) and the spectrum of disorders associated with Autism. (“What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)”). IOM also deny the accusation that research institutions like them are negatively influenced by the Pharmaceutical companies while coming up with the results. They carefully create firewalls kind of restrictions between the funding it gets to conduct scientific assessments and the results it ultimately produces. “Funders don’t control the composition of the committee, and they don’t meet with the committee…And on no NAS or IOM committee are the members paid; they all work pro bono. There’s no reason for them not to look at the data.” (Mooney). Apart from this main argument that vaccines are safe, experts state that Autism could be caused by genetic as well as environment factors and thus not by vaccines. They state that Autism is a gamut of disorders exhibiting various symptoms and so vaccines cannot be cornered as the causative agent of all the symptoms. Its fundamental characterization of failed social development, inability to communicate, and obsessive repetitive behavior can be due to genetic factors. And importantly due to failure on the part of the parents as well as teachers to provide the children a productive environment to develop their communication skills, knowledge exchange, social skills, etc. “From my point of view, it’s a condition associated with genetic defects and developmental biology problems,” says Peter Hotez, a George Washington University microbiologist and father of an autistic child.” (Mooney). Thus, with Autism being caused by various factors it is not correct to blame the vaccines. Description of the arguments against the topic As discussed above, sizeable sections of the population particularly the parents of the children believe that vaccines are affecting children’s body particularly the brain, leading to Autism. The main argument stressed is young children are injected with high number of vaccines without any control. “But children are given so many shots from the moment theyre born. They get multiple injections all at once, and if they fall behind, doctors put them on a catch-up schedule.” (Jenny McCarthy qtd. in Scutti). Injection of many vaccines and thereby viruses and bacteria into the body of young children, instead of strengthening the immunity compromises immunity, resulting in adverse responses like letting off dangerous toxins causing diseases like Autism. On the same lines, the other argument is children in United States are given high number of vaccines at a young stage when compared to children of other countries, thereby pointing to the dubious role of the vaccines. “Over the past two decades, the prevalence of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen dramatically and currently at least 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with ASD in the US.” (Geier, Hooker, Kern, King, Sykes and Geier 2). In addition, this is happening also because of the domineering and dubious role of the pharmaceutical companies. That is, these companies develop many vaccines and push them into the market, then in collusion with healthcare professionals ‘push’ the parents to buy it for the protection and the well being of their children. “In a world left reeling from the catastrophic effects of greed, mismanagement and corporate insensitivity, is it so absurd for us to wonder why American children are being given twice as many vaccines on average, compared to the top 30 first world countries?” (Carrey). Sections of the people are also of the opinion that all the vaccines are not tested by the researchers while coming up with the findings that vaccines do not cause Autism. That is, researchers and other institutions under the negative influence of the pharmaceutical companies or by oversight select and test only minimum vaccines and thus miss the role of many other vaccines in causing Autism. “The truth is that no one without a vested interest in the profitability of vaccines has studied all 36 of them in depth. There are more than 100 vaccines in development, and no tests for cumulative effect or vaccine interaction of all 36 vaccines in the current schedule have ever been done” (Carrey). Thus, they opine that the research findings are not genuine, as it can manipulated by the pharmaceutical companies and also it is not extensive and consistent enough. If research findings are to be believed then researches done world over by American, European as well as Japanese scientists should also need to be believed. “Several large American, European, and Japanese studies revealed that even as the rates of vaccinations stayed the same or went down, the rates of diagnosed autism increased.” (Hale). My position on the topic and justification of that position After the analysis of both the sides, my position based on logic without being influenced by mass hysteria is that vaccines do not cause Autism. All the vaccines given to the children are very essential and avoiding them under the pretext of Autism could damage the child’s health and importantly could also lead to the death of the child. No Autism will kill a child, however diseases and infections like Diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae, Measles, Pertussis, Varicella, Tuberculosis, etc, all of which could be caused if vaccinations are not carried out, could kill children. Importantly, many of these diseases have been controlled all over the world because of consistent vaccinations carried out by various governments and agencies. However, with parents avoiding vaccinations, they are not only putting their own child under risk but also other children of their community, city and also of the world because these diseases could be easily transmitted. Apart from the severity of this situation, as mentioned above no creditable scientific study has clearly proven that vaccines cause Autism. Thimerosal has been the major point of concern because of its use in vaccines, but its ban and passing out in 2001 has cleared a major fear. (Mooney). With many studies and official bodies giving clean chit to vaccinations, parents and other stakeholders should look for and correct the real causes of Autism which is the genetic factors and the environment. Then, parents should give all the necessary vaccines (the number of vaccines are also cut down as combination vaccines are being introduced) to protect their child in the crucial formative years and provide him/her the platform for a healthy and happy life. Conclusion Many parents are not vaccinating their children because of misconceived notions and importantly due to mass hysteria. Thus, parents should be encouraged by the government to get know the real truth about the vaccines through various correct means and approach the doctor for the correct vaccination schedule. School authorities for their part should also discuss, inform and confirm with the parents regarding the vaccination schedule of their wards. Thus, all the children should be given all the necessary vaccination without fail, so the small precious lives are not put in grave danger and also to eradicate all these dangerous diseases from the face of the earth. Works Cited Carrey, Jim. “The Judgment on Vaccines Is In???” 22 April 2009. Web. 14 April 2014. Geier, David A., Brian S Hooker., Janet K Kern., Paul G King., Lisa K Sykes and Mark R Geier. “A Two-Phase Study evaluating the Relationship between Thimerosal-containing Vaccine administration and the risk for an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in the United States.” Translational Neurodegeneration. 2. 25 (2013). Godlee, Fiona., Jane Smith and Harvey Marcovitch. “Wakefield’s Article linking MMR Vaccine and Autism was Fraudulent.” British Medical Journal. 342.c7452 (2011). Hale, Jamie. “The Link Between Vaccines and Autism: True or False?” Psych Central, 30 Jan 2014. Web. 14 April 2014. Scutti, Susan. “Jenny McCarthy Debuts On The View: Sympathy Aside, Is She A Believable Spokesperson On Health?” Medical Daily. 9 Sept 2013. Web. 14 April 2014. Mooney, Chris. “Why Does the Vaccine/Autism Controversy Live On?” Discover Magazine, 6 May 2009. Web. 14 April 2014. “What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?” National Institutes of Health, 2011. Web. 14 April 2014. Read More