Is There a Link Between Autism and Vaccinations?

Running Head:  Is There A Link Between Autism and Vaccinations                                                                

Is There a Link Between Autism and Vaccinations?

Brittany Close

Marion Technical College

         In this day and age it may seem like we have all the answers and things are cut and dry. When it comes to the debate on vaccinations it is hard for parents to know what to believe. The media presents so many things and there may not be any research backing this up. Without knowing there is not research and things seem legitimate parents may not vaccinate their children. This could be a deadly mistake for not only these parents’ children, but for other children as well. Diseases that have seemed to be eradicated are making a comeback. One instance is mumps this can be a deadly disease to some children and has come back. When children who are not vaccinated get around younger children they can give diseases to them that are deadly at a young age. There has been no scientific proof that vaccines cause Autism, but some celebrities have said it does and it caused uproar. Parents stopped vaccinating children and still believe this misconception even though the science has proved otherwise.

Parents who believe that harm has come to their child or someone’s child that they know from vaccines are less likely to believe the disease that can happen if not vaccinated is as serious. There have been numerous studies suggesting this. If something is in the media a lot of Americans believe it to be true. The problem with this is just because the media reports it does not mean it is true. In the article Vaccine Risk Perception Among Reporters of Autism After Vaccination  parents were more likely to believe that vaccinations only for what they speculated as serious illness were important.(Woo et al., ) Also these parents had related autism symptoms as more prevalent after the vaccine. That also could be from age as well. So the correlation was made the vaccines caused it in the parents mind, especially with the media reporting that there was link with no science to back it up. This sets us up for parents picking and choosing which vaccines to give children, and potentially affecting others with diseases that could have been prevented. Parents have no way of knowing who has and hasn’t been vaccinated and young children who have not been vaccinated are at potential danger. Some diseases can cause detrimental health problems or even death for younger children. If a child is immunosuppressed ( an insufficient immune system to fight off infection) the consequences can be deadly as well. This is scary to think about when it comes to your child, but it can also have potential problems in the elderly. If their immunity has worn off or the vaccine may not have been given as a child it can cause health issues for them as well.

Mumps has made a comeback recently. This has shown an increase since 1998. This is believed to have happened after Dr. Andrew Wakefield published findings suggesting that the MMR vaccine could cause autism. This was also brought up again when celebrity Jenny McCarthy was supporting this study. Many parents at that time quit vaccinating their children for this and it has shown in the following years. The findings in which Dr. Wakefield published were never able to be reproduced by other scientist. It was also found that he had gains if law suits were won based on his evidence.(Krans, 2013) Also, we have seen whooping cough outbreaks at times across the United States. This disease is incredibly dangerous to young children, elderly, and anyone with lung conditions. There is a vaccine for adults and children. This disease is incredibly contagious; someone coughing in a store can transmit it to multiple people.

For practitioners when parents come in with children it makes education a top priority. It also makes difficult for them as well to try to disprove a belief that has been put in place by media. This day and age many people consult the internet or friends before seeing a physician. All practitioners now have the responsibility to educate families just not physicians or nurses. The Journal article Science, Pseudoscience, and the Frontline Practitioner: The Vaccination/ Autism Debate it describes how  social workers would also be helpful to educate families on vaccinations and the misinformation that was put out media. This is helpful for anyone with patient contact to do because it will take a lot of convincing and hearing it more than once for someone to believe it. It is helpful to give education resources that the patients and families can review.(White, 2014)

The cause of Autism is still unknown. There is much about this disease that is unknown. It has been proven though that vaccines do not have a link to it. There is speculation on a genetic link and this being pursued. There is also some link to advanced maternal and paternal age, maternal obesity, hypertension and diabetes during pregnancy, environmental factors (toxins and food additives), and medications during pregnancy, and infectious agents (Griswold & Ann, 2015). The increase for the diagnosis of Autism is more awareness and testing, and the environmental factors of today.

Scientist have also disproved that thimerosal (a well-established antiseptic and antifungal agent) was not a cause of autism even though it contains mercury. There have been many studies in regards to this and the evidence is just not there. The government did have the removal of thimerosal when the implication came out just in case. So, this does not explain why the number of Autism cases continues to rise. Again, this gives leverage to the argument that practitioners are now trained to look for signs of Autism at an earlier age, and we are more educated now so we have more diagnosis being made. 

In the end, there is not any substantial evidence that vaccines have caused Autism. Autism is not just one disorder but a wide array of symptoms that have can be placed on a spectrum. There are different degrees, different systems, and different behaviors. Ultimately every child is different and comes through differently for every child that has it. No two children will have the same symptoms even is diagnosed with the same type. It is more likely than not that medical professionals have been educated to looked for signs and symptoms of this disease during well child exams and it is being diagnosed more. This means children can get treatment quicker and parents can be educated on how to manage symptoms and behaviors in children not that anything that has been given to children for years is the cause.