In Michael Snyder’s essay “Vaccines Cause Autism” the author explains his opposing viewpoint against children being vaccinated. Warning the reader about the harmful ingredients in vaccines, such as mercury, that can impair an infant for life by causing them to become autistic. Snyder blames the greedy pharmaceutical companies, political establishment, and news media coverage that brainwash Americans to allow their kids getting injected with harmful chemicals that other nations have banned. He leaves the reader by proposing that parents should determine if their child gets vaccinated as the increasing rates of autism will only get worse amongst Americans. Snyder’s misinformed claims reveals that he lacks the knowledge of what autism is, since …show more content…
Snyder explains that autism is rising at an exploding rate with “1 out of every 88 children in the United States has some form of autism disorder” (Snyder) all due to early vaccinations. Although reports of autism are on the rise, doctors have a better grasp of the disorder then they did before. With the definition of autism becoming broader along with more frequent diagnoses that hesitant doctors in the past wouldn’t confirm, it’s only natural for there to be an increase of this disorder. Furthermore, autism shows its first signs between twelve to eighteen months of age which is coincidentally the same time infants receive vaccination. Snyder is someone who believes in correlation not causation, just because autism starts to develop the same time vaccines are given out does not mean they are responsible for giving a child …show more content…
Snyder mentions that it “isn't just young children that are being harmed by vaccines” but pregnant woman and adults to get harmed from this poisonous needle. However, there are no links or sources that confirms this in Snyder’s writing as he fails to grasp the true concept of what vaccines are made for. Thanks to vaccines people no longer suffer from eradicated diseases such as polio, a virus that would leave children paralyzed. Resulting in a life of pain and death for the patient but thanks to vaccines, the United States has been polio free since 1979. These revolutionary cures in medicine have saved many children from suffering and pain by preventing them from contracting a devastating
Most people have never thought twice about vaccines until the day they are faced with injecting a weakened virus with chemicals and known toxins into their baby.
In the Frontline episode The Vaccine War, a progressively distressful debate ensues among many scientists and doctors within the public health system and an unnerving alliance of parents, politicians, and celebrities. The topic of debate is the overwhelming pressure parents feel to vaccinate their children and their right to decline such vaccinations. In several American neighborhoods, groups of parents have been exercising their right to refuse vaccinations, which has elevated anxiety on the return of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles. The reason such parents are denying their children various vaccines such as the MMR “triple shot” for measles, mumps, and rubella is because they are convinced that it is linked to autism, a link that has yet to be proven. Many of these parents are focused solely on their children, not taking into account that their decision may put the American populace at risk for disease. Such parents are not thinking about other members of society that vaccines don’t work for, and in certain adolescents the effects deteriorate, thus only when every person is immunized the “heard immunity” is successful.
“Immunizing Against Bad Science: The Vaccine Court and the Autism Test Case,” written by Lauren L. Haertlein, deals with one of today’s most popular controversies; vaccinations causing autism in children. Haertlein’s article gives insight into the history of vaccine litigation and the policies that accompany it. Furthermore, she talks immensely about the Vaccine Court, whose job is to work with petitioner’s stating that a vaccine, such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), has caused some illness to their child. The article uses real-life Vaccine Court examples such as Michelle Cedillo’s case, whose mother claimed a vaccination gave her daughter autism, as a way to better understand how the Vaccine Court works. This controversial topic is being discussed daily in magazines, journals, and on talk shows. The families that are blaming autism on vaccinations are giving vaccines a bad name and causing other parents to re-think their decision about getting their children vaccinated.
In 1999 a study was done in the United Kingdom to see if there was a link between the two. In this study, researchers compared children had had and had not gotten the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination. The study identified four hundred and ninety-eight cases of autism including core autism, atypical autism and Asperger syndrome in children born in the United Kingdom since 1979. There was an increase in cases by year of birth with no change after the introduction of the vaccination. There was also no age difference at diagnosis between the cases vaccinated before or after eighteen months of age and children that were never vaccinated. These results showed no temporal association between the onset of autism within one or two years after being vaccinated with MMR and developmental regression was not clustered in the months after vaccination. The data from these results does not support the connection between MMR and autism and if an association was to occur it was so rare it could not be identified. Many studies have been done over this topic but the results prove that it in fact does not cause autism. It is likely that this myth is strongly accepted because the symptoms of autism begin to occur around the same time as the child is to be vaccinated with the MMR
... clearly shows that vaccines are more likely to harm someone than to prevent them from disease. Also, autism has increased immensely ever since children have been greatly exposed to mercury. Autism has increased by 500 percent since 1992. A recent study shows that infants have been exposed to large amounts of mercury when they are vaccinated and the high levels of mercury are toxic and can result in neurodevelopment disorders and behavioral disorders (O’Meara). Why expose a child to toxic levels of mercury if it is not necessary? Parents deserve the right to choose to get their kids vaccinated or not. People are being forced against their will to have their children vaccinated with harmful substances that could potentially kill them (Cronin). Every parent should be able to have the choice to protect their children from the harmful effects of vaccinations.
Despite all the testing and approval process of vaccines, many people still mistakenly believe that vaccines cause autism, even in light of research that has disproven the notion. This evidences the difficulty of dispelling false statements once someone has accepted a falsehood, especially if it has scientific research backing the results. It also highlights the gullibility of the public at large to believe anything that medical research reports without questioning the findings. Unfortunately, the media attention such examples of junk science receive aids in convincing many of its truthfulness. The hype surrounding the belief that vaccines cause autism began in 1998 when Andrew Wakefield in the UK published an article in the Lancet linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR...
Every year, tens of thousands Americans die from the seasonal flu alone. This alarming statistic is what led the United States government to urge the country to vaccinate themselves, as well as their children every November, when the flu season is fast approaching. Though countless Americans do follow the government’s plea, many others insist that these vaccines distributed every year (as well as other year-long vaccines) contain an abnormally high amount of thimerosal, (a mercury-based chemical in vaccines designed to prevent the growth of bacteria) which could eventually lead to autism. This generation of fear is what has led many concerned parents to refuse to vaccinate their children, who seem to be the most vulnerable to this disease. However, can we really trust a rumor to fuel our doubts of America’s struggle to fight disease among our people? Can we discontinue our trust in the health department because of paranoia? No. Even if autism may be an effect of these vaccines, it is our duty, our responsibility to protect the good of the public by preventing an outbreak of this infl...
My brother Dan was born November 22, 1999. Daniel was a normal child, he developed at a normal physical and social rate. He was just beginning to talk, gave eye contact, and would use hand gestures (pointing and clapping). When he was almost 2, he when to the doctor's office to receive his MMR (Measles, mumps, and Rubella) shots. He received 9 doses of the shot. After 24 hours of the vaccination, Dan developed an extremely high fever that lasted for two weeks. Once Dan's fever receded, he did not socialize, give eye contact, couldn't be touched, and did not interact with the family anymore. Dan was diagnosed with Autism soon after. Many families report this happening to their child, the reports have grown since the late 90's. I believe that vaccines are the cause of autism and the only way to lower the rate is to give fewer vaccines at a time.
The correlation exists because some children developed signs of autism shortly after being vaccinated. However, the only real relationship between the two is the timing of early childhood vaccinations and the first appearance of symptoms of autism (“Top 20 Questions”). Unfortunately, because of this many parents choose not to get their children vaccinated. This leads to many children facing serious illnesses and possibly infecting others, because parents believe the illness is less of a risk compared to ASD even though there is no proof. A 2013 CDC study added to the research showing that vaccines do not cause autism spectrum disorder. The study looked at the number of antigens from vaccines during the first two years of life. The results showed that the total amount of antigen from vaccines received was the same between children with ASD and those that did not have ASD (Knopf). This shows that although it is not a proven fact that vaccines cause autism it is very unlikely. Therefore, parents should ensure that their children are vaccinated because they have nothing to fear. Vaccines are only beneficial to the child's
Hannah Poling, a 19 month old, was diagnosed with autism shortly after receiving five vaccinations in one day. Before receiving these vaccinations Hannah was a healthy child without any characteristic of autism. The Polings, believing the vaccines to have caused her change, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services, and won. The courts ruled that the vaccines she had received were responsible for her condition (Healy). This story is just one example of the growing fear and opposition from parents towards vaccines. Likewise, the verdict reached by the courts resulted in an outcry from promoters of vaccines as they fear the negative effects this decision could have on public health. On the one hand, it is argued that the state should be allowed to enforce mandatory vaccinations as this is in our children’s best interest. On the other side of the debate, parents should have a right to decide what is injected into their child’s body, especially when the substance could cause permanent harm or death. Strong arguments have been presented to support both sides, and some of these arguments will be examined in detail.
For example, medical researchers argue that vaccines and autism are not linked, but rather the development of autism and other brain abnormalities simply occurs in the same period of a child’s life as their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination. At the same time, it presents the point that these vaccinations include dangerous chemicals such as mercury and thimerosal which are extremely toxic. And while he strives to present both sides equally, it is clear that Palfreman favors the side of vaccinations. The majority of footage focuses on how medical research has disproven a link between autism and vaccines, while the parents are given small moments to share their opinions and experiences. The documentary paints a picture of parents who are simply paranoid and are ignoring one of medicine’s greatest innovations for unfounded reasons. In this way, the director shows bias in favor of medical opinion, rather than give equal representation of both
In recent years, the correlation between vaccines and autism has become the subject of much debate. On one side, there are the anti-vaccinators, or anti-vaccers. On the other, there’s pretty much everyone else. Despite the fact that the anti-vaccination movement has little base in scientific fact, their campaign to end early infanthood vaccinations rages on. While doctors and scientists try desperately to make parents look at the research studies, vaccination rates continue to fall. But, even in these dark times, there is still hope that scientific fact will prevail and defeat the anti-vaccination fear mongers who have caused many children to fall ill and even die because their parents did not properly vaccinate them. This is one of the most saddening scientific failures of the twenty-first century. A failure to educate the public properly has resulted in child, even infant, fatalities. The anti-vaccination movement was started based on falsified data and continues only because of a lack of knowledge and proper education of the general public.
Vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, and more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have given humans powerful immune guards to ward off unwelcome sickness. And thanks to state laws that require vaccinations for kids enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. presently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever at 77%. Yet bubbling beneath these national numbers is the question about vaccine safety. Driven by claims that vaccinations can be associated with autism, increasing number of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines are in fact harmful to children, instead of helpful (Park, 2008).
Recently the number of parents who are intentionally delaying their children’s general vaccinations is increasing. The controversy that is causing the number of delayed vaccinations to go up is based on the fact that there are negative articles connecting them to autism and other similar diseases. When parents are researching vaccinations and they read those negative articles, those articles make them believe that vaccines cause autism. Vaccines are important because they protect humans from preventable diseases and getting them could save human lives. Vaccines are important throughout life no matter what some research suggests. Parents are now more likely to intentionally delay vaccines because of negative press, even though vaccines
The third and most essential reason that the United States should enforce national inoculation pertains to the concept that vaccines can support not only individual immunity, but also herd immunity to protect those who are medically incompatible with vaccines. A prevailing argument that pro-volunteer individuals frequently make is that vaccines have the potential to be harmful to individuals; a primary motive behind this pertains to an alleged correlation that exists between thimerosal, a component of vaccines, and countless disorders including autism (Benjamin, 2003). According to Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, “When you take a look at the ever-increasing numbers of doses of vaccines babies have received over the past two decades and you see this corresponding rise in chronic disease and disability in our children, it is out of control” (Benjamin, 2003). Many speculated that the mercury contained within the thimerosal was to blame for this.