 As a parent in the twenty-first century, would you choose to vaccinate your child in hopes of avoiding harmful diseases or would you choose to take the risk of autism? Since the late 1990’s, there has been controversy on whether or not vaccines cause autism, and whether they are actually beneficial or not. This idea of vaccines being harmful was brought to the public’s attention specifically in 1998 when Dr. Andrew J. Wakefield published an article claiming that vaccines, predominantly the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, cause Autism Spectrum Disorder. The release of this article from 1998 to present has caused many parents to refuse vaccination for their children in fear of the early onset of autism. Celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and Alicia Silverstone were huge contributors to the spread of this article, which ultimately caused many to follow this belief (Merlan). Although the article was later retracted because of its false data and information, the idea of vaccines being harmful still continues. The longer this issue continues, the more harmful vaccinations will become. Vaccines themselves are not harmful, but not receiving them will eventually harm our community. Doctors have and still are researching the effects vaccines have on the human body. All of the findings to these experiments have shown that autism is no way connected to being vaccinated. However, the negative attitude towards vaccines will only change if society is willing to accept the new findings. This negative attitude towards vaccines can only change if society is willing to listen to the new findings. Instead, some still choose to believe the false findings of Dr. Wakefield. 

A majority of the people whom reside in the United States do not know the facts behind vaccines, nor do they know the leading benefits for receiving them. Those who choose to be anti-vaccination choose to believe that vaccines are harmful, especially to children, for the worry that the vaccine could cause that child to develop autism. This happens to be false. By giving children vaccines, which are typically required among hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide, these children are set up with immunity throughout their lifetime; immunity against harmful diseases. Although, before vaccines can be effective for a lifetime, these vaccines have to be given in a series. This means the vaccine would have to be given twice to three times in order to be extremely effective (Brody). This seems like a lot to those who are anti-vaccination. However, if not vaccinated, harmful diseases will arise nationwide as well as worldwide. 

A problem arose in December of 2014 when a large outbreak of measles started in California. Around forty people contracted measles at Disneyland. While this problem started in a small section of California, the outbreak spread to at least six other states. This problem lasted until April of 2015 (CDPH). Five months of infectious disease was spread across six states of the United States, a disease that should have been wiped out years prior. This outbreak was caused and spread by people not receiving the MMR vaccine. Because those who are anti-vaccination chose not to receive the MMR vaccine in fear of autism, an outbreak of another disease developed. People that received the MMR vaccine were not affected by this outbreak because they are protected from it, but those who did not receive the vaccine were in danger of contracting this viral, contagious, and deadly disease. Therefore, it is more likely for problems to arise from not receiving the MMR vaccine, such as measles, are higher than the likelihood of problems arising from receiving the vaccination, such as autism.

Vaccines alone can save lives by preventing outbreaks of a variety of diseases, including this outbreak of the measles. With a decent number of the population being properly immunized, a majority of members in the population are also protected from the disease. This is so because if a higher number of people are immunized then there will be fewer people eligible to contract a disease. If there is a fewer amount of people able to contract a disease, the less likely the disease is to be passed from person to person. Inevitably this decreases the spread of a disease in a particular area, which in return could eventually protect a larger, more populated area. In layman terms this is referred to as “community immunity.” This belief of community immunity applies to a various amount of contagious diseases (USDH). Community immunity can be used to describe the outbreak of measles. Considering a large portion of the population was vaccinated, the measles only spread through 6 states and was able to be contained before infecting all 50 states in America. 

Problems similar to the ones related to the measles outburst will only continue until the people of the United States realize the benefits of vaccines. Instead, some still do to not allow their children to receive the MMR vaccination because of inaccurate information that links the vaccine to autism. They still believe this, despite Dr. Wakefield’s information being revoked because of its inaccuracy. New studies have been released to prove that there is in fact no link between the vaccine and the disease itself. A study was conducted to compare the viewpoints of doctors and the viewpoint of parents about Autism Spectrum Disorder. To conduct this study, 502 parents and 60 research scientists were recruited from investigators funded by the Simons Foundation. The results noted that parents and scientists differ significantly with their beliefs of the cause of autism. Parents seemed to believe that autism is caused by vaccination while doctors strongly believed that autism is caused by genes. This caused parents to be less likely to vaccinate their kids. However, communication plays a great role in who believes the tale of vaccination linkage to autism. Now, there is a new belief that if doctors better communicated with parents about the positive effects of vaccination, more parents would be more likely to vaccinate their children (Fischbach, et al., 353-63). To get through to those whom do not wish to vaccinate their children, doctors must communicate effectively with their patients. They must exclusively explain all of the benefits of receiving vaccines and also stress the fact that there is no link between vaccines (specifically MMR) and autism. 

When discussing vaccines with parents, it is important to note that parents generally do not understand that vaccines are most effective when received at a young age. Instead, they fear that they are putting their child at risk for harmful disorders and also pain. However, this is when vaccines are most effective because this is when the child’s body is most vulnerable to diseases and this is when they undoubtedly need them the most. There have been recent studies that show that a 5 in 1 vaccine is just as effective as giving each vaccine separately. This information could significantly minimize a parent’s worry about the “pain” afflicted by receiving vaccination in the form of a shot.  (Brody). It would be beneficial for the doctor to reference this information when discussing vaccines to parents, whether they wish to vaccinate their child or not. This would provide an alternative route to those parents who do worry about the pain that could potentially be inflicted on their child by receiving a shot. 

Although pain is the minimal worry of parents regarding vaccines, it is still an important factor to why children do not receive them. Doctors need to be mindful of every detail that goes into play with a child not receiving vaccines. It is important doctors are honest with their patients and do not come across as one sided. Therefore, along with the information of the benefits of vaccines, doctors also need to be open about the possible symptoms or side effects that can result once receiving a particular vaccine. Providing the child’s parent with specific statistics, such as those from scientific experiments on the topic could help to influence positive opinions on vaccines. Although this is routine for many doctors, I feel like pushing the importance for them to do so will help the fight against those who are currently against vaccines. To be more persuasive, a doctor could reference the case study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics. This case study was carried out in July of 2014 and used 189 young adults with autism of any severity and 224 control subjects to prove that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and the development of autism (Maglione, 8). The doctor could even go further than just summarizing the case study and use specific information within the article to better his/her argument such as, “evidence ‘favors rejection’ of a causal relationship between MMR and autism” (7). Information, like this case study, would be beneficial for doctors to tell parents to help them believe that vaccines are indeed helpful. 

 Although it is primarily a doctor’s job to inform patients of vaccines, Fox News decided to broadcast a news report in 2015 stating that there had been a new study done that prove there was no link between the MMR vaccination and autism. This took the subject public; this was an effective medium to use because it got the message out to a large audience rather than just discussing the subject with your personal doctor. This experiment was yet another experiment that has proven this myth to be false. This specific study was proved by using over 100,000 high risk children. High risk children specifically include children whose siblings are diagnosed with autism, primarily because autism is genetic; MMR vaccine patients were also considered high risk, because this is the entire reasoning for conducting the experiment. The MMR vaccine had been founded to have 7,000 side effects, none of which have been related to autism. The study disclosed that the children who were vaccinated by the MMR vaccine did not have an increased chance of developing autism. The scientists that conducted this study did so to feasibly decrease parental fears and bias towards the vaccination. Autism itself is still on the increase. However, vaccinations play no role it its rapid incline (Fox News). 

Parental fears continue to dwell in a wide spread variety of topics, including the idea that autism stems from the MMR vaccination. It seems that these parental figures have not thoroughly researched where autism actually stems from. Research suggests that Autism Spectrum Disorder stems from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. These factors seemingly increase a child’s risk of developing autism. Genes are greatly associated with autism but these genetic risk factors are also found in people who do not actively have the disorder, but is likely a carrier. This means autism generally runs in families and if a parent carries one of more of these traits then that specific gene could get passed down to their child. However, this is not a direct cause to autism, it is merely a risk factor that increases the chance of a child developing autism. Environmental factors can also play a great role in onset of autism. According to an article published on the Autism Speaks website, risks of developing autism are increased by factors such as: advanced parent age (of either parent), pregnancy and birth complications (premature birth, low birth weight, and multiple pregnancies such as twins, etc.), and pregnancies spaced less than one year of each other. Prenatal vitamins, containing folic acid, seem to decrease the risk factor (Aut.). Autism Speaks makes it a point to state that risk does not increase nor decreases with receiving vaccines for the parents whom are indifferent on the subject. 

These parents do not want to come to the realization that they could be personally responsible for the onset of autism in their child. To avoid this, many choose to believe opinion over fact, and trust that vaccinations are linked to autism when there is no solid scientific evidence that proves it does. Those whom are against vaccination, along with believing that vaccines are harmful, also believe that delaying the time between vaccines, if obligated to receive one, will lessen the risk of developing a disorder. The truth behind this matter is that there is no benefit in spacing out the vaccinations. By spacing out series of vaccinations, the child is actually less likely to complete the entire schedule of the immunizations, or makes the series of vaccinations less effective. This leaves the child at a greater risk to contract infectious diseases and viruses. There is no positive effect in procrastinating series of vaccinations and “delaying their administration provides no benefit, while leaving children at risk” (Carroll). While this is an ongoing issue, so is the idea that the number of vaccines children receive enhance their chance of developing a disorder, such as autism. The issue of the MMR vaccine and its relation to autism has caused a phenomenon that has led the idea to spread over all types vaccines. However, Carroll states in his article that “the number of vaccines children receive is not more concerning than it used to be” (Carroll), yet people still call for more evidence. 

People are calling for evidence where evidence is no longer due. There have been seventeen case control studies and multiple experiments – that more than 15 million children took part in - that have proven there is no scientific link between generic vaccines and the onset of autism. The evidence that did link autism to vaccines were proven to be “fraud” with no statistics to prove that there was, in fact, a link (Carroll). Dr. Andrew J. Wakefield made the claim that autism is linked to vaccines. He uses specific and what seemed to be scientific examples and studies, however, this article contains fraudulent information which means it should no longer be relevant to the topic pertaining to autism and vaccines. This issue will not be resolved until people choose to believe new and factual information rather than fraudulent and inaccurate information written nearly 20 years ago.

In contrast with the previous arguments, there are many people who challenge the opposition that there is no link between vaccines and autism. They developed this idea from the 1998 article stating that there is a link between autism and vaccines, specifically the MMR vaccine. They believe that “the choice to vaccinate or not vaccinate your child is a decision that has the potential to greatly impact the health of your child for the rest of their life” (Six Reasons). The decision to vaccinate your child should not be taken lightly considering the so called “risks.” This is a topic both parties can agree on, there are indeed many reasons to ponder the decision to vaccinate your children. Activists against vaccines strongly support the idea that not everything your doctor tells you is their true opinion and that they are just giving you the standard answer, regarding shots, taken from the American Medical Association. They also think it is wrong to just believe vaccinations are dangerous because your acquaintances choose to not vaccinate their children (Six Reasons). The choice to receive vaccines or to not receive vaccines should be entirely based on your beliefs. 

My personal belief on the argument stemmed from a neighbor who has an autistic child. My interest arose as the family found out that their baby girl had developed autism. The disease was not prevalent until she became older, around the age of 2 and a half, when she wasn’t carrying out basic tasks that a two and a half-year-old should be able to. Her parents took her to the doctor to seek an answer, which is when she was diagnosed with a severe case of autism. Each parent got tested to see if a genetic issue had caused the onset of autism. It was found that a genetic problem within a default gene in the mother is what caused the disease. Although this was hard to process and understand, neither parent chose to blame the vaccination of their child for the onset of the disease. They did vaccinate and continue to vaccinate their precious child, because it is their belief that vaccines do not cause autism.

Personal beliefs should be the deciding factor when it comes to vaccinations. However, you must ask yourself if your beliefs are going to harm others in the long run. By centering your decision on your personal beliefs, whether it is to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, major challenges could arise.  By vaccinating your child, the child receives immunity from a variety of diseases for the rest of their life, which in return can benefit the nation as a whole. This returns to the idea of “community immunity.” Choosing to vaccinate your child could potentially result in the prevention of a pandemic as well as a termination of one. Although autism is not a pandemic, it still is prevalent in the widespread controversy pertaining to this topic. This idea that autism is caused by vaccines, explicitly the MMR vaccine, has to end. The only way to for this to happen is to increase the knowledge of the benefits of the vaccine and to introduce the new research conducted on vaccines and how they have been proven to not be linked to autism. 
