Ending thoughts

When I started this blog, I kind of knew where I stood in terms of what I though about vaccinations. However, I went into this with a very open mind because I didn't know about the research and statistics. With all of the information I have done, the research I have found has just reiterated my beliefs. My thoughts on the subject haven't changed. The evidence that I found just proved what I had been thinking all along.
When it comes to sources, I tried really hard to make them as reliable as possible. I used a scientific research article as well as other reputable websites to validate the claims being made. For every post I altered between articles that defended my position on the subject of vaccines, and then I found articles that went against what I thought. I think it is really important to show both sides of the issue, not just to help me make a decision, but for individuals to form their own opinion.
I believe that so far, my stance on the subject is firm. I feel like through my research, I have found the answer to my question "Do vaccines cause or contribute the development of autism?" I would still like to do more research on this subject for our next assignment just so I can have as many sources, evidence and reliable information as I can. For this next assignment, I would like to show the evidence I have gathered and argue that vaccines do not cause or contribute to autism.

This debate is going to be ongoing for so many years to come. I have nothing against people who choose not to vaccinate their children. Everybody has their own reason whether it's because of the autism scare or something different. This blog has just been me presenting the research and articles that I have found pertaining to the subject. Who knows what research is going to show 10 years from now. Who knows what the medical and scientific world are going to be like 25 years from now. All we can do is continue to do research and making progress and attempting to answer the questions that may or may not be answerable.

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Is it safe to make a conclusion?

For my fifth source, I decided to use a scientific research article. I went to the library database and found an article called "Vaccine Phobia Becomes a Public Health Threat" written by Andrew Grant. In this article, he explains that in February of 2010, the US Court of Federal Claims ruled that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, as well as vaccines that contain thimerosal, are not the reason why autism cases have risen. This agrees and puts the stamp of approval on the studies and results that scientists have concluded in the past few years. With the ongoing controversy and the attention that autism has gotten in recent years, the National Institutes of Health have contributed $100 million in funds to help further research into the causes of autism. In May 2010, a research study found that "65 percent of autistic children share a set of mutations that may regulate genes known to influence communication among brain cells." Researchers then have started to believe that environmental factors, including those that occur while the child is in the womb, may activate or trigger these certain genes.
Not only that, but scientists and doctors are becoming more and more concerned with the threat of life-threatening outbreaks of diseases. According to this article,  in 2008, more than 140 kids were diagnosed with measles. More than 90% of these cases, were in children who were not vaccinated.

So what happens in 50 years when almost nobody decides to vaccinate their children? How many once-dormant diseases are going to be a threat to our lives?
I'm pretty sure that with all of the research I have done, I think it's safe to say that vaccines are not linked to autism. We have made so much progress already with trying to figure out the cause, we shouldn't let our children's health suffer. Vaccines are supposed to help us, not hurt us.

Could thimerosal be the culprit?

In my previous post, I discussed the idea there there wasn't really any scientific evidence supporting the claim that vaccinations cause autism. In this post, I will research the claims made, and discover why people are believing something like this to be true.

According to an article published in 2009 by Mike Adams, the editor for NaturalNews.com, thimerosal may be a contributor. Thimerosal is a mercury-based compound that is found in some vaccines that acts as a preservative. Thimerosal has been removed from childhood vaccines, however, and is said to be present in some flu vaccines. This article also states that there is belief that nurses who administer shots are still using unexpired vials that contain thimerosal. 

For my second article, I decided to research more about thimerosal since that is what my previous article discussed. I found an article from ScienceDaily that I decided to use as my second source for this blog post. This article discusses the fact that by 2001, thimerosal had been eliminated from most vaccines. Along with the studies they did, the researchers have determined that the Institute of Medicine has rejected the hypothesis that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal have  any link to autism. 

After reading both articles, I'm still uncertain as to whether or not anything in vaccinations contribute to autism. The mercury level in vaccines that contain thimerosal are so tiny that I can't see that being such a huge issue. I think whatever causes autism is something so much greater than a minor level of mercury, of which most vaccines have gotten rid of. For my next post, I want to look at a scientific article off of the library database.

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Is there scientific evidence?

When doing some research for my second blog post, I decided that I wanted to look at articles that have disproved the theory that vaccines do cause autism.

According to an article in NPR, written by Jon Hamilton in March 2013, researchers have discovered that there is no correlation between vaccinations and developing autism spectrum disorder. Doctors did a study and looked at what they call antigens. Antigens are a substance in vaccines that causes the body to produce antibodies. They compared the vaccine history of 250 kids who have autism, and 750 kids who do not. For the study, the doctors looked at the children's medical records to see how many antigens each child received, and looked at whether or not that gave the child an increased risk of developing autism. These doctors then concluded that because children are exposed to antigens all the time in the form of viruses and bacteria, the antigens in  vaccines have no correlation with developing autism. 

For my second article, I looked at another vaccine that has been thought to increase the risk of developing autism; the MMR vaccine (Measles-Mumps-Rubella). This article was written by members of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because this vaccine is given to children around the age of 12-15 months and the diagnosis of autism usually occurs between 15-18 months, it was thought that this particular vaccine had a negative effect. This article discusses however, in recent years the Institute of Medicine and the AAP have "organized several panels of independent scientists- all concluded that there is no association between MMR and autism."

Through reading these two articles, I don't think my point of view has changed from what it originally was. I think these article just reiterate my belief that vaccines don't cause autism. For my next post, I want to look at other possible vaccines that may cause autism. I also want to look at if there are any known contributors so far to why children are continuing to develop autism and if there is anything in a vaccine that may contribute to any of those factors. I also wonder if it's not the fear of vaccines that are causing autism, then why are more and more parents deciding not to vaccinate their children?

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Vaccines: What's all the fuss?

Vaccinations. Most all of us have had them growing up. They are supposed to keep us from getting diseases like mumps, measles, chicken pox and polio. They are supposed to keep diseases like this dormant so we don't get a terrifyingly sudden outbreak that could endanger many lives. So why are so many people nowadays choosing not to vaccinate their children? One of the biggest reasons is autism. About the same time that children are being diagnosed with autism is around the same time that children are getting such vaccinations. Many parents put the blame on the vaccines. Actress Jenny McCarthy has become a huge advocate of anti-vaccinations after her son was diagnosed with autism. She's even written many books about it. Parents are believing that mercury and other toxins that are present in some shots is the culprit as to why their child has developed autism.

Now, I don't know too much about this subject; just what I've heard about in the media and read online. And not to disrespect anyone who has chosen not to vaccinate their child, but my first reaction to this was that these claims are full of bologna. I think without a doubt vaccinations are necessary. What happens if we stop giving our children shots and there's an outbreak of measles? Measles is in the top five killers in children under five years old.

I have yet to see anything scientific regarding the validity of such claims. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. In order to do more research, I will most likely be getting a lot of my information from scientific and scholarly journals. I want to further research this topic to see if there is any medical correlation between getting vaccinated and developing autism. I also want to look at other reasons why parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids. If there is a correlation, what does that mean for the future of vaccines? Are we willing to risk a plethora of life threatening diseases coming back in order to protect our kids from a mental disease like autism?

                                            Photo credit source: Google