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