MMR Vaccine and Autism
Abstract
The MMR vaccine, autism and the potential link between the two has been a longstanding debate among to world for many years. Vaccines have been created to fight the Measles Mumps and Rubella disease which have been very effective in stopping the spread of the disease. However, cases of the MMR disease have began to appear and parents refuse to vaccinate their children due to the belief that the MMR vaccine can cause autism. However, numerous studies have been conducted which prove there is no correlation between the MMR vaccine and autism. One study includes following 31,619 children who remained unvaccinated. It was then found that 6,517 children received a diagnosis for autism resulting in researchers. Scientists and researchers then came to the conclusion that there was indeed no proportional incidence between the MMR vaccine and the development of autism. The MMR vaccine causing autism is a clar hoax that has been proven false over the past few decades. This controversy must be debunked in the correct way in order to have everyone aware of these results and findings.
Steven Samaroo English 21003
Professor Coppola April 8th, 2019
MMR Vaccine and Autism
The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been around for decades helping combat the measles, mumps and rubella disease. All these diseases are viral and contagious diseases that can infect others if someone has not been vaccinated. Children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, one from ages 12 to 15 months and the second from ages 4 to 6 years old. In 2000, Measles was declared to be eliminated in the United States. While this was the case almost 20 years ago, there have been increased cases of measles in the United States over the past few years. Even with the increase in measles cases, parents refuse to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine in fear of their children developing autism. These parents put their children at high risks by not vaccinating with the MMR vaccine but continue to do so citing the increased chance for the development of autism. However, numerous tests and studies conducted further prove the findings that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism or increase one’s likelihood to develop autism.
Diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella need immunization to fight them, this is called vaccination. Everybody is born with an immune system containing cells, organs, glands, and fluids throughout the body. When there are germs and bacteria in a body, the immune system recognizes it as antigens. The immune system fights these antigens with antibodies. A child’s body is not strong enough to produce antibodies as quickly and usually this results in the child getting sick. Immune systems are able to recognize the antigen if ever it were to enter the body again and is able to fight it by producing antibodies faster. Vaccination has been proven to help aid from viruses and diseases by many scientists and is one of the most important steps parents should take after their child is born. Vaccines are composed of antigens that have been killed or weakened to the point where the disease can not grow. The measles vaccine contains the measles virus. They are injected into a child’s body where the immune system can produce antibodies to fight the disease without the child contracting it. This exposes the immune system to the virus more safely and the immune system is ready to fight it if it ever entered the body again. Measles is a virus that causes coughing, runny nose, fever, watery eyes, and rashes. It can lead to diarrhea, ear infections, and lung infection (pneumonia). In rare cases, measles can lead to brain damage and death. Mumps causes fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, or swollen salivary glands under the ears. It can lead to deafness, swelling of the brain or spinal cord covering (known as encephalitis or meningitis), swelling of the testicles or ovaries and very rarely, death. Rubella causes fever, sore throat, rash, and headache. Rubella can cause arthritis in teenage years and in adult women. Pregnancy with rubella can cause the baby to have birth defects or miscarriage. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says: “One dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles, 78% effective against mumps, and 97% effective against rubella. Two doses of MMR vaccine are 97% effective against measles and 88% effective against mumps” (CDC 2019). It is extremely important to make sure children and adults are vaccinated to prevent serious health problems developing and to ensure the safety of the public.
Despite the risks of not vaccinating with the MMR vaccine, many parents choose to not vaccinate their children in fear of the development of autism. Some research studies have been done citing the onset of autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. The article “Vaccines and Autism” from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia presents two studies done by Andrew Wakefield claiming that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Andrew Wakefield’s first study occurred in 1998 where he claimed the MMR vaccine as the article states “caused a series of events that include intestinal inflammation, entrance into the bloodstream of proteins harmful to the brain, and consequent development of autism” (Offit 2018). Wakefield also provided information of 12 children with developmental disorders, 8 having autism, who described intestinal problems and developing autism about a month after the MMR vaccine. Wakefield’s second study occurred in 2002 where he studied intestinal biopsy samples of children with and without autism for the presence of the measles virus. The article states that, “Seventy-five of 91 children with autism were found to have measles virus in intestinal biopsy tissue as compared with only 5 of 70 patients who didn’t have autism” (Offit 2018). The findings of these two studies provide the evidence used in the argument claiming the MMR vaccine causes autism. However, these studies have been proven to be faulty for many reasons. The first study done in 1998 was proven to be faulty as the study did not account for studying the incidence of autism in both unvaccinated and vaccinated children. Also the claims of intestinal inflammation occurred after the diagnosis of autism. Due to the faults in the paper, it is not part of the scientific record. The second study done in 2002 was proven to be faulty as measles was found to be present in the intestinal biopsy, but the study failed to account for the measles mobilizing after inoculation which explains the presence of the measles vaccine. The study also failed to account if the measles present was natural measles or vaccine measles.
Although there is a belief that the MMR vaccine does cause autism, over the last few decades, numerous studies have been conducted regarding the claim on whether the MMR vaccine inherently causes autism or increases one’s chances to develop autism. The New York Times article, “One More Time, With Big Data: Measles Vaccine Doesn’t Cause Autism” by Jan Hoffman, states what has been said and accepted by the scientific community that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism or have any direct correlation. The article states of a study taking place where researchers followed 657,461 Danish children born between the years of 1999 and 2010. These researchers stated in the Annals of Internal Medicine, “The study strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases after vaccination” (Hoffman 2019). Many studies focus on Danish children as Denmark offers free vaccination programs which are also voluntary. Another study stated in the article led by Dr. Anders Hviid, follows 31,619 children who remained unvaccinated. It was found that 6,517 children received a diagnosis for autism resulting in researchers finding as the article states, “no greater proportional incidence of the diagnosis between the vaccinated and unvaccinated children” (Hoffman 2019). These findings further echo numerous results of studies which have taken place over the past 2 decades.
Due to the evidence which proves the MMR vaccine does not cause autism, the myth and controversy regarding the MMR vaccine and autism must be debunked. The myth must be debunked in the correct way ensuring the general public understands what is being said regarding no discovered correlation between the MMR vaccine and autism. One possible solution includes all physicians when the time comes for the MMR vaccine informing parents that there is no relation between the MMR vaccine and autism especially focusing on if a set of parents refuse the vaccine citing the potential onset of autism. Another solution could be a worldwide press event debunking the controversy in the public eye in hopes of parents finally listening to the numerous amounts of evidence present.
The longstanding debate on whether the MMR vaccine causes autism comes at a time where there are new cases of measles, mumps and rubella occurring. Although numerous research studies have been conducted with results proving no correlation between autism and the MMR vaccine, parents still refuse to vaccinate their children ultimately putting their children at greater, unnecessary risk. According to the “Measles Data and Statistics” slideshow from the CDC, from the years 2000-2016, there has been an 86% decrease in the number of deaths from measles which amounts to over 20.4 million deaths prevented. These stats can not be ignored as the MMR vaccine does it’s job in protecting against measles, mumps and rubella and lastly does not have any correlation the autism.
Work Cited
Children’s Hospital. (2014, November 05). Vaccines and Autism. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccines-and-other-conditions/vaccines-autism
Hoffman, J. (2019, March 05). One More Time, With Big Data: Measles Vaccine Doesn’t Cause Autism. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/measles-vaccine-autism.html
Measles Data and Statistics[PDF]. (2018, February 16). CDC.
Vaccine Information Statement | MMR | Measles-Mumps-Rubella | VIS | CDC. (2018, February 12). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mmr.html
Vaccines and Preventable Diseases. (2019, March 28). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html
Vaccines & Immunizations. (2017, August 18). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/howvpd.htm
