Why Children Should Be Vaccinated, Finding the Truth
As the cases of measles began to pop up in the U.S. in 2015, unfounded fears on the association between vaccines and autism resurfaced. Whereas numerous research suggesting the lack of a causal link between MMR vaccination and ASD exist, these misinformed beliefs have persisted. These recurrent myths were spread by a small, but vocal group of activists against vaccination that had their basis on a now discredited study from 1988 published by a British medical journal (The Lancet) doctor who was later stripped of his license. Therefore, this paper presents evidence debunking the myth of a relationship between MMR vaccine and autism development in children, including the importance of valid research in shaping public opinion.
Links between MMR Vaccination and ASD in Children
There exist no scientific grounds for linking immunizing children with the MMR vaccine and the heightened risk for developing autism. Questions on the possible links between MMR vaccine and autism have had extensive review by independent expert groups in countries such as the US, the UK, Japan, Finland, and Australia (Mrozek-Budzyn et al., 2010). In all the reviews conducted, a major conclusion has been the presented epidemiological data fails to support a causal link between MMR vaccination and the development of ASD (Mrozek-Budzyn et al., 2010; Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014; Kaye, del Mar Melero-Montes, & Jick 2001).
Propositions that the MMR vaccines increase the risk for developing ASD had their birth in a research published in The Lancet by a United Kingdom Gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield (Baird et al., 2008). Wakefield et al. (1998) claimed that the Measles vaccine in the MMR led to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), allowing for the entry of noxious proteins into circulation and subsequent brain damage. The IBD then resulted in a decreased absorption of essential nutrients and vitamins from the GIT. This in turn led to the development of numerus disorders, including autism, or worsened the symptomatology of autism in children with a definitive diagnosis – a phenomenon termed regressive autism (Demicheli et al., 2013).
Subsequently, the theory attracted a great deal of media attention, but then studies on which it was based were unsubstantiated. The validity of the findings has been numerously questioned, especially that the findings could not be reproduced by other researchers (Baird et al., 2008). Additionally, the findings of the research were further discredited when investigations found out that Wakefield’s research funders were lawyers who were on a quest to find evidence against vaccine manufacturers. Consequently, the doctor’s license was revoked, then permanently barred from practice in the UK, and the original paper was retracted from the Lancet in in 2010 (Institute of Medicine & Stratton, 2012).
According to Demicheli et al. (2013), over twenty subsequent studies and numerous expert reviews have come short of presenting evidence on the causal association between MMR vaccination and autism. The National Center of Immunization and Research Surveillance (NCIRS) (2009) notes that an examination of the vaccination status of 498 children with autism and control subjects without autism in England, 1999, failed to find any links between how the MMR vaccines were timed and the onset of autism. Another English study carried out in 2004 examining the incidence and prevalence of autism in 5,500 children attending GPs and immunized with the MMR vaccine found no relationship between the development of Autism and administration of the MMR vaccine (NCIRS, 2009). In Finland, a larger study following almost 600,000 children for over 20 years after receiving the MMR vaccine was conducted (NCIRS, 2015). The results were there was no link between administration of the MMR vaccine and autism or other neurological disorders.
Other studies conducted in the US and the UK have failed to find correlations between MMR immunization trend in early childhood and trends in the diagnoses of autism. One of the latest research published in the JAMA debunks the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism in children (Jain et al., 2015). Jain et al. (2015) were particularly interested in studying children with elder siblings with autism, or ASD, one of the genetic predispositions for the development of Autism. Revelations were made that there existed no harmful relationships between MMR vaccine administration and the development of the ASD.
Another major research that emerged in literature was the one conducted by Cáceres (2015). In this study, 95,727 children were examined within a window of 11 years. The researcher was interested in quantifying the risk levels of Autism development in children vaccinated with the MMR vaccine in comparison to a control group who did not receive the vaccine. For children whose elder siblings had autism, there existed no causal relationship between the receipt of either 1 or 2 two doses of the MMR vaccine and the increased risk of developing ASD.
Administration of the Vaccine Components Separately
No evidence has been presented that the administration of each of the components of the vaccine separately over time concurs any benefit (Baird et al., 2008). In fact, the separate administration of the vaccine components concurs greater risks as the children (and their contacts) are more exposed to serious diseases for extended periods. Additionally, numerous immunization visits would be required, which will necessitate for more administration needles. Numerous national and international expert bodies, including the WHO, the NHMRC, the UK Department of Health, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend continued administration of the vaccine – with a dosage containing all the three components at a time (Institute of Medicine & Stratton, 2012).
Ingredients in the Vaccine do not Cause Autism
Thimerosal, a mercury based preservative used in the prevention of contamination of multi-dose vials of vaccines, is one of the vaccine ingredients that has been extensively studied (Jain et al., 2015). A 2004 scientific review conducted by the IOM concluded that the evidence presented favored the rejection of the causal relationship between vaccines that had thimerosal as a preservative and Autism (Baird et al., 2008). The CDC, in spearheading research studies on debunking the ASD-MMR myth, has funded nine researches – including numerous other studies – all of which have failed to find a concrete causal link between heightened risk for developing ASD in children and thimerosal-containing (CDC, 2015). Currently, only the multi dose flu vials containing thimerosal; of which thimerosal-free alternatives to flu vaccines are available.
Misinformation and the Importance of Vaccinating Children
As stated, various studies conducted on the casualty of ASD by the MMR vaccine have failed to find a concrete link between the disorder and the vaccine – or any other vaccine for that matter. Nevertheless, many parents fail to or delay in vaccinating their young children based on the misplaced fears of ASD, a fear that can be traced back to a small study of 1998 that has been debunked and retracted (Jain et al., 2015). Failure to immunize one’s children can have dire consequences on public health. With a decline in the rate at which children are vaccinated, the US, for example, has seen a recent resurgence of diseases such as measles and other potentially fatal childhood infectious diseases (CDC, 2015).
Cáceres (2015) posits that parents with children suffering from ASD are more likely to avoid getting their children vaccinated. In the study, the vaccination rates of children whose siblings had Autism was less by about 10% than those whose siblings were not affected. This comes in light of numerous research findings that have failed to establish a causal link between ASD and the MMR vaccination, even amongst children who are known to be on an increased risk for the development of autism. The consequences of not vaccinating one’s children are serious: in 2016, the Unites States had 668 people who contracted measles in 27 states (CDC, 2015). Such data is not a matter to be brushed of as measles can lead to pneumonia, ear infections, brain damage, seizures and fatalities if no early interventions are instituted.
Further, it is the responsibility of parents not only to their children, but to the whole community to collectively contribute in the achievement of high levels of population immunity that then can outbreaks be prevented (Cáceres, 2015). Communal immunization is especially important in children with immunosuppression and those with cancer. Such children cannot be vaccinated and thereof depend on the herd immunity within the community for protection from a potentially fatal illness (Demicheli et al., 2013). Current US recommendation calls for two doses of the MMR vaccine in children; at the ages of 12-15 months and 4-6 years (CDC, 2015). Given the distressing resurgence of measles in states such as California, it is more critical that parents protect their children against measles and other infectious diseases.
Conclusion
Indeed, no scientific evidence has been found to link vaccinating children with the MMR vaccination and the risk for developing autism. As presented above, reviewers and independent experts have continually debunked the myths on the possible links between MMR vaccine and autism. Whereas these myths have been propagated by the anti-vaccination movement, the information used for the support of their arguments and claims is unwarranted. Failing to vaccinate one’s children based on misinformed myths has dire consequences.
References
Baird, G., Pickles, A., Simonoff, E., Charman, T., Sullivan, P., Chandler, S., Loucas, T., Meldrum, D., Afzal, M., Thomas, B., & Jin, L. (2008). Measles vaccination and antibody response in autism spectrum disorders. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 93(10), 832-837.
Cáceres, M. (2015). Another backward epidemiological cohort study. Retrieved from http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2015/06/another-backward-epidemiological-cohort-study-2/
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2015). Measles cases outbreaks. Online source. Online resource. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html
Demicheli, V., Rivetti, A., Debalini, M. G., & Di Pietrantonj, C. (2013). Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children. Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal, 8(6), 2076-2238.
Institute of Medicine (U.S.). & Stratton, K. (2012). Adverse effects of vaccines: Evidence and causality. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.
Jain, A., Marshall, J., Buikema, A., Bancroft, T., Kelly, J. P., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2015). Autism occurrence by MMR vaccine status among US children with older siblings with and without autism. JAMA, 313(15), 1534-1540. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.3077
Kaye, J. A., del Mar Melero-Montes, M., & Jick, H. (2001). Mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine and the incidence of autism recorded by general practitioners: a time trend analysis. Bmj, 322(7284), 460-463. doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7284.460
Mrozek-Budzyn, D., Kieltyka, A., & Majewska, R. (2010). Lack of association between measles-mumps-rubella vaccination and autism in children: A case control study. The pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 29(5), 397-400. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2010.06.022
The National Center of Immunization and Research Surveillance (NCIRS). (2009). MMR vaccine, inflammatory bowel disease and autism. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/outbreak/pdf/mmr-vaccine-ibd-autism-fact-sheet.pdf
Taylor, L. E., Swerdfeger, A. L., & Eslick, G. D. (2014). Vaccines are not associated with autism: an evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies. Vaccine, 32(29), 3623-3629. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.085
