Vaccines In Infancy And Autism: Too Many Too Soon
Addressing Parents Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infants Immune System?Offit, Paul A., Quarles, Jessica, et al.2002
Offit, Paul A. and Moser, Charlotte A.January 2009
Tozzi AE, Bisiacchi P, Tarantino V, De Mei B, DElia L, Chariotti F, Salmaso S.January 2009
Robert Schechter, MD, MSc and Judith K. Grether, PhDJanuary 2008
New England Journal of MedicineThompson WW, Price C, Goodson B, et al.September 2007
American Journal of Medical GeneticsJudith H. Miles and T. Nicole TakahashiMay 2007
Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing ThimerosalThomas M. Burbacher, PhDApril 2005
Thimerosal Exposure in Infants and Developmental Disorders: A Prospective Cohort Study in the United Kingdom Does Not Support a Causal AssociationJohn Heron and Nick Andrews, PhD and Jean Golding, DScSeptember 2004
Journal of the American Medical AssociationAnders Hviid, MSc
American Journal of Preventive MedicinePaul Stehr-Green, DrPh, MPH
Natural Immunity Won’t Protect Your Kids
Some anti-vaxxers think their kids are born equipped to fight these diseases. But in fact, 90 percent of vaccinated kids exposed to measles get infected. Vaccines were game changers. Generations ago, kids did not stand a fighting chance against illnesses like polio. Give your kids the tools they need to protect themselves.
Doctor Says Vaccines May Cause Autism
A leading doctor who backed vaccine safety has signed a sworn statement saying inoculations can cause autism in some cases.
US paediatric neurologist Dr Andrew Zimmerman says vaccine fever and immune stimulation could cause autism in a subset of children with a mitochondrial dysfunction.
Dr Andrew Zimmerman, who believes the MMR vaccine can cause autism in children with a mitochondrial dysfunction
Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, says throughout his career he has vigorously defended vaccines.
Vaccine link to autism
But in his affidavit he says he told lawyers of the link to autism in 2007.
John Fletcher is a member of Justice, Awareness and Basic Support , a UK self-help group.
The group supports families who believe their children have been damaged by vaccines.
Fletcher called the development in the US very significant.
Brain damage
The UK government awarded him and his wife Jackie £90,000 after the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine gave their 27-year-old son Robert brain damage.
Robert now has epileptic fits, is unable to talk, stand unaided or feed himself. However, he does not have autism.
A jury made up of a judge and two doctors awarded the compensation. They said the ruling had no relevance to the question of a link between the vaccine and autism.
Zimmerman says he told US Department of Justice lawyers of the case at a federal court hearing.
Autism based on genetics
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Myth #: Natural Immunity Is Better Than Vaccine
In some cases, natural immunity meaning actually catching a disease and getting sick results in a stronger immunity to the disease than a vaccination. However, the dangers of this approach far outweigh the relative benefits. If you wanted to gain immunity to measles, for example, by contracting the disease, you would face a 1 in 500 chance of death from your symptoms. In contrast, the number of people who have had severe allergic reactions from an MMR vaccine, is less than one-in-one million.
When It Comes To Vaccines And Autism Why Is It Hard To Refute Misinformation
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For years scientists have said that there is no link between vaccines and autism. There are still many people who are reluctant to vaccinate. But, one woman has changed her mind about vaccines.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Scientists have said over and over for years that there is no link between vaccines and autism. But there are still a lot of people who are reluctant to vaccinate themselves and their children because they believe there’s a risk, which leads to a question – why is it so hard to refute misinformation? NPR’s Shankar Vedantam has the story.
SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: In 2012, when Maranda Dynda was pregnant, her midwife told her a story that she couldn’t get out of her head. The midwife said that years earlier, something bad happened after she vaccinated her son – he stopped hitting his milestones. One minute he was fine, she said, and the next, he was autistic. She said the light had left his eyes. So the midwife decided not to vaccinate her other children.
VEDANTAM: Dynda started on Google. It led her to Facebook groups.
DYNDA: It’s very easy to find them. So yeah, if you – even if you just Google, you know, support groups for parents who don’t vaccinate, you will find a lot.
VEDANTAM: The moms in these groups echoed Dynda’s midwife.
VEDANTAM: Everyone was caring and attentive. They didn’t just talk about vaccines they talked about regular mom stuff, things that Dynda found hard to talk about with anyone else.
VEDANTAM: Dynda trusted them.
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Effective At Preventing Disease
The review found that one dose of the MMR vaccine was 72% effective in preventing mumps, which can cause flu-like symptoms and severe swelling of the salivary glands.
Success rates increase to 86% after two doses of the vaccine. From the data the review analyzed, the number of mumps cases would fall from roughly 7% unvaccinated children to 1% of children when they received two doses of the MMR vaccine.
For measles, the success rates are much higher. The review found that just one dose of the vaccine would prevent 95% of cases. Receiving two doses of the vaccine is similarly effective and would prevent a further 1% of cases. Vaccinating children with just one dose of MMR would reduce the overall number of measles cases from 7% to below 0.5%, the statistics show.
One dose of the vaccine was found to be 89% effective in preventing rubella.
Rubella causes a rash in children but can be serious if a woman contracts it during pregnancy, potentially leading to miscarriage or causing deafness in the child.
Data on chickenpox, meanwhile, showed that two doses of the vaccine can prevent 95% of cases, even after 10 years. However, the data on chickenpox was from just one study.
Safe For Mass Immunization
While clearly effective at preventing viral disease, there are risks from vaccination. Some children may develop a fever or rash following vaccination, for example.
The researchers also identified certain associations with the MMR vaccines, such as experiencing fits due to high temperature and a blood clotting condition called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
However, the research team says the risk of these occurring is much lower than the risks that the diseases themselves pose.
The scientists also wanted to look specifically at other risks that the public perceives, such as autism.
We wanted to look at evidence for specific harms that have been linked with these vaccines in public debate often without rigorous scientific evidence as a basis, explains Dr. Pietrantonj.
The review summarizes data from two studies with almost 1.2 million children that show that the rates of autism diagnosis are similar in those receiving the MMR vaccine and those who do not.
The researchers also found no evidence for a connection with a host of other diseases the public has previously linked to the vaccine, including encephalitis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma.
On the basis of this data, the scientists continue to recommend the MMR vaccines for global use.
Overall, we think that existing evidence on the safety and effectiveness of MMR/MMRV/MMR+V vaccines supports their use for mass immunization, says Dr. Pietrantonj.
Reported cases have increased by
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Autisms Genetic Risk Factors
Research tells us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in certain genes increase the risk that a child will develop autism. If a parent carries one or more of these gene changes, they may get passed to a child . Other times, these genetic changes arise spontaneously in an early embryo or the sperm and/or egg that combine to create the embryo. Again, the majority of these gene changes do not cause autism by themselves. They simply increase risk for the disorder
The Flu Vaccine And Autism
While the majority of flu vaccines don’t contain thimerosal nowadays, multidose vials may have trace amounts to prevent bacteria, fungi, and other germs from forming. “Introduction of bacteria and fungi has the potential to occur when a syringe needle enters a vial as a vaccine is being prepared for administration,”according to the CDC. “Contamination by germs in a vaccine could cause severe local reactions, serious illness or death. In some vaccines, preservatives, including thimerosal, are added during the manufacturing process to prevent germ growth.”
Parents can always choose thimerosal-free alternatives of the flu vaccine though, and experts assert that it’s safe for kids. Indeed, the CDC recommends that everyone over 6 months of age receive a flu vaccine, with rare exceptions. Read more about the guidelines here.
Getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy is especially important since expectant women have a higher chance of severe illness from influenza. That’s because pregnancy changes your heart, lungs, and immune system. The flu vaccine also helps protect newborns from influenza during their first several months of life.
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Is Thimerosal Still Found In Vaccines
Thimerosal has been removed or reduced to trace amounts in most vaccines, with the exception of the multi-dose vial of the seasonal flu shot. Thimerosal is added to multi-dose vials to help prevent overgrowth of bacteria.
For parents who prefer, preservative-free versions of the flu shot are available all you have to do is request it from your doctor or pharmacist. You may need to check with your insurance first to be sure they’ll pay for the preservative-free form.
Thimerosal used to be found in the hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B and diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines, among others. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has worked with vaccine manufacturers to eliminate thimerosal from vaccines recommended for children 6 years and younger. In many common childhood vaccines, thimerosol was never present.
Thimerosal is not present in any COVID vaccine issued for emergency use authorization in the U.S. To see a full list of ingredients for COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., follow this link.
At this time, the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in children is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and it is only used in children 16 years or older. Studies in younger populations are ongoing.
Myth #: Vaccines Can Infect My Child With The Disease It’s Trying To Prevent
Vaccines can cause mild symptoms resembling those of the disease they are protecting against. A common misconception is that these symptoms signal infection. In fact, in the small percentage where symptoms do occur, the vaccine recipients are experiencing a body’s immune response to the vaccine, not the disease itself. There is only one recorded instance in which a vaccine was shown to cause disease. This was the Oral Polio Vaccine which is no longer used in the U.S. Since then, vaccines have been in safe use for decades and follow strict Food and Drug Administration regulations.
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Beyond The Autism/vaccine Hypothesis: What Parents Need To Know About Autism Research
A decade ago most researchers agreed that we needed to study vaccines in relation to autism. We had to reconcile the fact that the number of vaccines children were receiving was increasing, and at the same time, the number of children who were being diagnosed with autism also was on the rise. Fortunately this was a question that could be studied and answered by science. We looked at children who received vaccines and those who didnt, or who received them on a different, slower schedule. There was no difference in their neurological outcomes. Multiple studies have been completed which investigated the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination in relation to autism. Researchers have also studied thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, to see if it had any relation to autism. The results of studies are very clear the data show no relationship between vaccines and autism. Read the studies themselves below and browse our recommended reading list.
Vaccination Rates Among Younger Siblings Of Children With Autism
The relationship between adverse reactions to vaccine and autism spectrum disorder has received little attention in research as of this writing. At the public health level, a better understanding of the relationship between perceived adverse reactions to vaccine and autism spectrum disorder is necessary in order to more effectively address concerns about vaccination.
Journal Title: Journal Volume: Publisher: CATEGORY:TYPE:
Reviews recent controversies surrounding immunizations and ASD .
Corporate Authors: Journal Issue: Journal Title: Journal Volume: Publisher: CATEGORY:TYPE:
Le présent article analyse de récentes controverses entourant limmunisation et les troubles envahissants du développment et conclut quaucune donnée nappuie une association entre ces deux éléments.
Corporate Authors: Journal Issue: Journal Title: Journal Volume: Publisher: CATEGORY:TYPE:
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Structural Abnormalities Of The Nervous System
Toxic or viral insults to the fetus that cause autism, as well as certain central nervous system disorders associated with autism, support the notion that autism is likely to occur in the womb. For example, children exposed to thalidomide during the first or early second trimester were found to have an increased incidence of autism. Thalidomide was a medication that used to be prescribed to pregnant women to treat nausea. However, autism occurred in children with ear, but not arm or leg, abnormalities. Because ears develop before 24 days gestation, and arms and legs develop after 24 days gestation, the risk period for autism following receipt of thalidomide must have been before 24 days gestation. In support of this finding, Rodier and colleagues found evidence for structural abnormalities of the nervous system in children with autism. These abnormalities could only have occurred during development of the nervous system in the womb.
Here’s All The Evidence That Proves Vaccines Cause Autism
It’s been nearly twenty years since medical researcher Andrew Wakefield destroyed his career by publishing a fraudulent research paper linking the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine to autism. The doctor’s claims have endangered children around the world and confused parents trying to make the right health choices for their children. To set the record straight, here’s all the evidence that proves vaccines cause autism.
In 1998, Wakefield wrote a paper claiming he had found a link between autism and gastrointestinal problems. The paper did not find a link between vaccines and autism, but in a subsequent press conference, Wakefield said he thought the MMR vaccines should be given individually, and not as a set. Wakefield worried that the MMR vaccine could hurt a child’s immune system and allow the measles virus to invade the intestines. Proteins that leak from the intestines could reach neurons in the brain, he wrote, affecting brain function.
Dozens of studies since have refuted Wakefield’s claims. One study, which examined close to 100,000 children. The study found absolutely no link between autism and the MMR vaccine.
Even as scientists denounced the paper, media interest in Wakefield’s study exploded and several journalists reported his theories as fact, failing to scrutinize the study or corroborate it with expert opinions.
So here it is: The actual truth.
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Myth #: Infant Immune Systems Can’t Handle So Many Vaccines
Infant immune systems are stronger than you might think. Based on the number of antibodies present in the blood, a baby would theoretically have the ability to respond to around 10,000 vaccines at one time. Even if all 14 scheduled vaccines were given at once, it would only use up slightly more than 0.1% of a baby’s immune capacity. And scientists believe this capacity is purely theoretical. The immune system could never truly be overwhelmed because the cells in the system are constantly being replenished. In reality, babies are exposed to countless bacteria and viruses every day, and immunizations are negligible in comparison.
Though there are more vaccinations than ever before, today’s vaccines are far more efficient. Small children are actually exposed to fewer immunologic components overall than children in past decades.
Mmr And Autism: Discredited Theories
In 1998, researcher Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet describing an apparently new syndrome linking developmental disorders and bowel problems in children who had previously been developing typically.
In 8 of only 12 cases studied, parents linked the beginning of the behaviour difficulties with the MMR vaccination.
The researchers stated that they did not prove a link between the MMR vaccine and the new syndrome. But their paper discussed the proposed link extensively. The paper suggested that the combined MMR vaccine was implicated in the development of autism, although the single measles vaccine was not.
After the paper was published, Dr Wakefield publicly discussed the link. He suggested there was a case for splitting the vaccine into its component parts.
Criticism of the research Since 1998, Dr Wakefields research has been criticised for several reasons, including the following:
- The research applied measures meant for adults to test results from children. This means that some of the findings about bowel disorders in these children were in fact normal for children.
- The paper published an unproven link between the new syndrome that Dr Wakefield described and the MMR vaccine.
Ten of the papers authors issued a partial retraction in 2004. They suggested that the link between autism and bowel disorders is worthy of further investigation. But they admitted they did not find that the MMR vaccine caused autism.
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