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Sydnie Rogers
Professor Chip Douglas
UWRIT 1101
18 November 2015

Inquiry Project
Vaccinations are important in everyones life, but they are imperative to young childrens
health. Today, many parents are concerned with whether or not their child needs these
vaccinations and if they do, will they actually help build up their immune system? Many people
do not have the confidence in vaccinations that they have had in the past. No US federal laws
mandates vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public
schools. A major concern that has risen from vaccines is whether or not they cause autism. There
is no correlation link between vaccines and autism.
Many parents have the misconception that when they take their young child to get
vaccinated, they feel that they are putting their child at risk to develop autism. In a recent study
conducted by National Academy of Sciences, the report found no link between the two.
According to the CDC, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that is
caused by differences in how the brain functions. People with ASD may communicate, interact,
behave, and learn in different ways. Recent estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Monitoring Network found that about 1 in 68 children have been diagnosed with this
disability in communities across the United States. To provide evidence behind this statement,
the CDC researchers looked at the number of antigens received between a child with ASD and
one who did not, and the number of antigens were the same. So therefore, they were able to
conclude that vaccines do not cause autism.
A majority of parents also believe that the ingredients in a vaccination is unsafe and
unnatural. Many parents believe what is inside the vaccine is the cause behind the rise of autism.

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Parents today are leaning more toward natural immunity as opposed to vaccines. Parents believe
that Thimerosal, a mercury based preservative found in many vaccines until 2001, was the reason
for the increase number of children being diagnosed with autism. Some parents question whether
it is the measles vaccine, which is introduced into an infants body at fifteen months of age that
cause the rise of autism in children. Also, parents ponder the thought of whether the adverse
effect that happens when infants receive a large number of vaccines so close to each other have
some connection to autism. They feel that the toxic elements that are entering the body from the
shots are causing neurological issues that led to autism.
This concern has arisen due in part to the fact that a British gastroenterologist and
researcher and some of his fellow colleagues decided to write a paper in 1998, in which they
believed that there was a correlation between autism and vaccines. The paper was retracted and
the researchers license was revoked when proper evidence was found. It was later proven in
2010 that his information was incorrect. Lancet, the name of the medical journal where the
paper was published, suggested that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine might
have caused symptoms associated with autism. Him and his colleagues believe that the vaccine
lead to some infants having intestinal inflammation, which then in return led to the development
of autism. Since the time that this statement was made, there has been 18 controlled
epidemiological studies that have thoroughly investigated the connections between the two.
Alison Singer, founder and president of the Autism Science Foundation states, They have all
come back showing the same thing. There is no link between vaccines and autism.
Although parents are pro mandatory vaccinations, according to The American Academy
of Pediatrics states that "most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing disease.
Research has proven that vaccines save 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every

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year. Side effects to vaccines are very rare, and serious side effects occur in every one out of a
million children. They also save parents money each year. Vaccines cost less in time and money
to obtain than infectious diseases cost in time to take off from work to care for a sick child, and
medical costs that are associated with the illness.
Although many parents take caution when having their children vaccinated, The Childrens
Hospital of Philadelphia notes that "It is true that natural infection almost always causes better
immunity than vaccines. Whereas immunity from disease often follows a single natural infection,
immunity from vaccines occurs only after several doses." The only down fall to this is the fact
that young children have a very weak immune system and if they contract pneumonia or measles,
it come potentially become harder for their immune system to fight the illness off as oppose to
just receiving a vaccination. Many parents believe in natural immunity and do not want their
child to be vaccinated because they are afraid of the side effects that could occur. One thing that
is for sure is that vaccines do not autism.

Works Cited Page

Rope, Kate, and Get 2 FREE YEARS of Parenting Magazine - Subscribe Now!! CNN. Cable
News Network, 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"What Is the Vaccine/Autism Controversy About?" About.com Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov.
2015.

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"Autism Speaks." Do Vaccines Cause Autism. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Couch, Robbie. "Autism Group Urges Parents To Vaccinate Children: 'Vaccines Do Not Cause
Autism'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Rosenberg, Martha. Nursing Inventions for Infants, Children, and Families. Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications, 2001. Print.
"Vaccines ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015