Vaccines don’t cause autism.
How can I, a 27-year-old with little to no real life experience and less than two years of medical training under my belt, make such a statement?
It’s rather simple. I believe in science (I’m weird like that).
The single 1998 study claiming to have found a link between the two has been discredited and retracted from publication for fraudulent results and for committing numerous ethical violations. There has not been one credible scientific study that has been able to prove anything, let alone correlate vaccinations and autism. I was rather shocked when I recently read an article from a reputable physician at the Cleveland Clinic proclaiming that vaccinations could cause autism. The more I read, the more a burdening sense of disappointment filled me. You know, the disappointment that’s supposed to hurt when your Jewish mother says “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.” Almost every argument he made could have been refuted with a rudimentary background on immunology. To Cleveland Clinic’s credit, they quickly distanced themselves and repudiated the article almost immediately. It’s people like him who are responsible for fully eradicated diseases now infiltrating the country once again. In 2017, we make such amazing advancements as a society only to have a select few single-handedly set us back a criminal amount and ruin it for everyone. It’s time we start holding them accountable so we can piggyback off those growths instead of looking back.
The anti-vaccination movement gained serious traction in 2007 when Jenny McCarthy became the outspoken leader of the misguided group. McCarthy, one of the top 7 worst people in the world, has continuously spewed a pseudoscience based anti-vaccination doctrine ever since her son was diagnosed with autism after receiving the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccination. She perpetually changes her story that she’s not anti-vaccine, rather pro-safe vaccine; whatever that means. Vaccinations are safe. There’s no debate. Conspiracists are convinced the CDC is concealing studies proving autism can really be caused by vaccinations. I cannot argue with, nor will I try to convince people who don’t want to listen to reason (and science).
It’s important to educate those who are on the fence about whether or not to vaccinate their children and themselves. Vaccinations work on the premise of exposing people to a live, attenuated or killed pathogen that safely teaches the immune system how to respond if/when they encounter the real deal in the future. If we’re not vaccinated and miss out on that teaching experience, the pathogen has free reign to infect us and cause serious illness in most cases. There are a countless number of immunocompromised people unable to receive vaccines (specifically children and the elderly) whose defenses are weakened that desperately count on their surrounding community to remain free of preventable disease to reduce the risk of catching anything contagious. Also known as herd immunity, it’s essentially like refraining from sneezing on your hand and then touching the New York City subway poles with it for subsequent people to get sick with, which I witness firsthand at least four times a day. We must be considerate of one another, especially when dealing with something as serious as health issues.
If aliens exist, they’re probably looking down at our society wondering why we have all these amazing medical advancements that we’re not utilizing as we just watch people needlessly die. It’s just stupid. Some people force themselves to be skeptical of everything and allocate blame for things that are undeserving. The fact is, sometimes in life bad things happen with no clear explanations. The causes of autism have been researched for years and just now are we beginning to learn that a genetic predisposition is the predominant risk factor, but a lot of questions still remain. However, whether or not vaccinations cause autism is not a question any longer. It’s time we demand to hold ourselves accountable and to a higher standard and base our medical decisions on irrefutable facts and science rather than nonsensical opinions from celebrities and extremist doctors.