Know the facts. Vaccinate your kids.

There are many voices in the world declaring that vaccines are dangerous. That they do tragic, irreversible things to children.  Some of those voices come from politicians, from celebrities, from terrified parents and, sadly, even from some scientists. It is no wonder many in the western world were influenced by these voices. But the world has been misinformed and led astray, and it is time for the world to get back to the truth.

To kick off the discussion, I'd like to make some comments on this video, which is either depressingly misinformed, or worse, blatantly lying.

The video opens by suggesting that the tripling of vaccine amount in the last 30 years is related/causative to the autism increase. The fact that both of those things occurred means absolutely nothing. In the last 30 years we've also increased the national amount of wind turbines, internet usage and population density. But that doesn't mean we can start blaming those things for new health problems just because they overlap in time. A closer examination has revealed that the increased rate of autism is due to expansions in the definition of what it means to be autistic. That is, doctors are diagnosing people with autism spectrum disorder today whom would not have been diagnosed 30 years ago1.

Regarding the "dozens of published research papers" that claim vaccines and autsim are linked: In 1998,  British researcher Andrew Wakefield published a study claiming a link between vaccines and autism. It was immediately picked up by the press and exploded internationally. After the publication, other qualified scientists could not replicate his results, and eventually demonstrated that there is in fact no link whatsoever. To make it worse, it was later found that Wakefield purposefully falsified his data and he was stripped of his medical license for abusing the disabled children he was "studying".

There have also been others in the scientific field that have claimed to have proven that vaccines cause autism. This, to me, is tragic. As scientists, it is our responsibility to use our training and expertise to inform the public in topics which they cannot inform themselves. Unfortunately it is extremely easy for a person with some scientific background to mislead, purposefully or accidentally, an un-scientific layman, and that is precisely what has happened. Many researchers have carried out bad and flawed experiments and claimed something that isn't true. How do we know it isn't true? Because other, highly skilled researchers could not replicate the finding that vaccines cause autism. In fact, expert after expert has found the opposite and replicated the opposite: That vaccines don't cause autism. (for example: I. II. III.)

Next, there is a long monologue about the National Childhood Vaccine Act, which I think is completely ludicrous. Whether or not the government acted rightly or wrongly with how they dealt with the issue, it has absolutely no effect on whether or not vaccines actually cause autism! It is simply a way to distract and aggravate the viewer, without informing them in any way with relevant truth. What does it matter who was sued? It is ridiculous to even think that a court could or should have a say on this question. Masters are not trained in biology or medicine! So why would you expect them to be able to choose for the nation whether or not vaccines are safe? Of course there are contradictory rulings!


Finally, a complete lie in this film claims the government has never looked into the effects of the "vaccine surge". In fact, it's pretty easy to find articles thoroughly looking into the effects of the "surge" and finding that there is absolutely no ill effect, and in fact, the amount of active substance has actually decreased. For example, this study from 2002, and this one from 2012. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics clearly says "there is no scientific reason for or benefit to separating the vaccines. By separating them, we are putting children (and pregnant women who may be exposed to them) at increased risk by extending the amount of time they go unvaccinated"2.

The Truth
The truth is that vaccines don't cause autism. The truth is that you shouldn't trust the TV, your neighbor or your politician with something as precious as your child's health. Study after study has shown that vaccines, whether given many at a time or separated over development, do not have any association with autism. That is, whether or not a child has been vaccinated has absolutely no correlation with a child getting autism. Did you vaccinate your child? Your child is no more likely to get autsim than an unvaccinated child. Did you not vaccinate your child? You are compromising the health of your child and your community. Do you think that herd immunity will keep you safe? Or maybe you know a family that has grown, unvaccinated children who are still healthy? You can only play Russian roulette with your health so long before an outbreak occurs. Plus, you are likely living in a community with like-minded, unvaccinated families, only increasing the risk of you and those close to you, like this community in Texas.

Don't compromise you or your children's health. Don't weaken the herd immunity that protects those who aren't healthy enough to get vaccinated. Vaccinate your kids. And if you're scared, confused, or unmoved by my post, contact me. I will do my best to explore your fears and questions, and maybe together we can work through the aggressively opposing arguments to find safety and truth on the other side.


1. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-012-1566-0
2. http://www2.aap.org/immunization/families/autismfacts.html