Media Effects On Autism

Andrew Wakefield is a former gastroenterologist and medical researcher who was discharged from his medical register in the UK, because of his dishonest research paper he released back in 1998, that analysed a possible link between measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the presence of autism and bowel disease (Godlee, F., et al, 2011). Wakefield's research generated a substantial scare for the MMR vaccine and MMR vaccination rates began to drop because parents were concerned about the risk of autism after vaccination (DeStefano, F., Chen, R.T., 1999). After the paper was published by the Lancet medical newspaper, other reviews were trying to repeat Wakefield's conclusions,

Still, though, there are people that still believe MMR vaccinations cause autism. Andrew Wakefield is one of those individuals that believe that MMR vaccinations cause autism. Wakefield has been found guilty of fraud and dishonesty. Thus, causing him to lose his credentials. Wakefield still denies that he was wrong and he denies the allegations of fraud (Godlee et al., 2011). The GMC (General Medicine Counsel), the organization that removed Wakefield’s credentials; furthermore the GMC has asked him to either reproduce the results or say he was wrong. Wakefield has neglected to do either. One of the worst things about this is five years after being retracted one out of four Americans will not get their children vaccinated because they believe that MMR vaccinations cause autism. Vaccination rates are higher than they were ten years ago, but they are still not high enough. In the United States of America, MMR vaccination rates are at 92% and in the UK they are at 90%. These percentages are pretty good considering that in the UK rates dropped below 75% and below 58% in some areas (Kolodziejski, 2014. p.165), (Burgess et al,. 2006. p.3921). The numbers are improving, but it is still not high enough it should be around

Unfortunately, little progress has been made since then, as reports from 2015 show only 72.2 percent of U.S. children are fully vaccinated (KFF, 2017). Healthy People 2020 recommends a national goal of 80 percent to maintain herd immunity (Child Trends Databank, 2015). Despite the life-saving importance of immunization, these stagnant rates show that many mothers of U.S. children do not adhere to vaccination recommendations. These critics and skeptics of vaccines are a part of the anti-vaccination movement. Originating upon the discovery of the first vaccine in 1796, this movement has progressed for hundreds of years. Currently, through media and prominent anti-vax social figures, the public can easily be relayed messages of vaccine controversies rather than scientific facts. Falsehoods include perceived low risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases, “overloading” the child’s immune system, mercury in vaccines, reports of negative reactions after vaccination, and the infamously popular myth that vaccines cause autism (Mittenzwei, Morrison, & Williams,

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

In today’s society, we believe that everything is up for debate, and that every topic can be opinionated. We like to have the power to make our own choices regardless of facts, just because we feel the pressure of being told what to do. We are lazy to learn the truth, but yet we are ready to choose sides and strongly argue about it. We see it every day on the news, in politics, sports, social media, online forums, school, etc. In his article, “Not Up for Debate: The Science Behind Vaccination”, published in September of 2015, Professor Aaron E. Carroll argues that the issue with vaccinations is more than just choosing to do it or not. Carroll jumps right into his discussion of the “Not up for debate” regarding people’s claims tying vaccines to autism, the choice not to, and officials backing them up. He explains how this argument stems from incorrect information, inadequate studies and research, and poor education about the facts and data about the vaccines, which leads to the stubborn belief that vaccinations should be banned.

Although the negative claims behind anti-immunization stances are deceptive and discredited, some parents find it difficult to accept that vaccines are necessary and safe. Many of these reasons are due to personal or religious beliefs that have persuaded parents to bypass immunizations for their children. Consequently, health officials are seeing disquieting rises of diseases that are easily preventable. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported hundreds of measles cases in the United States in 2011, the largest number in 15 years (Ben-Joseph, Elana). Essentially, almost all of these cases were in individuals who had not received a vaccine shot. Also found in the article was that a great amount of the quarrel over the shots comes from a 1998 study that tried to connect autism to a type of vaccine that defends against measles. However, there has been no scientific evidence that a vaccine or a combination of any of the shots induces autism. Undoubtedly, the doctor that wrote the article, calling vaccines a “deliberate fraud” ,lost his license for not submitting any evidence of his claim and causing people to neglect shots for that year. Sadly, due to that article, 1 in 4 parents still believe that vaccines are

In order to investigate more about Wakefield’s study, Brian Deer, a journalist of British Medical Journal, carefully talked to the parents of all children who were participated in the study. Interestingly enough, he revealed the fraud behind Wakefield’s research. The Lancet, the journal that reported Wakefield’s study, retracted the paper soon afterwards (Deer). However, the real trouble still exists. Though it has been proved by many researchers that the MRR doesn’t cause autism, many people perceive the vaccine as a threat. Dr.Nemeroff once said “it is quite difficult to get the cognitive sewage out of the water even after the real sewage is gone” (Greene).

In fact, The BMJ, or the British Medical Journal, chimed in on Wakefield’s paper. “By the time the paper was finally retracted 12 years later, after forensic dissection at the General Medical Council’s (GMC) longest ever fitness to practise hearing, few people could deny that it was fatally flawed both scientifically and ethically” (Godlee, “Wakefield’s”). Furthermore, Wakefield’s license to practice medicine was stripped away by Britain’s General Medical Council because of misconduct, including the time Wakefield paid his son’s friends £5 each to take blood samples during his son’s birthday party (Burns, “British”). More recent studies also prove that the vaccine-autism link is nonexistent. One study, performed by the Journal of Pediatrics, found that, “ … of MCO members, increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines during the first 2 years of life was not related to the risk of developing an ASD” (Destefano, “Increasing”). In other words, having a young child exposed to the ingredients of vaccines does not result in the child developing autism (Destefano, “Increasing”).

Although there is no scientific proof that vaccines cause autism, proponents still believe that they do. The theory that vaccines cause autism were based on unproven facts and falsified information (DeStefano 81). In an article called CNS Drugs, the author writes about how a man named AJ Wakefield stun the public with a theory that the MMR vaccine may cause autism and how enterocolitis (bowel dysfunction) and MMR vaccine may be linked to autism (DeStefano 831). Even though Wakefield falsified information and his theories were proven to be discredited many people still

The topic of childhood vaccinations and the dangers that accompany them has been a topic of controversy in contemporary times. At the near edge of the twenty-first century, a man named Doctor Andrew Wakefield released a study which created a mass uproar in both parents and health professionals alike. Parents were panicked as to whether or not they should have their young child vaccinated (in fear of their acquiring autism), and health professionals fearful that the population percentage of people acquiring measles, mumps, or rubella (for it was the M.M.R. vaccination that the parents feared in particular) would rise to a number which would lead to a mass risk of disease. Despite Wakefields’ study, the truth persists in all types of experiments related to vaccination. Whether being tested in a replication of Wakefields’ study or in any other, vaccines have been proven to work at preventing disease and display no causation of autism.

Do vaccines cause autism is a question that has been bouncing around for over twenty years. The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased significantly and due to the impact this has in people’s lives several studies have been done in an effort to determine the cause. More specifically the MMR, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, vaccination has been accused of being the cause of autism. This accusation then contributed to families not vaccinating their children. Even though science disproves the link between vaccines and autism in several studies done in the United Kingdom, California, and Canada, many people cling to the vaccination-autism connection (Gerber, 2009).

The current issue I have selected to discuss is vaccinations. In particular, I will be addressing the anti-vaccination movement that has gained popularity in recent years and the contributing biases that influenced its emergence. One event stands out at as a major contributing factor to the growth of the anti-vaccination movement, the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that was published by the English medical journal, Lancet. This study claimed to show a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. Even though it was just one small study, the media picked it up and it became hugely publicized.

One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,

published a controversial study in British journal Lancet where he linked MMR vaccination to autism. (Should I include what his study was based on and results?) Years later, many other studies proved it wrong but mistrust of science and mistrust of government is still there (2011). For example, Phea Paul study stated that there is no evidence that autism is cause by any vaccine and therefore no reason for parents to deny a child protection in today’s vaccines offered (2009). His study shows that if comparing risks mathematically of death or disability as a result of not vaccination a child which are small, to the risks of causing an autism spectrum disorder by immunizing it increases significantly.

Renaissance time period was the beginning of many changes. However, not just in the field of art, but also fields like science, mathematics, biology, and religion the staple of many works of art in the past. This was the beginning stages of change, and Galileo would ultimately pay the price of imprisonment for challenging what we thought we knew. Many great artists would also come from this time. These artists would not just be you typical painters or sculptures from the past, but better rounded knowledge based artists. Artists who would understand the science and mathematics behind everyday events, whether this was when looking at human bodies and how they moved or the stars and how they moved about in our solar system. They began the more realistic thoughts on how things worked and art started to very slowing exit out of the usual biblical and eternal works of art. However, many great artists throughout the renaissance period would be born and