The latest Wired has a great article on vaccination (emphasis mine).
There is no credible evidence to indicate that any of this [vaccines harm America’s children] is true. None. Twelve epidemiological studies have found no data that links the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) vaccine to autism; six studies have found no trace of an association between thimerosal (a preservative containing ethylmercury that has largely been removed from vaccines since 20011) and autism, and three other studies have found no indication that thimerosal causes even subtle neurological problems. The so-called epidemic, researchers assert, is the result of improved diagnosis, which has identified as autistic many kids who once might have been labeled mentally retarded or just plain slow. In fact, the growing body of science indicates that the autistic spectrum — which may well turn out to encompass several discrete conditions — may largely be genetic in origin. In April, the journal Nature published two studies that analyzed the genes of almost 10,000 people and identified a common genetic variant present in approximately 65 percent of autistic children.
I am proud to say that Emily had another round of vaccinations the other day. Her risk of dying from a host of fatal childhood diseases has gone down significantly.1 Her risk of developing autism has increased by an amount so small it would take a scanning electron microsocope to detect.
We evaluate risks every day. There is a small but non-zero chance that I will be run over by a truck while biking to work. Should I then refuse to get out of bed?
My extremely fetching orange and yellow reflective vest is made of plastic, which is flammable, and might melt itself into my skin if it catches on fire. Is the risk of my vest catching on fire (perhaps from static electricity generated by rubbing against my jacket) greater than the risk of a truck driver not seeing me on a dark rainy evening if I don’t wear it?
Sounds crazy, but that’s how anti-vaxxers sound to me. Is the infinitesimal (and in fact made up out of whole cloth) risk of autism greater than the risk of brain damage or death from rubella or measles, or pertussis?
- However, if enough people in her community refuse to vaccinate their children, her risk of dying from an infectious disease actually goes up. The more people in a community who are vaccinated against an infectious disease, the less chance the infection has to spread. Not rocket science, people. ↩
:-)
I agree that there is no scientific evidence to uphold a link between autism and vaccination. However, there is evidence indicating a risk of increased autoimmune diseases because of vaccination. I don’t have all the studies to hand, but I looked into it because of my hyperthyroid condition. Apparently the Hep B vaccine in particular can exacerbate already existing conditions and create new ones. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a727196976~db=all There are also questions forming about the HPV vaccine.
Unfortunately the authors of the paper you cite have been censured for improper data collection: http://www.casewatch.org/civil/geier.shtml
This is the pattern with opponents of vaccination: they lie, lie, and lie again.
Their conclusion also goes against logic: vaccines work preciesly by exercising the immune system.
And you’re completely missing my point, which is about risk: you would avoid the infinitesimal risk of harm from vaccines and choose the extremely high and historically well-attested risk of your child dying from childhood disease (not to mention spoiling the commons by destroying herd immunity).
The mortality rate for infants in 1900 was over 100 out of 1000 in the first year alone (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm).
That’s 1 in 10. That’s how you would have us live. Not me, nor my children, thanks.
The ant-vaccination movement reminds me of nothing so much as those medieval clerics who insisted that bathing was unhealthy and sinful. People have drowned in their bathtubs, after all. Think of the children!