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91-543: The Autism Science Foundation was created as a split from Autism Speaks, which assigned a high priority to investigating the debunked claim that vaccination is associated with autism risk. This focus raised concerns among parents and researchers. Alison Singer, a senior executive of Autism Speaks, resigned in January 2009 rather than vote for committing money to new research studies into vaccination and autism . The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), of which Singer

182-440: A control group are unvaccinated. Such a study would never be approved because it would require deliberately denying children standard medical care, rendering the study unethical. Studies have been done that compare vaccinated to unvaccinated people, but the studies are typically not randomized. Moreover, literature already exists that demonstrates the safety of vaccines using other experimental methods. Other critics argue that

273-475: A pandemic as US President Gerald Ford had feared and the hastily rolled out vaccine was found to increase the number of Guillain–Barré Syndrome cases two weeks after immunization. Government officials stopped the mass immunization campaign due to great anxiety about the safety of the swine flu vaccine. The general public was left with greater fear of the vaccination campaign than the virus itself, and vaccination policies, in general, were challenged. During

364-860: A blood transfusion for a sick 90-year-old man was refused by his two daughters, due to vaccine hesitancy concerns. Another New Zealand couple stated that they were trying to arrange their child to have her next heart surgery in India, to avoid her being given blood from COVID-19 vaccinated donors. Other safety concerns about vaccines have been promoted on the Internet, in informal meetings, in books, and at symposia. These include hypotheses that vaccination can cause epileptic seizures , allergies , multiple sclerosis , and autoimmune diseases such as type   1 diabetes , as well as hypotheses that vaccinations can transmit bovine spongiform encephalopathy , hepatitis C virus , and HIV . These hypotheses have been investigated, with

455-462: A causal link to DTwP vaccination and SIDS after reviewing the available evidence. Additional analyses of VAERS data also showed no relationship between vaccination and SIDS. Studies have shown a negative correlation between SIDs and vaccination. That is vaccinated children are less likely to die but no causal link has been found. One suggestion is that infants who are less likely to develop SIDS are more likely to be presented for vaccination. In

546-411: A fever is indeed a precaution when considering vaccination. Vaccines remain effective during childhood illness. The reason vaccines may be withheld if a child is moderately to severely ill is because certain expected side effects of vaccination (e.g. fever or rash ) may be confused with the progression of the illness. It is safe to administer vaccines to well-appearing children who are mildly ill with

637-715: A founding board member of the Autism Science Foundation, donates all royalties from his book Deadly Choices to the ASF. The Autism Science Foundation also receives royalties from paperback sales of Dr. Offit's previous book, Autism's False Prophets . ASF is also the recipient of funds raised through Wall Street Rides FAR , the annual cycling and walking event that originated in White Plains and has since expanded to include satellite rides in Baltimore and Toronto. GuideStar named

728-573: A higher risk of bacterial superinfection with Group A streptococci . Natural measles infection carries a high risk of many serious, and sometimes life-long, complications, all of which can be avoided by vaccination. Those infected with measles rarely have a symptomatic reinfection. Most people survive measles, though in some cases, complications may occur. Among those that experience complications, about 1 in 4 individuals will be hospitalized and 1–2 in 1000 will die. Complications are more likely in children under age 5 and adults over age 20. Pneumonia

819-403: A link between vaccines and autism has been extensively investigated and conclusively shown to be false. The scientific consensus is that there is no relationship, causal or otherwise, between vaccines and incidence of autism, and vaccine ingredients do not cause autism. Nevertheless, the anti-vaccination movement continues to promote myths, conspiracy theories , and misinformation linking

910-459: A more modest example, infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), a major cause of bacterial meningitis and other serious diseases in children, have decreased by over 99% in the US since the introduction of a vaccine in 1988. It is estimated that full vaccination, from birth to adolescence, of all US children born in a given year would save 33,000 lives and prevent 14 million infections. There

1001-422: A new vaccine is introduced, mass vaccination can help increase coverage rapidly. If enough of a population is vaccinated, herd immunity takes effect, decreasing risk to people who cannot receive vaccines because they are too young or old, immunocompromised, or have severe allergies to the ingredients in the vaccine. The outcome for people with compromised immune systems who get infected is often worse than that of

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1092-530: A non-medical term, is the notion that giving many vaccines at once may overwhelm or weaken a child's immature immune system and lead to adverse effects. Despite scientific evidence that strongly contradicts this idea, there are still parents of autistic children that believe that vaccine overload causes autism. The resulting controversy has caused many parents to delay or avoid immunizing their children. Such parental misperceptions are major obstacles towards immunization of children. The concept of vaccine overload

1183-466: A number of widely accepted steps. As described by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , these include the following: The order of the above steps and relative amount of effort and resources used in each varies from outbreak to outbreak. For example, prevention and control measures are usually implemented very early in the investigation, often before the causative agent

1274-432: A period of three times the incubation period is preferred. Outbreak legislation is still in its infancy and not many countries have had a direct and complete set of the provisions. However, some countries do manage the outbreaks using relevant acts, such as public health law . World Health Organization member states are obligated by International Health Regulations to report outbreaks . WHO member states are holding

1365-788: A person's lack of confidence (mistrust of the vaccine and/or healthcare provider), complacency (the person does not see a need for the vaccine or does not see the value of the vaccine), and convenience (access to vaccines). It has existed since the invention of vaccination and pre-dates the coining of the terms "vaccine" and "vaccination" by nearly eighty years. " Anti-vaccinationism " refers to total opposition to vaccination. Anti-vaccinationists have been known as " anti-vaxxers " or " anti-vax ". The specific hypotheses raised by anti-vaccination advocates have been found to change over time. Anti-vaccine activism has been increasingly connected to political and economic goals. Although myths, conspiracy theories , misinformation and disinformation spread by

1456-573: A result, in 1999, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) asked vaccine makers to remove thiomersal from vaccines as quickly as possible on the precautionary principle . Thiomersal is now absent from all common US and European vaccines, except for some preparations of influenza vaccine . Trace amounts remain in some vaccines due to production processes, at an approximate maximum of one microgramme, around 15% of

1547-408: A significant threat to human health. Omission and disconfirmation biases also contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Various concerns about immunization have been raised. They have been addressed and the concerns are not supported by evidence. Concerns about immunization safety often follow a pattern. First, some investigators suggest that a medical condition of increasing prevalence or unknown cause

1638-595: A sponsor of the "International Society for Autism Research" (INSAR) since 2009, and has interviewed numerous researchers at the event. In 2019, Alison Singer, the president of the ASF, announced that she had joined the National Council on Severe Autism . In 2020, ASF partnered with Els for Autism to form Sam's Sibs Stick Together, which aims to offer extra support for autism siblings, present findings of research that focus on siblings and discuss resources available for siblings of all ages. Vaccinologist Dr. Paul Offit ,

1729-458: A strong safety record, there are ongoing needs for new adjuvants and more intensive research into adjuvants and their effects." In 2023, Łukasz Bryliński writes: "Even though its toxicity is well-documented, the role of Al in the pathogenesis of several neurological diseases remains debatable...Despite poor absorption via mucosa, the biggest amount of Al comes with food, drinking water, and inhalation. Vaccines introduce negligible amounts of Al, while

1820-502: A third vaccine causes infertility. Thiomersal (called "thimerosal" in the US) is an antifungal preservative used in small amounts in some multi-dose vaccines (where the same vial is opened and used for multiple patients) to prevent contamination of the vaccine. Despite thiomersal's efficacy, the use of thiomersal is controversial because it can be metabolized or degraded in the body to ethylmercury (C 2 H 5 Hg ) and thiosalicylate . As

1911-423: A vaccination program successfully reduces the disease threat, it may reduce the perceived risk of disease as cultural memories of the effects of that disease fade. At this point, parents may feel they have nothing to lose by not vaccinating their children. If enough people hope to become free-riders , gaining the benefits of herd immunity without vaccination, vaccination levels may drop to a level where herd immunity

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2002-439: Is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. Although adverse effects associated with vaccines are occasionally observed, the scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and effective

2093-616: Is a factor in causing autism. Since 2000, parents in the United States have pursued legal compensation from a federal fund arguing that thiomersal caused autism in their children. A 2004 Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee favored rejecting any causal relationship between thiomersal-containing vaccines and autism. The concentration of thiomersal used in vaccines as an antimicrobial agent ranges from 0.001% (1 part in 100,000) to 0.01% (1 part in 10,000). A vaccine containing 0.01% thiomersal has 25 micrograms of mercury per 0.5 mL dose, roughly

2184-437: Is a founding member of the ASF's Scientific Advisory Board. On January 5, 2011, Brian Deer published the first part of his British Medical Journal series on Andrew Wakefield 's "elaborate fraud" which started the dubious MMR vaccine controversy . On January 7, 2011, Alison Singer was interviewed by Kiran Chetry on CNN's American Morning . Singer discussed the repercussions of Deer's report, stating, "...we can finally put

2275-454: Is about the pain associated with administering vaccines during a doctor's office visit. This may lead to parental requests to space out vaccinations; however, studies have shown a child's stress response is not different when receiving one vaccination or two. The act of spacing out vaccinations may actually lead to more stressful stimuli for the child. Several vaccination myths contribute to parental concerns and vaccine hesitancy. These include

2366-445: Is an adverse effect of vaccination. The initial study and subsequent studies by the same group have an inadequate methodology, typically a poorly controlled or uncontrolled case series . A premature announcement is made about the alleged adverse effect, resonating with individuals who have the condition, and underestimating the potential harm of forgoing vaccination to those whom the vaccine could protect. Other groups attempt to replicate

2457-426: Is anti-vaccine literature that argues that reductions in infectious disease result from improved sanitation and hygiene (rather than vaccination) or that these diseases were already in decline before the introduction of specific vaccines. These claims are not supported by scientific data; the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases tended to fluctuate over time until the introduction of specific vaccines, at which point

2548-421: Is flawed on several levels. Despite the increase in the number of vaccines over recent decades, improvements in vaccine design have reduced the immunologic load from vaccines; the total number of immunological components in the 14 vaccines administered to US children in 2009 is less than ten percent of what it was in the seven vaccines given in 1980. A study published in 2013 found no correlation between autism and

2639-419: Is ineffective. According to Jennifer Reich , those parents who believe vaccination to be quite effective but might prefer their children to remain unvaccinated, are those who are the most likely to be convinced to change their mind, as long as they are approached properly. While some anti-vaccinationists openly deny the improvements vaccination has made to public health or believe in conspiracy theories , it

2730-457: Is known. In many situations, promoting good hygiene and hand-washing is one of the first things recommended. Other interventions may be added as the investigation moves forward and more information is obtained. Waiting until the end of an investigation to implement prevention and control measures is a sure way to lose ones job. In outbreaks identified through notifiable disease surveillance, reports are often linked to laboratory results and verifying

2821-490: Is learned about the outbreak. The above list has 9 steps, others have more. Implementing active surveillance to identify additional cases is often added. Outbreak debriefing and review has also been recognized as an additional final step and iterative process by the Public Health Agency of Canada. There are several outbreak patterns, which can be useful in identifying the transmission method or source, and predicting

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2912-656: Is linked to increased sexual behavior is not supported by scientific evidence. A review of nearly 1,400 adolescent girls found no difference in teen pregnancy, the incidence of sexually transmitted infection , or contraceptive counseling regardless of whether they received the HPV vaccine. Thousands of Americans die each year from cancers preventable by the vaccine. There remains a disproportionate rate of HPV-related cancers amongst LatinX populations, leading researchers to explore how messaging may be made more effective to address vaccine hesitancy. Other concerns have been raised about

3003-491: Is most common in infants around the time in life when they receive many vaccinations. Since the cause of SIDS has not been fully determined, this led to concerns about whether vaccines, in particular diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccines, were a possible causal factor. Several studies investigated this and found no evidence supporting a causal link between vaccination and SIDS. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine favored rejection of

3094-444: Is much more common to cite concerns about safety. As with any medical treatment, there is a potential for vaccines to cause serious complications, such as severe allergic reactions, but unlike most other medical interventions, vaccines are given to healthy people and so a higher standard of safety is demanded. While serious complications from vaccinations are possible, they are extremely rare and much less common than similar risks from

3185-402: Is no evidence that aluminum-containing vaccines are a serious health risk or justify changes to immunization practice. Infants are exposed to greater quantities of aluminum in daily life in breastmilk and infant formula than in vaccines. In general, people are exposed to low levels of naturally occurring aluminum in nearly all foods and drinking water. The amount of aluminum present in vaccines

3276-405: Is not linked to autism or developmental delay. Outbreak In epidemiology , an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. The number of cases varies according to the disease-causing agent, and

3367-652: Is overwhelming. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases . Therefore, the World Health Organization characterizes vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats. Vaccine hesitancy is complex and context-specific, varying across time, place and vaccines. It can be influenced by factors such as lack of proper scientifically based knowledge and understanding about how vaccines are made or work, as well as psychological factors including fear of needles and distrust of public authorities,

3458-545: Is small, less than one milligram, and such low levels are not believed to be harmful to human health. In 2015., N. Petrovsky, summarizing the current evidence on the vaccine adjuvants, writes: "Unfortunately, adjuvant research has lagged behind other vaccine areas... the biggest remaining challenge in the adjuvant field is to decipher the potential relationship between adjuvants and rare vaccine adverse reactions, such as narcolepsy, macrophagic myofasciitis or Alzheimer's disease. While existing adjuvants based on aluminium salts have

3549-446: Is the most common fatal complication of measles infection and accounts for 56–86% of measles-related deaths. Possible consequences of measles virus infection include laryngotracheobronchitis , sensorineural hearing loss , and—in about 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 300,000 cases — panencephalitis , which is usually fatal. Acute measles encephalitis is another serious risk of measles virus infection. It typically occurs two days to one week after

3640-411: The 2003 invasion of Iraq a wider controversy ensued in the media about requiring US troops to be vaccinated against anthrax. From 2003 to 2008 a series of court cases were brought to oppose the compulsory anthrax vaccination of US troops. The US swine flu immunization campaign in response to the 1976 swine flu outbreak has become known as "the swine flu fiasco" because the outbreak did not lead to

3731-475: The 2009 flu pandemic , significant controversy broke out regarding whether the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine was safe in, among other countries, France . Numerous different French groups publicly criticized the vaccine as potentially dangerous. Because of similarities between the 2009 influenza A subtype H1N1 virus and the 1976 influenza A/NJ virus many countries established surveillance systems for vaccine-related adverse effects on human health. A possible link between

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3822-432: The American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend routine flu shots for pregnant women, for several reasons: Despite this recommendation, only 16% of healthy pregnant US women surveyed in 2005 had been vaccinated against the flu. Aluminum compounds are used as immunologic adjuvants to increase the effectiveness of many vaccines. The aluminum in vaccines simulates or causes small amounts of tissue damage, driving

3913-458: The Earth are soon infected. The terms "outbreak" and "epidemic" have often been used interchangeably. Researchers Manfred S. Green and colleagues propose that the latter term be restricted to larger events, pointing out that Chambers Concise Dictionary and Stedman's Medical Dictionary acknowledge this distinction. When investigating disease outbreaks, the epidemiology profession has developed

4004-405: The antigen number in the vaccines the children were administered up to the age of two. There were 1,008 children in the study, one quarter of whom were diagnosed with autism, and the whole cohort was born between 1994 and 1999, when the routine vaccine schedule could contain more than 3,000 antigens (in a single shot of DTP vaccine ). The vaccine schedule in 2012 contains several more vaccines, but

4095-487: The common cold . Another common anti-vaccine myth is that the immune system produces a better immune protection in response to natural infection when compared to vaccination. However, strength and duration of immune protection gained varies by both disease and vaccine, with some vaccines giving better protection than natural infection. For example, the HPV vaccine generates better immune protection than natural infection due to

4186-510: The 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine and Guillain–Barré Syndrome cases was studied in Europe and the United States. After the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines , vaccine hesitant people have at times demanded that they get donor blood from donors that have not received the vaccine. In the US and Canada, blood centers do not keep data on whether a donor has been COVID-19 infected or vaccinated, and in August 2021 it

4277-476: The Autism Science Foundation a top nonprofit startup in disabilities category in 2011, calling it "a shining star to those interested in real science and evidence based interventions". In 2021, ASF earned top-rated status from GreatNonProfits for the ninth consecutive year. The Autism Science Foundation has 17 scientific advisory board members, including Ami Klin and Harold S. Koplewicz . Vaccine controversies#Autism controversies Vaccine hesitancy

4368-708: The MMR vaccine and autism. A Cochrane review concluded that there is no credible link between the MMR vaccine and autism, that MMR has prevented diseases that still carry a heavy burden of death and complications, that the lack of confidence in MMR has damaged public health, and that the design and reporting of safety outcomes in MMR vaccine studies are largely inadequate. Additional reviews agree, with studies finding that vaccines are not linked to autism even in high risk populations with autistic siblings. In 2009, The Sunday Times reported that Wakefield had manipulated patient data and misreported results in his 1998 paper, creating

4459-417: The alleged superiority of natural infection when compared to vaccination, questioning whether the diseases vaccines prevent are dangerous, whether vaccines pose moral or religious dilemmas, suggesting that vaccines are not effective, proposing unproven or ineffective approaches as alternatives to vaccines, and conspiracy theories that center on mistrust of the government and medical institutions. The idea of

4550-665: The anti-vaccination movement and fringe doctors leads to vaccine hesitancy and public debates around the medical, ethical, and legal issues related to vaccines, there is no serious hesitancy or debate within mainstream medical and scientific circles about the benefits of vaccination. Proposed laws that mandate vaccination, such as California Senate Bill 277 and Australia's No Jab No Pay , have been opposed by anti-vaccination activists and organizations . Opposition to mandatory vaccination may be based on anti-vaccine sentiment, concern that it violates civil liberties or reduces public trust in vaccination, or suspicion of profiteering by

4641-517: The appearance of a link with autism. A 2011 article in the British Medical Journal described how the data in the study had been falsified by Wakefield so that it would arrive at a predetermined conclusion. An accompanying editorial in the same journal described Wakefield's work as an "elaborate fraud " that led to lower vaccination rates, putting hundreds of thousands of children at risk and diverting energy and money away from research into

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4732-473: The average daily mercury intake in the US for adults and 2.5% of the daily level considered tolerable by the WHO . The action sparked concern that thiomersal could have been responsible for autism. The idea is now considered disproven, as incidence rates for autism increased steadily even after thiomersal was removed from childhood vaccines. Currently there is no accepted scientific evidence that exposure to thiomersal

4823-644: The body to respond more powerfully to what it sees as a serious infection and promoting the development of a lasting immune response. In some cases these compounds have been associated with redness, itching, and low-grade fever, but the use of aluminum in vaccines has not been associated with serious adverse events. In some cases, aluminum-containing vaccines are associated with macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF), localized microscopic lesions containing aluminum salts that persist for up to 8 years. However, recent case-controlled studies have found no specific clinical symptoms in individuals with biopsies showing MMF, and there

4914-461: The conclusion that currently used vaccines meet high safety standards and that criticism of vaccine safety in the popular press is not justified. Large well-controlled epidemiologic studies have been conducted and the results do not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause chronic diseases. Furthermore, some vaccines are probably more likely to prevent or modify than cause or exacerbate autoimmune diseases. Another common concern parents often have

5005-679: The data on skin absorption (which might be linked with carcinogenesis) is limited and requires further investigation...Although we know for sure that Al accumulates in the brain, it is not fully understood how it reaches it." Vaccine hesitant people have also voiced strong concerns about the presence of formaldehyde in vaccines. Formaldehyde is used in very small concentrations to inactivate viruses and bacterial toxins used in vaccines. Very small amounts of residual formaldehyde can be present in vaccines but are far below values harmful to human health. The levels present in vaccines are minuscule when compared to naturally occurring levels of formaldehyde in

5096-567: The demands were becoming more common. In Italy and New Zealand , parents have gone to court to stop their children's urgent heart surgery, unless COVID-19 vaccine free blood was provided. In both cases the parents were ruled against, though they stated that they could provide willing donors they found acceptable. The New Zealand Blood Service does not label blood according to the donor's COVID-19 vaccine history, and as of 2022, about 90% of New Zealand's population over twelve years of age has had two COVID-19 vaccinations. In another Italian case,

5187-409: The diagnosis is straight forward. In outbreaks of unknown etiology, determining and verifying the diagnosis can be a significant part of the investigation with respect to time and resources. Several steps are usually going on at any point in time during the investigation. Steps may be repeated. For example, initial case definitions are often established to be intentionally broad but later refined as more

5278-648: The diseases they prevent. As the success of immunization programs increases and the incidence of disease decreases, public attention shifts away from the risks of disease to the risk of vaccination, and it becomes challenging for health authorities to preserve public support for vaccination programs. The overwhelming success of certain vaccinations has made certain diseases rare, and, consequently, has led to incorrect heuristic thinking in weighing risks against benefits among people who are vaccine-hesitant. Once such diseases (e.g., Haemophilus influenzae B ) decrease in prevalence, people may no longer appreciate how serious

5369-412: The first trimester of gestation. This may have public health implications, as strategies for preventing infection include vaccination, simple hygiene, and, in the case of toxoplasmosis, antibiotics . Based on studies in animal models, theoretical concerns have been raised about a possible link between schizophrenia and maternal immune response activated by virus antigens; a 2009 review concluded that there

5460-446: The future rate of infection. Each has a distinctive epidemic curve , or histogram of case infections and deaths. Outbreaks can also be: Patterns of occurrence are: By convention, a communicable disease outbreak is declared over when a period of twice the incubation period of the infectious disease has elapsed without identification of any new case, however, for organisms with a short incubation period (e.g. fewer than ten days),

5551-435: The general population. Commonly used vaccines are a cost-effective and preventive way of promoting health, compared to the treatment of acute or chronic disease. In 2001, the United States spent approximately $ 2.8 billion to promote and implement routine childhood immunizations against seven diseases. The societal benefits of those vaccinations were estimated to be $ 46.6 billion, yielding a benefit-cost ratio of 16.5. When

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5642-442: The healthcare-seeking behaviors of under-vaccinated children. Thus, no study directly comparing rates of autism in vaccinated and unvaccinated children has been done. However, the concept of vaccine overload is biologically implausible, as vaccinated and unvaccinated children have the same immune response to non-vaccine-related infections, and autism is not an immune-mediated disease, so claims that vaccines could cause it by overloading

5733-524: The human body and pose no significant risk of toxicity. The human body continuously produces formaldehyde naturally and contains 50–70 times the greatest amount of formaldehyde present in any vaccine. Furthermore, the human body is capable of breaking down naturally occurring formaldehyde as well as the small amount of formaldehyde present in vaccines. There is no evidence linking the infrequent exposures to small quantities of formaldehyde present in vaccines with cancer . Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

5824-409: The illness is due to a lack of familiarity with it and become complacent. The lack of personal experience with these diseases reduces the perceived danger and thus reduces the perceived benefit of immunization. Conversely, certain illnesses (e.g., influenza ) remain so common that vaccine-hesitant people mistakenly perceive the illness to be non-threatening despite clear evidence that the illness poses

5915-460: The immune system by measles lasts about two years and has been epidemiologically implicated in up to 90% of childhood deaths in third world countries, and historically may have caused rather more deaths in the United States, the UK and Denmark than were directly caused by measles. Although the measles vaccine contains an attenuated strain, it does not deplete immune memory. The idea that the HPV vaccine

6006-453: The immune system or compromise overall immunity. The lack of evidence supporting the vaccine overload hypothesis, combined with these findings directly contradicting it, has led to the conclusion that currently recommended vaccine programs do not "overload" or weaken the immune system. Any experiment based on withholding vaccines from children is considered unethical, and observational studies would likely be confounded by differences in

6097-442: The immune system go against current knowledge of the pathogenesis of autism. As such, the idea that vaccines cause autism has been effectively dismissed by the weight of current evidence. There is evidence that schizophrenia is associated with prenatal exposure to rubella , influenza , and toxoplasmosis infection. For example, one study found a sevenfold increased risk of schizophrenia when mothers were exposed to influenza in

6188-460: The immunity granted by vaccines is only temporary and requires boosters, whereas those who survive the disease become permanently immune. As discussed below, the philosophies of some alternative medicine practitioners are incompatible with the idea that vaccines are effective. Incomplete vaccine coverage increases the risk of disease for the entire population, including those who have been vaccinated, because it reduces herd immunity . For example,

6279-474: The incidence dropped to near zero. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website aimed at countering common misconceptions about vaccines argued, "Are we expected to believe that better sanitation caused the incidence of each disease to drop, just at the time a vaccine for that disease was introduced?" Another rallying cry of the anti-vaccine movement is to call for randomized clinical trials in which an experimental group of children are vaccinated while

6370-570: The initial study but fail to get the same results. Finally, it takes several years to regain public confidence in the vaccine. Adverse effects ascribed to vaccines typically have an unknown origin, an increasing incidence , some biological plausibility , occurrences close to the time of vaccination, and dreaded outcomes. In almost all cases, the public health effect is limited by cultural boundaries: English speakers worry about one vaccine causing autism , while French speakers worry about another vaccine causing multiple sclerosis, and Nigerians worry that

6461-417: The measles rash breaks out and begins with very high fever, severe headache, convulsions and altered mentation. A person with measles encephalitis may become comatose , and death or brain injury may occur. The measles virus can deplete previously acquired immune memory by killing cells that make antibodies, and thus weakens the immune system which can cause deaths from other diseases. Suppression of

6552-413: The measles vaccine is given to children 9–12 months old, and the window between the disappearance of maternal antibody and seroconversion means that vaccinated children are frequently still vulnerable. Strong herd immunity reduces this vulnerability. Increasing herd immunity during an outbreak or when there is a risk of an outbreak is perhaps the most widely accepted justification for mass vaccination. When

6643-463: The mid-1990s media reports on vaccines discussed the Gulf War Syndrome , a multi-symptomatic disorder affecting returning US military veterans of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War . Among the first articles of the online magazine Slate was one by Atul Gawande in which the required immunizations received by soldiers, including an anthrax vaccination , were named as one of the likely culprits for

6734-430: The number of antigens the child is exposed to by the age of two is 315. Vaccines pose a very small immunologic load compared to the pathogens naturally encountered by a child in a typical year; common childhood conditions such as fevers and middle-ear infections pose a much greater challenge to the immune system than vaccines, and studies have shown that vaccinations, even multiple concurrent vaccinations, do not weaken

6825-676: The paper. Wakefield was struck off the UK medical register , with a statement identifying deliberate falsification in the research published in The Lancet , and is barred from practicing medicine in the UK. The CDC, the IOM of the National Academy of Sciences , Australia's Department of Health , and the UK National Health Service have all concluded that there is no evidence of a link between

6916-476: The pharmaceutical industry. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of large-scale vaccination campaigns is well established. Two to three million deaths are prevented each year worldwide by vaccination, and an additional 1.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if all recommended vaccines were used. Vaccination campaigns helped eradicate smallpox , which once killed as many as one in seven children in Europe, and have nearly eradicated polio . As

7007-495: The principles that autism has a strong genetic component, that vaccines do not cause autism, and that early diagnosis and intervention are critical. Eric London resigned from Autism Speaks' Scientific Affairs Committee in June 2009, saying that arguments that "there might be rare cases of 'biologically plausible' vaccine involvement ... are misleading and disingenuous", and that Autism Speaks was "adversely impacting" autism research. London

7098-476: The question of autism and vaccines behind us." Since 2014, ASF has hosted annual Days of Learning, TED-style science conferences. ASF offers numerous funding opportunities for scientists, and has been nationally recognized for its support of early career researchers. The organization currently offers pre- and postdoctoral fellowships, two-year post undergraduate fellowships, medical school gap year fellowships, and undergraduate summer research awards. ASF has been

7189-566: The same amount of elemental mercury found in a three-ounce (85 g) can of tuna . There is robust peer-reviewed scientific evidence supporting the safety of thiomersal-containing vaccines. In the UK, the MMR vaccine was the subject of controversy after the publication in The Lancet of a 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield and others reporting case histories of twelve children mostly with autism spectrum disorders with onset soon after administration of

7280-399: The size and type of previous and existing exposure to the agent. Outbreaks include many epidemics , which term is normally only for infectious diseases , as well as diseases with an environmental origin, such as a water or foodborne disease . They may affect a region in a country or a group of countries. Pandemics are near-global disease outbreaks when multiple and various countries around

7371-580: The subject also appeared on the Salon website. The 2001 anthrax attacks heightened concerns about bioterrorism and the Federal government of the United States stepped up its efforts to store and create more vaccines for American citizens. In 2002, Mother Jones published an article that was highly skeptical of the anthrax and smallpox immunization required by the United States Armed Forces . With

7462-534: The symptoms associated with the Gulf War Syndrome. In the late 1990s Slate published an article on the "brewing rebellion" in the military against anthrax immunization because of "the availability to soldiers of vaccine misinformation on the Internet". Slate continued to report on concerns about the required anthrax and smallpox immunization for US troops after the September ;11 attacks and articles on

7553-663: The true cause of autism. A special court convened in the United States to review claims under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ruled on February 12, 2009, that the evidence "failed to demonstrate that thimerosal-containing vaccines can contribute to causing immune dysfunction, or that the MMR vaccine can contribute to causing either autism or gastrointestinal dysfunction", and that parents of autistic children were therefore not entitled to compensation in their contention that certain vaccines caused autism in their children. Vaccine overload ,

7644-478: The two. A developing tactic appears to be the "promotion of irrelevant research [as] an active aggregation of several questionable or peripherally related research studies in an attempt to justify the science underlying a questionable claim", to quote the Skeptical Inquirer . Many parents are concerned about the safety of vaccination when their child is sick. Moderate to severe acute illness with or without

7735-428: The vaccine containing higher concentrations of a viral coat protein, while also not containing proteins the HPV viruses use to inhibit immune response. While it is true that infection with certain illnesses may produce lifelong immunity , many natural infections do not produce lifelong immunity, while carrying a higher risk of harming a person's health than vaccines. For example, natural varicella infection carries

7826-512: The vaccine schedule recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The immunization schedule is designed to protect children against preventable diseases when they are most vulnerable. The practice of delaying or spacing out these vaccinations increases the amount of time the child is susceptible to these illnesses. Receiving vaccines on the schedule recommended by the ACIP

7917-683: The vaccine. At a 1998 press conference, Wakefield suggested that giving children the vaccines in three separate doses would be safer than a single vaccination. This suggestion was not supported by the paper, and several subsequent peer-reviewed studies have failed to show any association between the vaccine and autism. It later emerged that Wakefield had received funding from litigants against vaccine manufacturers and that he had not informed colleagues or medical authorities of his conflict of interest : Wakefield reportedly stood to earn up to $ 43 million per year selling diagnostic kits. Had this been known, publication in The Lancet would not have taken place in

8008-476: The way that it did. Wakefield has been heavily criticized on scientific and ethical grounds for the way the research was conducted and for triggering a decline in vaccination rates, which fell in the UK to 80% in the years following the study. In 2004, the MMR-and-autism interpretation of the paper was formally retracted by ten of its thirteen coauthors, and in 2010 The Lancet ' s editors fully retracted

8099-504: Was a member, voted against committing the research funds; this was contrary to the Autism Speaks policy on vaccine safety research. Singer said: Singer noted that numerous scientific studies already disproved the link first suggested more than a decade ago and that Autism Speaks needs to "move on." Later that year, along with NAAR's cofounder Karen London, Singer launched ASF as a nonprofit organization supporting autism research premised on

8190-516: Was estimated that 60-70% of US blood donors had COVID-19 antibodies. Research director Timothy Caulfield said that "This really highlights, I think, how powerful misinformation can be. It can really have an impact in a way that can be dangerous ... There is no evidence to support these concerns." As of August 2021, such demands are rare in the US. Doctors in Alberta, Canada, warned in November 2022 that

8281-465: Was insufficient evidence to recommend routine use of trivalent influenza vaccine during the first trimester of pregnancy, but that the vaccine was still recommended outside the first trimester and in special circumstances such as pandemics or in women with certain other conditions. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices , the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists , and

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