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Vaccinations: Dispelling The Myth

There has been ill press about how vaccines are more dangerous than they are helpful. Prominent people, such as Robert Kennedy Jr., claim that certain vaccines are behind the rise in autism, a developmental disorder characterized by poor socialization, poor communication, and restrictive and repetitive behavior. This is not true. There is no correlation between vaccinations and autism, be it vaccinations with the preservative Thimerosal or the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine. With the biggest concern over not getting vaccinated debunked, the many benefits of receiving vaccinations seem even more alluring. There is no danger in vaccinating.
First and foremost, one needs to consider that Thimerosal, the mercury containing ingredient found in childhood vaccinations, had been removed from vaccinations. In fact, autism has been on the rise since the reduction of Thimerosal in vaccinations (JAMA). “The prevalence at ages 3 to 5 years has increased monotonically for each birth year since 1999, during which period exposure to Thimerosal has been reduced,” says Science Daily about a report done earlier this year in California by Doctors Robert Schechter and Judith K. Grether of the California Department of Public Health. Along with this, they also studied the prevalence of autism among 3 to 5 year olds from 1995 through March 2007 (JAMA). They found that the rate of autism has increased, while the use of vaccinations containing Thimerosal decreased, leading researches to the conclusion that Thimerosal played little if any role in the increase of autism.
The Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination is another of the supposed culprits leading to the increased rates in autism. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there is no correlation between the vaccination and autism. However a report done in 1998 raised the question whether or not the vaccine led to autism, but the report had its fault, namely a small research group (Measles…). But, in 2004, the...