Wilson 1

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Creation of Vaccines.. 3

Rise of the Anti-Vaxxers4

Figure 1..5

Disproving the Link...6

Figure 2..8

Conclusion.9

Works Cited.10
 Wilson 2

The Missing Link

Introduction

Because of the Anti-Vaxxer movements belief in a connection between infant

vaccination and autism, decades of medical progress are in jeopardy. The discovery of a

smallpox vaccine entered the world into a new era of modern medicine. Within decades, one of

the deadliest diseases on earth had been completely eradicated. Only twice in all of known

history have humans been able to target and drive a species to extinction, in this case, the variola

virus. Now, vaccines are available for dozens of previously devastating diseases: mumps,

smallpox, polio, and soon even the Zika Virus can be vaccinated against. Yet, there remains a

growing group of people who cry Foul! at the idea of vaccination.

The origin of modern Anti-Vaxxers can be traced back to a single 1982 film. The

documentary, by Lea Thompson (Offit 2) connects infant vaccination with a variety of medical

conditions and, specifically, autism. Future peer-reviewed studies refuted claims made by

Thompson in the film, and multiple reputable articles exist that disprove any evidence of deadly

side effects associated with vaccines. The Anti-Vaccination movement threatens to reintroduce

dozens of preventable diseases that should never have to be feared.

Creation of Vaccines

For centuries, mankind was ravaged by an incurable disease: smallpox. Almost every

nation and tribe dealt with smallpox at some point in history. When Westerners began exploring

the Americas, the Native American population was devastated by the disease. Each culture had

its own was of inoculating against the disease, but most were ineffective.

The first real step against smallpox appeared in 1796, when Edward Jenner developed a

vaccine for smallpox (Riedel). Jenner realized that there was a possible connection between

cowpox exposure and smallpox immunity. Milkmaids, Jenner had heard, that had been exposed

to cowpox rarely contracted smallpox. Consequently, Jenner located a milkmaid infected with

cowpox, and injected matter from the milkmaids sores into a young boy using a relatively new

tool: subcutaneous needles. Needles developed independently in several cultures, and before

vaccination, were relatively primitive. The development of vaccination is widely believed to be

the catalyst in refining the subcutaneous needle (Exchange Supplies). In the days following

injection, the boy displayed symptoms akin to a cold, but recovered in about a week. Next,

Jenner injected matter from a smallpox sore into the same boy. The boy never developed

smallpox, and Jenner concluded that protection was complete (Reidel).

After facing resistance from the medical community, Edward Jenner conducted more

tests and gathered more evidence, and by the 1800s, vaccination was widespread throughout

Europe. As Jenner distributed his vaccine to colleagues and peers, some doses traveled with

Benjamin Waterhouse to the United States. There, Thomas Jefferson expressed his extreme

support of vaccination and founded the National Vaccine Institute (Reidel).

Edward Jenner began the process of eradicating the deadliest disease in human history. In

his article, Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and Vaccination, Reidel states that

Strictly speaking, [Edward Jenner] did not discover vaccination but was the first person to

confer scientific status on the procedure. Cultures, such as the Chinese and some African

tribes, had been inoculating in various ways for centuries, but for the first time, there was an

empirically proven method to inoculate. Jenner brought vaccination into the view of modern

medicine.

Rise of the Anti-Vaxxers

A child infected with the highly contagious measles virus will at first develop a minor

cough and rash, mistakeable for a cold or mild allergy. However, within days, measles can cause

dangerously high fevers, severe rashes, and even death. If left unchecked, mumps, which is

highly contagious, can cause pancreatitis, meningitis, deafness, facial paralysis, and

inflammation of the ovaries (Offit xvi). Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that causes

thick mucus to block the airway of those infected, typically children. Even by coughing, the

victim finds that the mucus is difficult to clear. As a result of the coughing, those infected can

become lethargic, dehydrated, or malnourished (Offit xv). The loss of oxygen alone can cause

permanent developmental problems. These diseases have one factor in common: each is easily

preventable by vaccination. Nevertheless, a growing portion of the American population is

refusing vaccinations for themselves or their children. One of the most common excuses for

refusing to vaccinate is the belief that vaccines cause autism.

Immediately after Jenner began distributing vaccines in Europe, there were groups who

opposed the process. As vaccination was a new procedure, some pushback was to be expected.
 Wilson 5

Religious groups and politicians rejected the vaccines for various reasons. Some found it

repulsive to be injected with matter from cows; others believed that the vaccine was

unchristian because it came from an animal (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia).

Demagogues claimed to have definitive evidence of the dangers of this new technology,

spreading viewpoints that would hinder vaccination efforts for decades.

In America, the Anti-Vaxxer movement gained traction with the release of Lea

Thompsons DPT: Vaccine Roulette. The documentary shows in vivid detail the disabilities that

6 children had experienced after receiving the DPT vaccine. At the beginning of the film,

Thompson reports that The controversy isnt really over the fact that [brain damage] happens,

but how often it happens and whether it happens often enough to deem the vaccine more

dangerous than the disease itself (Offit 3). Immediately after the documentary aired on The

Today Show on April 19, 1982, parents across the country began attributing any symptoms their

children had to the DPT vaccination. The documentary initiated a distrust of doctors and

vaccines, allowing diseases that could have been eradicated to continue. Since Jenners research,

the American population has largely adopted vaccines, but as of 2013, progress has largely

stagnated, as seen below (Child Trends).

Figure 1: Percentage of Children Ages 19-35 Months Receiving the Combined Series

Vaccination

Source: "Immunization - Child Trends." Child Trends. Child Trends, 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

However, Paul Offit states that By 2007, researchers had published several studies

showing that MMR [measles-mumps-rubella] didnt cause autism, (150-151). Despite this

research, celebrities and television programs continued to spread misinformation through the

media. In a digital age, information continuously cycles through news outlets and websites.

People read and share pieces of opinionated information without being aware of where it

originated. As a result, questionable facts and other theories become the accepted truth. The

belief in incorrect information has built a foundation of fear and distrust not backed by science,

despite evidence supporting the safety of vaccines.

Disproving the Link

As the movement against vaccines has grown, major studies and scientific organizations

have repeatedly attempted to educate the public with empirical evidence. One such organization

is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If a person searches Do vaccines cause

autism? the first result takes the user to a CDC webpage on vaccine safety. CDC personnel have

conducted over 10 studies testing vaccines and vaccine ingredients for a link to autism. Each

study has disproven a link (CDC).

For many years, a major concern of Anti-Vaxxers was the presence of thimerosal, a

preservative containing mercury. A molecule containing a harmful atom will not necessarily

have the same effects as the lone atom. The CDC conducted studies specifically on thimerosal,

and found no increase in birth defects or disabilities from a population unexposed to thimerosal

(CDC). The substance has since been removed, as a precautionary measure, as other

preservatives without mercury can be used. (CDC).

In 2012, the Journal of Pediatrics published an article testing the active ingredient in

vaccines; the antigens. These antigens are produced either directly from the agent being

vaccinated against, or an agent from the same family. When these proteins are introduced into a

persons immune system, the body produces white blood cells to fight the infection and can

recognize future infections. The safety of having multiple types of antigens in the body at once

(infants often receive multiple vaccines at one time) has been cause for concern to many parents.

The study, Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in

Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism, concludes that no statistically significant
 Wilson 8

difference in autism rates existed between infants who received vaccines on the recommended

schedule and those who had delayed or refused vaccination.

The graph below, from the same study, compares how many antigens an infant received

in a time frame to the percentage of test cases that had or had not displayed ASD (autism

spectrum disorder). For both cases and controls in all 3 age groups, the cumulative exposures

exhibited a bimodal distribution depending on receipt of whole-cell vaccines (Destefano, Price,

Weintraub). If data is bimodal, it has two peaks. The bimodality indicates that an infant receiving

all recommended vaccines at once has no significantly greater chance of developing autism than

one whose vaccines are distributed. These results were peer-reviewed and confirmed, ensuring

the studys validity.

Figure 2: Distribution of total cumulative antigen exposure among ASD cases and controls, by

age range.
 Wilson 10

Source: Destefano, Frank, Cristofer S. Price, and Eric S. Weintraub. "Increasing Exposure to

Antibody- Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of

Autism." Pediatria Polska 89.5 (2014): n. pag. Print.

Conclusion

Edward Jenners development of vaccination allowed humans to enter a new era in

modern medicine. Smallpox, mumps, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, and whooping cough were

once pervasive. With vaccination, they are entirely avoidable. Despite the proven benefits, a

growing portion of the American population is unvaccinated or not vaccinating their children.

Major scientific organizations have studied and tested the effects of the major vaccine

components and found no causality between vaccines and autism. Vaccines allow humans to

function without fearing dozens of diseases. Anti-Vaxxers perceived link between vaccines and

autism has been completely disproven.

Works Cited
 Wilson 11

Destefano, Frank, Cristofer S. Price, and Eric S. Weintraub. "Increasing Exposure to

Antibody- Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of

Autism." Pediatria Polska 89.5 (2014): n. pag. Print.

"The History of Injecting and the Development of the Syringe." Exchange Supplies. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.

"Immunization - Child Trends." Child Trends. Child Trends, 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

Offit, Paul A. Deadly Choices: How the Anti-vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. New

York: Basic, 2011. Print.

Riedel, Stefan. "Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and

Vaccination." Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center). Baylor Health Care System,

Jan. 2005. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

"Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.