John Tringas

Connie Douglas
English 1102
October 14, 2014
Annotated Bibliography
McCormick, Marie C. "Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism." Epidemics. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San
Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Immunization Safety
Review: Vaccines and Autism." www.nationalacademies.org. 2004. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
This report was written as a response to the investigation of the casual relationship
between vaccination and autism. There have been many statements made about this relationship
and the report specifically settles evidence that has arisen about biological mechanisms related to
vaccination and autism. McCormicks article is clearly written from the medical professionals
viewpoint and is strongly supporting the vaccination movement. Most importantly the author
offers unquestionable evidence that the vaccines do not cause autism, by explaining that the
preservative Thimersol has been studied by epidemiologist in United States, the United
Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden and they have provided significant evidence against correlation
of vaccinations and autism. In fact there is no known cause of autism and it is not very well
understood. In closing the author talks about how the lines of communication about vaccination
safety issues with the general public needs to be improved.
This article gives great insight from the medical professional world on how they feel
about the issue of vaccination and autism. It is well written, not accusatory of anyone who has

false ideas about vaccinations and the articles main goal is to clearly inform the reader of the
correct information that there is about vaccinations.
Snyder, Michael. "Vaccines Cause Autism." Behavioral Disorders. Ed. Roman Espejo.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Vaccines and
Autism: The Secret That You Are Not Supposed To Know." The American Dream.
2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Sept. 2014.

Mr. Snyders point in this article, in contrast to the author of the first article. tries to
point the finger at vaccinations for causing autism and disabilities in children. The article is
thorough in explaining the poisonous toxins that are in vaccines. Thimersol is the main culprit
identified as a type of mercury that when introduced to young children can cause brain damage
and studies have shown high levels of mercury in children with autism. This article is one of the
few that take a stand against the vaccine movement on the grounds of protecting the health of
children. What is also interesting is that the article reviews claims that it is not just children that
are being harmed or permanently disabled but also pregnant woman who receive vaccinations as
well as adults.
The article genuinely tries to raise the spirits of people affected by autism suggesting that
there are things that can be done if your child is suddenly diagnosed. Also the author tells of
authorities that are being harsh with their response to the anti-vaccine movement citing a case
were a child was removed from parental custody immediately after being born, when the parents
would not consent to vaccination. This article helps give shape to the opposing side of my
opinion paper. Snyder uses strong words and appeals to the parents of children harmed by

vaccination giving strength to their cause and serves as a warning to parents who are thinking
about pumping mercury into their children.
Mr. William Wakes Up. George Stoney. 1944.The North Carolina State Archives. NC Live.org.
2014 http://media.nclive.org.ezproxy.cpcc.edu/content/begin_stream.php
This very interesting video was made in 1944 and preserved by The North Carolina State
Archives. It describes the role of local and state health agencies and the many tasks that they
undergo to attend to the health of North Carolina citizens. This video is excellent because it gives
the viewer an aerial view of how the community is kept in good health and the measures that are
taken to prevent disease from pasteurization to Tuberculosis x-rays. It is a bit outdated but gives
the viewer a bare bones perspective of how health agencies work for the safety of everyone. My
favorite message from the video is when they explain how the county, state, and volunteer
workers all work together to keep the health standard up to code.
The video helped shape my argument by showing me just why vaccination is so
important. I was impressed by the strong foundation that is needed in order to form a community
and all of the people involved to have a community stand on its feet and be productive. Having
an understanding of all the things that I take for granted like clean water and sanitation at
restaurants, this video has given me a new view on how societies are formed and maintained.
Bethune, Brian. "The needle and the damage (not) done: the belief that vaccination causes autism
is far more dangerous than any vaccine." Maclean's 24 Jan. 2011: 56. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
This articles main point is to how the claims that vaccinations are causing autism is and
are doing more harm than vaccinations ever have. Bethunes article is useful because it talks
about peoples reaction to the false claims that vaccination caused autism and how not
vaccinating in general can harm a community. The article highlights how an epidemic is just

lurking around the corner for a small town in California because of the number of children in
school without their vaccination shots.
The article is helpful because it assists the reader in recognizing that, yes it does go
against logic to infect yourself with a virus to become immune to it, but the fact that this has
been a proven method for hundreds of years should turn that logic right around. I think that this
article clearly explains how vaccination is under much skepticism but continues to work like it is
supposed to, and those who do not get vaccinations are putting themselves at risk.
Bethune, also refutes the idea that vaccination causes autism and that we dont know
what does. With people blindly following a false claim with a glossy science cover they are
spreading the word about something that clearly isnt true. This helps support my argument that
vaccinations is not linked to autism and that the true word on vaccination needs to be
communicated clearly to people who are not aware of it.
"Vaccine Controversies Are As Social As They Are Medical." Morning Edition 30 Sept. 2014.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Eula Bliss started out as a concerned parent and ended up an author. Her book On
Immunity: An Inoculation tells of vaccinations from ancient times until present. Her interview
on Morning Edition is an insightful look into what a parent might want to know when
researching vaccinations. Her best claim is that the anti-vaccination movement is not even a
cohesive movement, some people are opposing capitalism and some people are just under some
hardcore paranoia of the government. She is speaking to all the mothers out there that are trying
to protect their children that think vaccinating on the proper schedule is extreme. Eula Bliss, in
her interview, notes that getting vaccinated on the proper schedule really isnt that extreme and is
in fact necessary to protect children at the age they are more vulnerable to disease.

Eula calls her book a social critique, and she expresses it well through the interview. She
doesnt try to find a middle ground she is trying to find the right information and exclude all the
misinformation. As we all know that the middle ground between misinformation and information
still includes misinformation. The interview of her is excellent momentum for the vaccine
movement and has given me a great idea of what the anti-vaccine movement really is like and
how best to shape the rest of my research.
Institute of Medicine. "The Childhood Vaccine Schedule Is Safe." Should Vaccinations be
Mandatory? Ed. Roman Espejo. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. At
Issue. Rpt. from "The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder
Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studies (Report Brief)." 2013. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
This report is one of a kind and at first read it seems to be technical, but at second read it
is extremely informative. The report was written by the Institute of Medicine for the inquiry
about the safety of the vaccination schedule for children. The article recognized that you could
potentially be giving your child up to twenty-four vaccinations by the time that they are two
years of age. With this in mind they are trying to ease the concerns of parents that they could be
potentially harming their children with the intent of supporting the childs health. The CDC says
it is trying its best to improve upon the process that is currently recognized as the very best. The
article cites that there is no evidence of safety concerns and that the vaccination schedule is safe,
recognizing concerns from a survey of stakeholders, advocacy groups, federal agencies private
investors and more.
The article covers the concerns of the CDCs stakeholders with the introduction of The
Vaccine Safety Datalink which is a collaboration between the CDC and nine other managed
care organizations that monitor the uncommon but very serious side effects of vaccines. This
study is unique because it is the first attempt looking at and studying the whole childhood

immunization schedule that is currently in use. In the article they also introduce a few other
advisory committees that over see vaccination safety and distribution. With all of the focus
groups looking at vaccines it is hard to imagine any harm at all coming from them.
The author of this article is writing directly to concerned parents or doctors who are
interested in vaccines. It presents the modern day efforts to safely defeat diseases making it
excellent material to support the arguments that I present.

"Vaccines." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints
in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
This article asks the potentially riot starting question of should vaccines be mandatory?
It sites reasons that parents can choose not to vaccinate their children such as religious, health,
and personal beliefs. The article also covers many epidemics, reasons that one should be
vaccinated. The author also outlines state vaccination laws and the history of mandatory
vaccines. After reading the article I feel the author is in favor of not making vaccinations
mandatory because of the potentially harsh side effects and making them mandatory could
trigger a slippery slope of nobody vaccinating at all.
You are literally taking your own life into your own hands when you choose to be
vaccinated. While the autism and vaccine relationship may not be true, the risk of being harmed
on a neurological level is there and it is very real. This article helps my research by outlining the
finer points of choice when it comes to taking the risk of vaccinating yourself or your child. The
article also gives a broad perspective on how people can choose to or not to vaccinate and is a
must read for anyone making a decision about vaccination.

Koch, Kathy. "Vaccine Controversies." CQ Researcher 25 Aug. 2000: 641-72. Web. 14 Oct.
2014.
Kochs article is the twenty-seven-page bible on all things related to vaccinations. It
interviews everyone from family doctors to Roger Bernier the CDC associate director. The
author answers questions like Are vaccines safe? which it concludes that there are possible
adverse consequences, but it is better to take the risk than leave yourself vulnerable to these
highly communicable diseases. The article, in my opinion, more importantly goes on to tackle
the vaccination autism discussion and states both sides of the controversies. The article takes you
to a conference were parents of autistic children blame mercury poisoning and report that thier
children have been exposed to forty-one to 125 times the safe limit of mercury. This statistic is
scary especially to me a supporter of the vaccine movement. These claims are later refuted and
the reader is told that the CDC has even brought together a committee to keep a close eye on
adverse effect of vaccinations and ways to avoid them.
An especially intriguing part of the article is written about the early break through of
vaccinations and how it all got started as a campaign. In the beginning (1905) people were
opposing mandatory vaccination laws on the basis of religious, legal, and medical or safety
grounds. Then in 1954 vaccinations proved themselves. The polio vaccination was masscampaigned and cases dropped by 90 percent over 6 years. The telling of the struggle of
vaccinations to be perceived as a helping hand and a defense against communicable diseases
shows without bias how we got to where we are today with the vaccine movement.