WhenIwasinelementaryschool,therewasarulethateveryparentvolunteer

whocameintohelpoutwithclasshadtohaverecentlyhadaTBtest.I,beingaboutsix
yearsoldatthetime,heardthisandthought,'What?ATVtest?Likeatelevisiontest,or
something?
Soafterschool,Iranallthewayfromthebusstoptomyhouse,lunchbox
danglingatmyside,excitedtotellmymomallaboutthistelevisiontestshedneedto
studyforbeforeshecameinforspellingnextweek.Afteracoupleminutesofconfused
looksfrommyparents,theydeducedthatIhadmeantaTBtestandtoldmethatitwas
atestforthedisease,tuberculosis.Slightlydisappointed,Iaskedthemwhythere
neededtobeatestforTBinmyschool.Mydadhoistedmeupintohisarmsand
explained,Becausekidsarefragile,anditsuptoparentslikeustoprotectthem.
Thereisonefundamentalgoalingrainedineverylivingbeing:continueyour
lineage.Havechildrenandprotectthosechildrensothattheygrowupandhave
childrenoftheirown.Asmodernmedicinecontinuestoadvanceatastaggeringpace,
vaccineshaveemergedasoneofthemostaccessibleandinexpensivewaystoprotect
childrenstartingatayoungageandcontinuingthroughadulthood.Itjustmakessense
asaparentashottakeslessthanfivesecondstobeadministered,yetitprovidesa
lifetimeofresistanceagainstdiseaseandinfection.

The Issue
Enter,theanti
vaxxers,agrowingmovementofparentschoosingtoforego
inoculatingtheirchildren,inexchangeforusinghomeopathicandnaturalremediesto
preventdisease.Subscriberstotheanti
vaccinemovementhavebeenfed

misinformationbyfalsifiedoroutdatedmedicalstudiesandpowerfulcelebrity
endorsers.JennyMcCarthy,DonaldTrump,andJimCarreyareamongthose
supportingthedangerousanti
vaccinestance,andbydoingso,convincingother
parentstofollowbasedondisprovenfearsaboutautismandchemicalsinvaccines.Not
onlydoesthisputanti
vaxxersownkidsindanger,buteverychild(orevenadult)that
comesincontactwiththeirkidsisatriskofexposuretodiseasesthatshouldbea
nonfactorintheirhealth.
Whensomeoneisputtingtheirchildreninharmsway,intentionallyornot,a
governmentbranchusuallystepsin,whetheritbeChildProtectiveServicesorthe
Police.Withanti
vaxxers,however,thegovernmentturnsablindeye.Everystateinthe
USrequiresthatchildrenreceivevaccinationstoattendschool,butforty
eightofthe
fiftyallowexemptionfromthislawbasedonreligiousorphilosophicalbeliefs.
Effectively,thelawisuseless.Bypassingitsimplyrequiresaparenttosaythat
vaccinatingachildisagainsttheirreligiousbeliefsormorallywrongtothem(ifinoneof
theeighteenstatesallowingphilosophicalbasedexemption).Thetwostatesthat
absolutelyrequirevaccinations(exceptinsituationswhereachildhasahealthconcern
associatedwithit)areMississippiandWestVirginia.Ironicallytwoofthemost
conservative,thesestatesconsistoflessthanfivemillionpeople,orabout1.5%ofthe
totalpopulationoftheUnitedStates.98.5%ofeverybodyintheUShasthepotentialto
eludelawsputinplacetoensureoursafetyandthesafetyofourfuturegenerations.
Reformofthelawscurrentlyinplaceisdesperatelyneeded.TheUSgovernment
needstomakeinoculationoftheentirepopulationatopprioritygoingintothefuture,but

governmentinitiativewillonlycomewhenthevaccinatedraisetheirvoicestogether
againstallowingchildrentogrowupindangerbecauseofmisinformedparents.
Vaccinesneedtobethelaw,andthelawcanonlybeestablishedbyvotersvoicingtheir
oppositiontothecurrentsystemoflenientexemptions.Onelifelostthatcouldbe
preventedbymandatoryvaccinationisonetoomany.

The Fears
Fearofvaccinationmainlystemsfromincorrectassumptionsandfalsescientific
reportspromulgatedbythemediaandcelebrities.Thestudythatsparkedthemodern
anti
vaccinemovement,a1998publicationbyAndrewWakefieldinthemedicaljournal
TheLancet
,
claimedthatthemeasles,mumps,andrubella(MMR)vaccinecauses
autismspectrumdisorder.Thepaper,nowseenasfraudulentstatedthateightoftwelve
sampledchildrenwithdevelopmentalproblemswhohadtakentheMMRvaccinehad
developedautisticenterocolitis,aconditionfoundtobefictionalandmerelycreatedby
Wakefieldinanattempttosellhisclaimedlinkbetweenthevaccineandautism.
Wakefieldwentonto
saythatsymptomsofautismhadappeareddaysaftertheMMR
vaccinewasadministered.
AsWakefieldsfindingshitthegeneralpopulace,severalscientistsstepped
forwardtorefutehisclaims.A2004studyoffamilydoctorsintheUKfoundthatless
than2%believedthattheMMRvaccinecouldsometimes
causeautism.Itwasalso
discoveredthatpriortowritinghispaper,Wakefieldhadbeengiven55,000British
poundsaspaymentfromtheLegalAidBoardofEnglandandWalestofindevidence

againstvaccinationmanufacturers.Thepaymenthadnotbeendisclosedto

TheLancet
andrepresentedaconflictofinterest,asWakefieldhadanincentivetopublish
anti
vaccineresearch.Allegationsalsocameforthin2009thatthescientisthad
manipulateddatainanattempttoprovehisfindings.Finally,in2010,hismedical
studieslinkingautismtotheMMRvaccinewereformallyredactedfrom
TheLancet
s
records,effectivelyshowingthemtobefalse.
Yet,peoplestillfearthisunfoundedlink.Autismisthenumberonefearofthose
whochoosenottohavetheirchildinoculated,eventhoughthemanwhopublishedthe
scientificpaperestablishingthislinkhashadhisfindingsremovedfromallrecordsand
beenproventohaveacceptedmoneyandfalsifieddatainanattempttojustifyhis
claims.
SecondtotheWakefieldautismreport,theingredientsinvaccineshavecaused
controversy,namely,apreservativecalledThiomersal.Thiomersalcontainsmercury,an
elementknowntocauseproblemsinhighenoughdoseshowever,themercurylevels
ininfantsreceivingvaccinescontainingthiomersalweresolow,theycouldnotbe
measured.
Infact,Thiomersalwasaddedtovaccinesinordertopreventdeaths.Asample
of48childrenwereinjectedwiththediphtheriavaccineinAustriain1928.Usingafresh
containerofthevaccine,thefirst24vaccinatedendeduphealthyandimmunized.The
secondgroupof24,inoculatedseveraldayslaterfromthesamecontainer,saw12
childrendieasaresultofhavingnopreservativeinthevaccine.Thiomersalwasadded
inresponsetothevaccinesexpiration.

Regardlessofitsbenefits,Thiomersalwasremovedfromallvaccinesbuttheflu
in2002,merelyasaprecautionarymeasure.Itcausednoharmandisnolonger
presentinthevastmajorityofvaccines,yetanti
vaxxersusethislife
savingpreservative
asammunitiontojustifytheirchoiceinnotallowingtheirchildrentobeinoculated.

The Facts
Vaccineswerecreatedwithonepurpose:toprotectpeopleagainstdisease,and
theydotheirjobunbelievablywell.Theinventionofthevaccinationiscitedtimeand
timeagainasoneofthetopreducersofmortalityinthehistoryofmankind.Thecreator
ofthefirstvaccine(usedtotreatsmallpoxinthe18thcentury),EdwardJenner,is
estimatedtohavesavedover500millionlivesbyintroducinghumanitytoinoculation.

Figure1:
CDCstatisticsonthedeclineofvaccinepreventablediseasesintheUS.
Source:http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4037.pdf

Figure1(continued):
Thedatabelowthetablegivesthedatesofthemostrecent
reportsofdiseasecases,aswellasanexplanationofcertainexceptionsinthedata.

Thechartabove,basedonyearsofdatafromtheCenterforDiseaseControl
(CDC),illustratestheimpactvaccineshavehadonreducingtheprevalenceof
preventablediseases.Sincetheadventofeachdiseasesvaccines,inoculationofthese
fifteenconditionshasaccountedforoverfivemillionfewercontractionsofpreventable
diseasesperyear.Elevenofthefifteeninthistablehavebeenreducedby
atleast96%
morbidityfrompre
vaccinetimestonow,withsmallpox,diphtheria,rubella,andpolio
beingnearly,ifnotcompletely,eliminatedfromtheUnitedStates.
FromtheCDCdata,severalconclusionscanbedrawn.First,inthecaseofall
fifteendiseases,theintroductionofavaccinemassivelylessenedtheamountofpeople
contractingthatdisease.Thelowestdropwas72%,orjustunderthree
fourths,for
HepatitisB,whilethehighestwascompleteeradicationofthedisease,seeninsmallpox
anddiphtheria.Innocasedidinoculationleadtohigherinfectionrates.Asstrangeasit
sounds,manyproponentsoftheanti
vaccinemovementfearthatinjectingdiseased
cells,deadoralive,intoahumancancausecontractionofthatdisease.
Second,vaccineshadanequallyaspowerfuleffectonlethaldiseasesasthey
didonprimarilynon
lethalones.Extremelydangerousdiseases,suchassmallpox,
diphtheria,andpoliohadtheirmorbidityreducedjustasmuch,andmoreinseveral
cases,thanless
threateningconditions,likevaricella(chickenpox)andmumps.Saving
livesisascommonanoutcomeofwidespreadinoculationasmerelyrelievingusof
annoying,butharmless,diseases.

Thefactis,immunizationspreventmillionsofillnessesperyearintheUSalone,
savingthousandsoflivesintheprocess.Thedataclearlysupportsthatthepositivesof
vaccinationsvastlyoutweighallnegatives.Andwhatnegativescouldevenbedrawn
fromvaccines?Thefearthattheycauseautismhasbeenthoroughlydebunked.The
CDCevenstatesdirectlyontheirwebsite,VaccinesDoNotCauseAutism.Ingredients
invaccineshaveneverbeenproventobeharmful,eventhosecontainingmercury.
Vaccineswerecreatedforonepurpose,tosavehumanlivesbypreventingthespread
ofdisease.Theyhavebeenanunequivocalsuccesssincetheiradoption,andthere
existsnocredibleevidencetosayotherwise.

Why You Should Care

Anti
vaxxerschoicesharmmorethanjusttheirownfamilies.Aphenomenon
knownas"herdimmunity"contributestothespreadofdiseaseacrossanentire
community.

Figure2:
Differencesinherdimmunitybasedonvaccinations.
Source:http://www.vaccines.gov/basics/protection/

Theaboveinfographic,createdbythe
NationalInstituteofAllergyandInfectious

Diseases(NIAID),showshowherdimmunityworks.Thetoppanelisacommunityin
whichnobodyinimmunized.Ifjustoneortwoareinfected,thediseasewilllikelyspread
toeveryone.Noresistancetotheailmentexists.Inthesecondpanel,afewpeopleare
immunized,butmostarestillsusceptibletoinfection.Onceanepidemicstarts,itwill
spreadtonearlyeverybodynotinoculated.Thethirdpanelshowsthepowerofherd
immunity.Mostpeopleareimmunizedwhileahandfulremaindefenseless.Whena
couplepeopleareinfected,theimmunizedwilleffectivelyblockthespreadtoothers

whomaybesusceptible,considerablyloweringthepossibilityofevenunimmunized
peopleinthecommunityfromcontractingthedisease.
Herdimmunityiscrucial,asmanypeopleareineligibletoreceivevaccinations,
whetheritbeduetoallergies,age,conditionssuchaspregnancyorweakenedimmune
systems.Evenwithoutanintrabodyresponsebytheimmunesystem,thesepeoplecan
stillreceiveadegreeofimmunitythroughthosearoundthemthathavebeeninoculated.
Asimmunizationinacommunityfalls,sodoesthelevelofherdimmunity,placing
thosewhocannotbeimmunized,duetosafetyreasons,atneedlessrisk.

The Bottom Line

Allvaccine
preventablediseaseshavethepotentialtogothewayofpolio,
smallpox,anddiphtheriaifonlyeverybodywerevaccinatedagainstthem.Evenpeople
whocannotbe,orarenot,foranyreason,immunizedbenefitimmenselyfromthose
whoareinoculated.Anyanti
vaxxerswhoremainlargelyunaffectedbythelackof
protectionneedtothankherdimmunitythepeoplewhoarevaccinatedareprotecting
them.However,ifanti
vaccinationtrendscontinue,herdimmunitywontbeenoughto
protecttheunimmunized,andoutbreaksofpreventablediseaseswillmakea
resurgence.Thevaccinatedneedtodemandgovernmentmandatesstrictlyregulating
whocanoptoutofinoculation.Abuseofthesystemwillleadtomorecontractionsand
moredeathsunlesssomethingisdone.

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CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,31
July2014.Web.17Apr.2015.

"ClinicalInfectiousDiseases.""HerdImmunity":ARoughGuide.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May
2015.

"CommunityImmunity("HerdImmunity")."CommunityImmunity("HerdImmunity").N.p.,n.d.
Web.14Apr.2015.

Harris,Gardiner."JournalRetracts1998PaperLinkingAutismtoVaccines."TheNewYork
Times.TheNewYorkTimes,02Feb.2010.Web.19Apr.2015.

"HistoryofAntivaccinationMovements."HistoryofVaccinesRSS.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May
2015.

"ImmunizationSafetyReview:VaccinesandAutism."Iom.edu.InstituteofMedicineofthe
NationalAcademies,14May2004.Web.16Apr.2015.

"LeavingtheAntiVaccineMovementVoicesForVaccines."VoicesForVaccines.N.p.,n.d.
Web.04May2015.

"RobertKoch."Jenner,Edward.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Apr.2015.

"16CelebrityAntiVaxxers."Ranker.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May2015.

"StateVaccineRequirementsNationalVaccineInformationCenter."NationalVaccine
InformationCenter(NVIC).N.p.,n.d.Web.04May2015.

"TheTop6ReasonsWhyParentsAreChoosingNotToVaccinateTheirKids."
CollectiveEvolutionRSS.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May2015.

"UnitedStatesCensusBureau."StateTotals:Vintage2014.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May2015.

"U.S.FoodandDrugAdministration."ThimerosalinVaccines.N.p.,n.d.Web.18Apr.2015.

"Vaccines."MercuryLevelsinInfantsReceivingRoutineImmunizations.N.p.,n.d.Web.17
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