Links and Controversies Regarding Vaccines and Autism

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1 In recent years, there have been reports linking autism to vaccinations.
Different medical and scientific experts have varying opinions on the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The most popular and highly justified cause of ASD is linked to genetics. From the 1960s to the 1980s, experts revealed that the association of ASD to genes is secondary to the increase in concordance rate. In 1977, a study by Folstein and Rutter revealed that the concordance rate was at thirty-six percent in identical or monozygotic twins. An increased percentage was found in the 1990s, showing a ninety percent concordance rate. Other causes that have been stated include exposure to heavy metals, pollution, primarily due to toxic chemicals, antibiotic overdose, and immunization (Decoteau & Daniel, 2020). In this segment, we shall focus on the reports of vaccines as direct causes or risk factors for the development of ASD.
Due to some of the previously published research papers that have either biased participants or assessments, the causation between ASD and vaccines has been established. Specifically, the vaccines that have been noted to cause ASD are mumps, measles, and rubella (Davidson, 2017).
However, these claims have been debunked by more credible and reliable research papers that many other experts have verified. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), the institution, conducted a study in 2013 where the researchers observed the effects of the antigens of some vaccines during the first two years of life. This study revealed that vaccines do not cause harm to a child’s life.
Another claim was that an ingredient in most vaccines, thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative to prolong the life of the vaccines by counteracting the growth of bacteria and fungi. However, studies suggest no causation between thimerosal and ASD (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).
2 Explain the controversy regarding vaccines as a possible cause of autism.
As mentioned, the controversy stemmed from published researchers. These were two. The first study was conducted in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues. The subject investigated the association of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to ASD, hypothesizing that this causes intestinal inflammation, resulting in the release of harmful proteins into the circulation. The intestinal inflammation is secondary to ileal-lymphoid nodular hyperplasia, and its consequences lead to brain side effects that ultimately result in autism. The hypothesis was proven by observing the twelve participants in the study who received the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and eight of whom developed intestinal inflammation after a month, consequently resulting in ASD (Boger, 2020; DeStefano & Shimabukuro, 2019).
The issues with this research are two-fold. First, the study was conducted at a time when most of the children, who were participants in the study, received the vaccine, and there was consequent development of ASD. Approximately ninety percent of children in England. Hence, the causation is flawed because it only included vaccinated participants. This is not very objective because the stu...