Running head: VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

Jake Toole
Bridgewater State University

Author Note
This paper was prepared for COMM224 Communication Research and Writing taught by
Professor Amantea.

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism
Research Topic, Question, Thesis
Research Topic
The correlation between vaccines and children born with Autism.
Research Question
Do vaccines cause Autism?
Thesis Statement
Vaccines do not cause Autism.
Introduction
These researches investigate different aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In
1998 it is hypothesized that having a child vaccinated for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella)
may lead to adolescents developing autism. The prevalence of autism in a community is
researched to give the public an idea of how common the disorder is. The effect of the claim
made in 1998 caused hysteria among parents nationwide which is researched in order the better
understand the effects of such a medical claim. The claim has had little sufficient evidence to
back it up and an abundant amount of research to disprove it. The focus of this paper is to
conclude whether or not there is a correlation between giving children vaccines and them
developing autism.
Common Findings
The research being done by all noted researchers is being done due to the growing
hysteria and questioning coming from the general public. All studies were done regarding a
chemical called Thimerosal, a mercury based chemical found in the vaccine that is believed to
have certain health risks. Studies were done on both children who had been evaluated and found

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

to have autism and those were found free of the disorder. By researching the medical records of
every individual involved, Evans et al. and Price et al. were able to determine that all of the
subjects had been vaccinated around the same time. Both studies steer towards a miniscule to
non-existent correlation between the diagnosis and exposure to the vaccine. Schultz et al. finds
that there is possibly a correlation between taking acetaminophen after being vaccinated and
being diagnosed with autism.
Parents
Since 1998, the amount of parents taking their children to be immunized has decreased
rapidly. Evans et al. believes this to be the direct result of a paper published by Dr. Andrew
Wakefield, who is the first known researcher to suggest a link between the MMR vaccine and a
child developing autism. This view is popular among all researchers, supported by the fact that
there is no fear of having a child vaccinated for fear of the child developing autism before
Wakefields paper was published. This left a great number of adolescents unimmunized and
vulnerable to MMR.
Evan et al. explains the contributing factors that led to so many parents choosing not to
immunize their children. Many of the parents hold the importance of individual choice when it
comes to government regulations as a shield to defend their decision. Others are taking the
information that they see on the media more seriously than actual published research. There were
a great deal of healthcare professionals informing the parents that there is no conclusive proof
that the MMR vaccine is dangerous. Many parents saw this as a way for the government to push
its immunization policy through the healthcare providers. Kuwaik et al. studies indicate that
parents, who already have one older sibling diagnosed with autism, will either not have any of
their forthcoming children vaccinated or delay until they are shown conclusive proof. After

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

meeting with six focus groups of parents, three who had the MMR administered to their children
and the other three had not, it was concluded that all of the parents wanted the same thing;
upfront and confirmed information regarding the safety of the MMR vaccine.

Diagnosis
Bertrand et al. is researching a particular community to acquire an idea of how prevalent
the autism diagnosis is in an average community. They start off by explaining that autism is a
lifelong disorder with a wide spectrum making it difficult to diagnose. Diagnosing an individual
with autism requires observing their social and communicative abilities along with researching
their medical history. Having an accurate account of the childs developmental history is one of
the most crucial aspects for a proper diagnosis. Autism is defined as someone who is unable or
has difficulty communicating in social settings and struggles to grasp abstract concepts. These
are traits that can be seen in a variety of different fashions in almost every person which is the
root of the difficulty in diagnosing the disorder. What makes it even more difficult to diagnose is
that there are no biological indicators indicative of autism, only social and psychological.
In1998, Bertrand et al. discovered, in a case study, that about four out of every 1000 children
have autism. As more research is done over the years, that number has steadily grown according
to Scholtz et al. and Kuwaik et al.

Research
A number of the children, who are thought to contract the disorder from the vaccine, also
displayed irritable bowel syndrome or enteropathy. When looked into further by Hornig et al., it
was found that some of the individuals had traces of measles virus (MV) RNA in the lining of

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

their GI tract. Not all of the diagnosed children showed this symptom but the amount that did
was too high to ignore. 25 diagnosed individuals were studied, 13 of whom had the trace of MV
RNA in their system. The enteropathy and its symptoms are associated with exposure to
ethylmercury, which is found in the MMR vaccine. It turns out that presence of the MV RNA
was found to be false and that the symptoms of enteropathy were caused by social stress on the
individuals.
The vaccination itself is not what is causing the controversy, it is one of its key
components; Thimerosal. Thimerosal is one of the main acting ingredients in the vaccine.
Thimerosal is composed of ethylmercury, which acts as a preservative, which is why Hornig et
al. was eager to investigate a correlation between the study subjects symptoms and exposure to
ethylmercury. Price et al. did a study of 1000 children who were given the MMR vaccine. 256 of
these individuals are diagnosed with autism. All participating individuals had been given the
vaccine 0-20 months after birth. The fact that all of these children were immunized, means that
they were all exposed to the exact same amount of ethylmercury.

Conclusion
The research and findings of Price et al., Schultz et al., and Hornig et al., have helped show that
one of the toughest challenges in dealing with the vaccination debate is properly diagnosing
children with ASD. In all of the groups of studies there concerns that some of the children said to
have ASD may have been misdiagnosed, and vice versa. In Prices Prenatal and infant exposure
to thimerosal from vaccines and immunoglobulins and risk of autism, he and his team
personally interview each and every candidate to see if they meet the criteria for ASD. The same
process was done by Schultz and his team in Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder. Once having the proper test subjects
confirmed, Price and Schultzs teams use conditional logistic regression to determine correlation
between ASD diagnosis and exposure to ethylmercury. Likewise, ilea and cecil tissue was
abstracted from the GI tract by Hornigs team to look for true evidence of MV RNA and traces of
ethylmercury.
There is no evidence found in any case to support correlation between receiving the
MMR vaccine and being diagnosed with ASD. Prenatal and early-life exposure to ethylmercury
from thimerosal-containing vaccines is not related to increased risk of ASD. No research has
been done to date that is able to prove otherwise.
The only exception to be found was by Schultz et al. Schultz and his team found a
significant correlation between children 5 years and younger who take the antibiotic,
acetaminophen, after being given the MMR vaccine. The issue with this is that Schultz did not
associate this to subjects with diagnosed ASD. In his results he mentions that all children are
considered, ages 1-18, to have ASD if they show signs of intellectual or social regression as they
get older. This is not the exact definition of ASD but an explanation for individuals who fall in a
specific spectrum of the disorder. Disregarding Schultzs finds, no correlation has been found
among individuals immunized for MMR, and those individuals being diagnosed with ASD.

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

References
Bertrand, J., Mars, A., Boyle, C., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., & Decoufle, P. (2001). Prevalence of
autism in a United States population: The Brick Township, New Jersey, investigation.
Pediatrics, 108(5), 1155-1161. doi: 10.1542/peds.108.5.1155
Hornig, M., Briese, T., Buie, T. et al. (2008) Lack of Association between measles virus
vaccine and autism with enteropathy: A case-control study. PLoS ONE, 3(9), 1-9.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003140
Price, C., Thompson, W., Goodson, B. et al. (2010) Prenatal and infant exposure to thimerosal
from vaccines and immunoglobulins and risk of autism. Pediatrics, 126(4), 656-664.
doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0309
Schultz, S., Klonoff-Cohen, H., et al. (2008) Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumpsrubella vaccination, and autistic disorder. Autism, 12(3), 293-307.
doi:10.1177/1362361307089518
Evans, M., Stoddart, H., et al. (2001). Parents perspectives on the MMR immunization: a focus
group study. British Journal of General Practice, 51(2). 904-910. doi: 11761204
Kuwaik, G., Roberts, W., et al. (2014). Immunization uptake in younger siblings of children with
autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 18(2). 148-155. doi: 10.1177/1362361312459111

VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM