Vaccines Save the Human Race

Abby Zoller-Gritz

Intern/Mentor

6 May, 2019

Advisor: Dr.Sybil Klaus

Mrs. Ireland
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Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is becoming an international crisis and many people are dying

unreasonable deaths. There is are misconceptions about vaccines, whether it be about their

efficacy, their manufacturing, their ingredients, or their effects on the human body; those

misconceptions are killing people. Research on this topic continually say that vaccines are safe

and there is still innovation going on to make them better and more accessible to people around

the world. By looking at vaccine studies, benign nature of vaccines comes out. No reputable

studies concludes that there are any neurological side effects of vaccines. There was also no link

between vaccines and any other defects. People are dying from undervaccination as those who

can not get vaccines are not protected by the people around them. If people on the fence about

vaccines look at the studies and read about what vaccines truly are, vaccination rates go up and

people’s lives are saved.

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Introduction

Up until 1955, polio was still running rampant through the United States of America. It

even infected one of our very own presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. By 1979, it was

eradicated in the United States. How did the nation go from thousands of children dying to no

new cases of the lethal disease in only 24 years? The polio vaccine. Vaccines have been one of

the most innovative pieces of technology in the past century. They have saved millions of lives

by preventing diseases from infecting the body. There have been diseases that are close to or

have been eradicated by the continued use of vaccines. Despite this, there are still parents who

are skeptical about vaccinating their children. There are theories that say that vaccines are full of

chemicals, that they cause autism, that they are outdated, and since the diseases are almost gone

their child does not need to get vaccinated. These theories are all incorrect. The purpose of this

paper is to inform the reader of the truth about vaccines, including their importance, their

correlation with autism, and their innovation to hopefully increase the number of vaccinated

children in the world.

Literature Review

Vaccines are important to keeping people healthy as they can help prevent people from

getting infectious diseases. These diseases can be life-threatening or dramatically decrease the

quality of life. Here is the story of a woman named Grace, who got polio from an orphanage in

India before she was adopted. They said she was vaccinated, but it is unclear if those records

were correct or not. She also had tuberculosis at the time, which could have weakened her

immune system if she was indeed vaccinated. The popular polio vaccine has a weakened virus,

so with the compromised immune system, she might not have had the immune strength to defeat
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the weakened virus. When she was a child, she required leg braces and a walker as a result of her

polio. As an adult, she has paralysis in her hips which causes urinary tract infections and kidney

problems. (Allmann Updyke, Erin and Welsh, Erin) Grace is fortunate that her polio does not

stop her, but unfortunately, some people who had polio are dead from the disease. There are

about 14 million deaths prevented by vaccines. Any symptoms one would get from a vaccine is

minor, like a rash or fever. It is safe for children, and there is no evidence to support that multiple

vaccines overwhelm the system. (Cleveland Clinic) The vaccine is merely an inactivated disease

that is grown, purified, and then formulated into the vaccine. Inactivation is when the technician

prepares the antigen. They then take a microbe and grow in either egg cells or animal cells. In

order weaken or inactivate the virus, the technicians apply chemicals or heat to the virus. The

antigen is then taken from the cells in the purification process. Then in the formulation, the

inactivated antigens are combined with adjuvants, stabilizers, and preservatives, as the vaccines

need to be protected from any outside contaminants. Adjuvants enhance immune responses to the

vaccine. Stabilizers allow for longer shelf life and allow for multi-dose vials to be produced.

Preservatives help preserve the vaccine so that it is effective. (Mandal) The specific process of

making the vaccines helps the body in its plight to fight off diseases and keep people healthy.

The flu vaccine is one of the most important vaccines to receive in order to stay healthy.

The flu vaccine is made similarly to other vaccines but it only covers about four different strains

of the flu. Currently, there is no universal flu vaccine as there are over twelve different strains

and scientists are unable to make a vaccine with all twelve. Scientists look at data from flu

patients to try and predict which strains are going to be most common that season and use those

for that year's vaccine. Also, the flu virus mutates a lot, which poses a problem as the antibodies
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the body produces look for specific markers on the virus, and if it is mutated, then the antibodies

might not recognize it and attack it. (Foerster, Andrew) There are also three types of methods

for flu vaccine production: egg-based, cell-based, and recombinant. Egg-based is the most

common method of making the flu vaccine and is used in the injection as well as the mist. The

Center for Disease Control (CDC) or other certified organization provides the manufacturers

with the candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) grown in eggs and inject them into fertilized chicken

eggs where they are left to let the virus replicate itself. Then, the fluid that contains the virus is

taken and the virus itself is deactivated. The antigen is purified and then tested before being sent

out. This process requires a lot of eggs and can take more time. The cell-based vaccines are new

to the world of vaccines with the most recent method of production being approved by the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016. They grow the CVVs in animal cells instead of eggs,

which are then put inside of a cluster of animal cells to replicate. The antigen is then purified,

testing is done, and the vaccine finally can be shipped out. Recombinant vaccines use genes,

specifically the hemagglutinin (HA) Gene, from a recommended virus. The genes are then

combined with portions of a virus that is grown in insect cells, and then the extraction process

and rest of the method are the same. (“Influenza (Flu)”) The slew of methods being used for

creating the flu vaccine has allowed it to be more accessible to people as the flu is a deadly

disease.

It is also important to get the flu vaccine as early as possible. One example of how

important it is to get the flu vaccine early is from the death of a young boy. He was scheduled to

get a flu vaccine 10 days after he died. He had been completely healthy before he got the flu and

then died 48 hours later. Dr. Flor Muñoz says that children have a hard time getting the vaccines
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as their parents may have already gotten it at work and children can not just go to a clinic to get

them. There is also legislation that prohibits pharmacists from giving children vaccines. It is

important to get the flu shot before the holidays as flu season peaks in December, and no one

wants to be sick during the holidays. Any time before the end of October is a great time to get

vaccinated for the flu. (Cohen)

Being knowledgeable about what vaccines are about in the world is crucial to having

vaccines benefit society. If not everyone who is capable of getting immunized is getting their

shots for all the diseases they can, there is the possibility that they will contract a preventable

disease. This situation can happen if people are not aware of certain vaccines. Here is the story

from a mother whose son died from meningitis. He was a healthy boy who suddenly contracted

meningitis and then twenty-six days later died. Meningitis is a disease that is preventable by a

vaccine, but the mother was unaware that her son should get the vaccine. She now advocates for

parents to vaccinate their children so they do not have to watch their child die as she did.

(“Remembering Evan.”)

Vaccinations do not only help the person who was immunized, but they also help people

who have compromised immune systems or have an allergy to an ingredient in the vaccine. This

phenomenon is called herd immunity when the people who are incapable of getting vaccinated

are protected by the people who are vaccinated as there are so many people immune to the

disease that the disease basically dies out in that area. The people who are unable to get vaccines

are highly at risk for disease, but if people who were able to get vaccine all got them, those

individuals would be helped substantially. Governments are trying to reach a nation of herd

immunity because then public health is increased and health costs can go down. (Boslaugh)
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Another way vaccines can help people is if people start understanding the correlation between

vaccines and autism.

There has been no legitimate evidence to support the theory that vaccines cause autism.

The whole idea that vaccines cause autism is from one man, Andrew Wakefield, who published a

study that linked vaccines and autism. As it turns out, this study was not done properly, and

Wakefield was paid to have the study say that vaccines cause autism, specifically the measles,

mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, for a lawsuit. This study has since been redacted, but some

people think he was right. One of those people is Jenny McCarthy, an actress. She believes that

because her son got vaccinated, that is why he has autism. (Hall) She went on the television

show Doctors to explain her beliefs to the doctors on the show. She talked about her perspective

on how vaccines cause autism but only said that some vaccines should be up to the parents'

discretion, like chicken pox and the flu, as these are starting to become mandatory for children to

go to school. One of her supporters in the audience got into a debate with the doctors. The father

seemed so right in his answer that vaccines are the only cause at autism that he would not let the

doctors explain how they were there to discuss all possible causes of autism. The doctors were

frustrated as they were rarely allowed to give their medical opinion. The doctor mentioned how

all they wanted to do was save children. (Doctors) The people who believe the connection

between vaccines and autism do not get their children vaccinated, leaving them susceptible to

many diseases. There have been over 45 different studies that prove autism is not caused by

vaccines.

One of the studies looked at the component Thimerosal. Thimerosal, a common

preservative in vaccines that contains ethyl-mercury, is thought to be the culprit behind the
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connection of vaccines and autism. That theory is incorrect as they took out the mercury in

vaccines in 2001, so the children currently getting vaccinated who have autism would not be

getting the vaccines that contained any thimerosal. Autism rates rose after thimerosal was taken

out of vaccines, therefore it is definitely not causing autism. Autism Speaks, an organization

about autism awareness, is saying that more research needs to go into the causes of autism,

genetic and environmental, to get to the bottom of why autism rates are high. All of the talk

about how vaccines cause autism are taking away from research that could be done to help those

with autism. ("... And another study suggests vaccination isn't causing the epidemic of autism.")

The talk about vaccines and autism is old, but scientists working on vaccines are thinking of

some new ideas.

There is a lot of innovation going on in the world of vaccines. Vaccines have come a

long way from their original composition and methods. Scientists are trying to find new ways to

preserve vaccines. Many organizations send out vaccines to countries in need. This can be

tricky if the shelf life, time the vaccine has from processing to expiring, of a vaccine is short. In

order to increase the life of the vaccine, they are testing a liquid to stabilize the vaccines. The

vaccine ingredients are coated in a sugary substance made from simple natural sugars, and an

amino acid, the liquid. They create a sphere-like structure around the vaccine, which is then

inserted into perfluorocarbon and helps the vaccine resist bacteria. When the vaccine is injected,

the sugar dissolves, and only the active ingredients are inserted into the body, and

perfluorocarbon is exhaled. One more modification scientists are trying to implement, so more

people receive vaccines is taking out the genetic material of the virus. When the genes are taken

out of the virus, there is no way one could possibly get the disease they are being immunized
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from. (Coghlan) Vaccines could be made by just using antidiotype antibodies. Immune

regulatory networks are functions in the body that allow antibodies to respond to foreign

antigens, and those antibodies can form antibodies against it which then can help protect from a

virus. Instead of injecting the disabled virus into the body, they will be able to inject the

antidiotype antibodies instead. (Marx)

Another innovation in vaccines is personalization. Some children are not affected by

vaccines and therefore are susceptible to those diseases. Their genes are not able to produce the

proper antibodies needed to fight off the diseases that are in the vaccines. Berran Yucesoy of the

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is working on looking at cytokines to

help recruit antibodies to fight off the diseases in the vaccines. (King) There is also a similar

study going on to help those with AIDS. It will be given to men who tested negative to AIDS to

see if there are any side effects, if the immune system is changed, and will be compared to a

placebo. Scientists are not stopping with the vaccines already in the world. They are trying to

help more people by preventing others from getting other diseases. (Edwards)

Research Methods and Data Collection

To collect data on this topic, a Meta-Analysis was conducted. The main question for data

in this research was if vaccines cause any neurological defects or if vaccines affect the body in

any negative way other than the possibility of getting the disease that one was vaccinated with.

The research done into this was looking at reputable sources like the CDC and WHO for

information and studies on vaccines. There were four main studies looked at for data collection.

First was compilation of studies that were all verified by the American Academy of

Pediatrics. It consists of 44 studies of general safety of vaccines with conclusions and

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summaries of the studies. There was also the a court case and investigation on a study that said

the MMR vaccine causes autism. It breaks the studies down into sections, studies on general

safety of vaccinations, studies that look at MMR specifically, and studies on thimerosal, along

with the court decision and investigation.

The second study looked at was on children who have older siblings.The researchers

looked to see if they are neurotypical or have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and if that

original child has ASD. They looked at those children to see if they have gotten the MMR

vaccine. The children with an older sibling with ASD might be at a higher risk for ASD, so this

is the experimental group versus the children at a regular risk for autism. They used the optum

research database for these children’s medical files. They looked to see if there was any form of

autism for these children’s older siblings or themselves.

The third study has been redacted, which decreases the value of the study significantly.

There were 12 subjects who were picked with gastrointestinal issues. 11 of them were males.

Subjects had either been given the MMR vaccine or recieved it an an earlier time. The subjects

then were observed by their parents for any signs of neurological disorders, specifically autism.

Any behavioral issues were also diagnosed by the parents instead of a therapist. There were no

variations in EEG scans or MRI scans. There were also a change in the urinary acid. The small

sample size, specificity of subjects, and behavioral changes made by parents instead of therapists

are elements of why this study was redacted.

The last study was done with the CDC. Doctors with the CDC did a study where they

compared children who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD), autism disorder(AD), and a

control group of neurotypical people. They scientists were looking at the amount of antigens
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present in their bodies, to see if vaccines give children a higher risk of autism spectrum

disorders. The study goes in depth about the results and possible confounding variables, like how

85% of the children were male. They also looked at multiple other factors like birth weight,

maternal age, education and marital status. The study looked mostly at the number of

immunogens in the control and ASD and AD groups to compare.

Results and Data Analysis

The results of the data go along with the research. The only study that had stated that

there was anything wrong with vaccines has since been redacted based on poor methods of

research and corruption. Results from study one are that all of these studies concluded that

vaccines are safe and prevent against diseases and none of the 44 studies found anything to

suggest why vaccines should not be used. The second study showed that the vaccine gave no

additional risk of ASD even for those children at a higher risk. Results for the third study have

been redacted, but the final results were that 9 children definitely had autism and the rest were

thought to maybe have autism as a result of receiving the MMR vaccine. Also everyone of the

subjects had an adverse reaction to the MMR vaccine. The final study concluded that no

indication that the vaccines would change the neurobiology of the children based on the

immunogens in the body. A chart comparing all the articles can be seen in Appendix A.

Discussion/Conclusion

The World Health Organization (WHO) now says that hesitancy and refusal to vaccinate

children is causing more people to get sick and reverse the progress that occurred to almost

eradicated diseases. The WHO says that vaccines prevent about two to three million deaths per

year. Vaccines affect more than just the children whose parents do allow them to get them, they
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affect many more people. The WHO has just added it to the lists of health risks as they find it

affects everyone across all ages. The more children that were vaccinated for pneumonia the less

pneumonia they saw in people over the age of 65. Undervaccination is also an issue, not just in

the United States, but globally. Vaccines do not cause autism. They are not full of chemicals that

will ruin your health. They save lives. There are so many projects in the works to improve

vaccines and make them better and more accessible for everyone. There are current projects to

try and cure even more diseases, like AIDS, to help out the people most at risk for this abhorrent

disease. Vaccines have prevented millions of children from getting diseases. They can go on a

live their childhood virtually worry free about any major diseases. All they have to worry about

is getting their flu shot every year. Vaccines have paved the way to the future of health, and there

are more innovations to come, so maybe the next generation will not have to worry about their

child dying from measles or rubella. The world could be leaning towards a disease-free world,

but only if people are vaccinated.

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Bibliography

"... And another study suggests vaccination isn't causing the epidemic of autism." ​Child Health

Alert,​ Feb. 2008, p. 3+. ​Science In Context

Allmann Updyke, Erin and Welsh, Erin. “Hit Me With Your Best (Polio) Shot.” Audio blog post.

This Podcast Will Kill You. December 11, 2017.

Boslaugh, Sarah. "Vaccines, Infectious Diseases, and Immunity in Children." Encyclopedia of

Lifestyle Medicine & Health, edited by James M. Rippe, vol. 2, SAGE Reference, 2012,

pp. 1097-1098. Gale Virtual Reference Library

Cohen, Elizabeth. “Doctors' Son Died 10 Days before Flu Shot Appointment. Now, They Want

to Save Your Child.” ​CNN,​ Cable News Network, 2 Nov. 2018

Coghlan, Andy. “Tough Vaccines Last Even If Heat Is On.” ​New Scientist,​ vol. 184, no. 2470,

Oct. 2004, p. 9. ​EBSCOhost

DeStefano, F. (2013). Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and

Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism. ​Journal of

Pediatrics​, [online] 163(2), pp.561-567. Available at:

https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(13)00144-3/pdf?ext=.pdf

Doctors, The, director. ​Autism Debate with Jenny McCarthy on 'The Doctors'​. ​YouTube,​

YouTube, 7 May 2009

Donvito, Tina. “Anti-Vaccination Named a Global Health Threat for 2019.” ​Yahoo! News,​

Yahoo!, 18 Jan. 2019

Edwards, Diane D. "Human test of AIDS vaccine approved." ​Science News​, 22 Aug. 1987, p.

116. ​Student Resources In Context

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Foerster, Andrew, director. ​Why Do You Need to Get a Flu Shot Every Year?​ ​YouTube,​

YouTube, 20 Nov. 2017

Hall, Harriet. "Vaccines and autism: a deadly manufactroversy." ​Skeptic​ [Altadena, CA], vol. 15,

no. 2, 2009, p. 26+. ​Science In Context

“Influenza (Flu).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, 24 Sept. 2018

Jain A, Marshall J, Buikema A, Bancroft T, Kelly JP, Newschaffer CJ. Autism Occurrence by

MMR Vaccine Status Among US Children With Older Siblings With and Without

Autism. ​JAMA.​ 2015;313(15):1534–1540. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.3077

King, Charlotte. “Personalised Vaccines Offer Children Better Protection.” ​New Scientist​, vol.

204, no. 2737, Dec. 2009, p. 11

“Remembering Evan.” ​Voices For Vaccines,​ 30 May 2013

Mandal, Ananya. “Vaccine Production.” ​News-Medical.net,​ News Medical, 23 Aug. 2018

Marx, Jean L. "Making antibodies without antigens." Science, vol. 228, 1985, p. 162+. Student

Resources In Context

“Vaccine Safety: Examine the Evidence.” ​Vaccine Safety: Examine the Evidence​, American

Academy of Pediatrics, Apr. 2013,

www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/immunization_vaccine_studies.pdf.

Wadman, Meredith. ​Vaccine Race​. Doubleday, 2017.

Wakefield, Andrew. “Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia, Non-Specific Colitis, and Pervasive

Developmental Disorder in Children.” ​The Lancet,​ Feb. 1998,

www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(97)11096-0.pdf.
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Appendix A

Article #1 Article #2 Article #3 Article #4

Purpose of the study Compilation To look at To prove To see if

of various children MMR the MMR
studies with older vaccine vaccine
proving siblings causes causes
vaccines are who do and autism autism
safe. do not have
ASD and
see if the
MMR
vaccine
affects them

Methods (how was the study All of these 12 Case

conducted; who were the studies have Retrospecti subjects, 11 study
participants/subjects, etc.) been ve study males, all control
verified for using the had against
using optum gastrointest case
ethical research inal issues, children,
methods database, parents look at
consent was look for the
given for changes in medical
files, looked behavior charts,
at different and run children
types of tests after assessed
people, receiving by a
 Zoller-Gritz 16

significance MMR profession

test vaccine al

Results (what conclusions did the Vaccines The MMR MMR There was
researches draw) are safe to vaccine did vaccine no
use and they not put the causes increased
do not cause children at a autism and risk of
autism higher risk other getting
of autism, adverse autism
even the effects because
ones more of the
likely to get MMR
it vaccine

SOMETHING FROM YOUR Notion that The MMR This is the The
RESEARCH vaccines are vaccine a MMR
QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS safe does not discredited vaccine
increase the study does not
likelihood cause
of autism autism

SOMETHING FROM YOUR Notion that Even I used this There is

RESEARCH vaccines do children as an no reason
QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS not cause predisposed example of as to why
autism to have why people vaccines
ASDs were think would
not at vaccines cause
higher risk cause autism,
because of autism the
vaccine
 Zoller-Gritz 17

the MMR has

vaccine nothing to
to with
the brain

SOMETHING FROM YOUR The Parents It The more

RESEARCH vaccination with discredits vaccines
QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS schedule is children the idea received
not too who have that MMR do not
many ASD still vaccine enhance
vaccines in vaccinate causes likelihood
a short their other autism of getting
amount of children autism
time

Conclusions/ Limitations This is a lot There was The study The

of evidence no was MMR
to back up association redacted so vaccine
that the between the there is does not
notion that MMR nothing of cause
vaccines are vaccine and value from autism,
safe and do children, the study, one
not cause even ones except the limitation
autism. who are study can looked at
predisposed not be used was
and autism. to say socioecon
vaccines omic
cause status
autism