Weapons of mass-paranoia

Many people still believe there is some truth to the 'vaccination leads to autism' idea. Why? Because some researchers claim to have found evidence supporting such a link. Enter Mr. Wakefield, who conducted one of the major studies into this area, and who published an important paper on a direct link between MMR vaccination (against measles, mumps, and rubella) and autism. However, whereas he was famous for his scientific results, he's now famous for something else altogether. His paper on the link between MMR vaccination and autism has been retracted, and Mr. Wakefield has been stripped of his medical license. Apparently, he had failed to disclose the fact that he was being paid by a law firm seeking to sue vaccine manufacturers. Moreover, he has not been able to reproduce the results. The most recent news in this whole ugly mess is being published by the British medical journal BMJ, who claim that Wakefield has falsified the actual data of the original study. Disclaimer: no proof there yet.

I know for a fact that the stories around vaccination have given rise to concern in parents of children with developmental disorders. Both during my time as a researcher and during my job as a psychologist, parents have questioned me about the possibility of vaccination as the cause of their child's problems. In addition, I also heard parents mentioning that their child's autistic symptoms started around the time of the vaccination (which also happens to be around the time that major milestones in the area of language, motor skills and cognition take place). Now, IF there is clear evidence that vaccination can result in autistic symptoms, I agree that we would have to think about our vaccination program. However, we should also be aware that the consequences of non-vaccination could result in higher rates of complications or even child-morbidity.

The idea of a link seems to stick in our heads, regardless of scientific evidence to the contrary. While googling I found that 48 percent of American people participating in the Harris interactive/health day poll either believes that there is truth in a link between vaccination and autism, or is not sure. What's more staggering is that this poll has been conducted AFTER the Wakefield paper had been retracted. Only half of the people participating in the poll actually heard about the paper being retracted, while almost everyone knew about the initial results. The combination between the unlimited access we have to all kinds of information (without necessarily being able to appreciate the value and truth of it) and the preference of the media to pick up on spectacular results proves to be a dangerous one.

As far as I know, there is no convincing evidence supporting a claim between vaccination and autism. In fact, the prevalence of autism in Japan seems to increase, in spite of the fact that they discontinued their MMR vaccinations. There is also counter-evidence against a link between autism and Thimerosal (a mercury based preservative often added to vaccines). Children who were exposed to Thimerosal, either in infancy or intrauterine did not show a higher prevalence of autism compared to children who were not exposed to Thimerosal.

So yes, I give my children their shots. Although I must admit there is a flicker of doubt when our doctor wants to give my eldest son extra shots for diseases that are common in the USA. That does not make me a bad researcher, a paranoid or a gullible person. It just makes me a mom who loves her children more than anything in the world.