I'm Sorry, But Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

It's funny how you have a conversation about something and then over the next few days things just keep popping up about it. I was having a mildly heated debate about vaccines causing autism with my friend the other day and then over the past couple days I've seen two news articles about the same subject. Just now I got on the computer and my start page has goggle news on it and on of the top stories is: US Court Rules Again Against Vaccine-Autism Claim. It's an article in Reuters about the US Courts ruling against a parents baseless lawsuit for the fourth time.

Now let me clarify: I am not for vaccinations. I think that a majority of them are unnecessary and some are unsafe. And I think most drugs come with harmful side effects and I am very anti doctor and anti medication. That's what's so funny about this issue. I seem like I'm on the wrong side, but the other side is a bunch of bullshit.

Here is quick history of the whole 'vaccine causes autism' theory. From the 40's through the 90's there was a theory that a mercury based preservative caused autism. Now that theory was disproven, but the FDA felt that mercury was still bad and they made the companies that made vaccines faze it out. It's pretty much gone today except when a vaccine is rushed to the market (can anyone say swine flu vaccine?). After that it bacame a theory that the MMR vaccine is causing autism. Now that idea didn't materialize out of thin air. A British doctor named Dr. Wakefield did a study that showed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study was published in The Lancet, one of the worlds largest medical journals. Well, funny thing is, just last month The Lancet publish a retraction to that very same article because they found out that Dr. Wakefield acted unethically in his research. It wides up the the good Dr. Wakefield found 12 kids that had already presented signs of autism and put them in his study. So the retraction was printed and Dr. Wakefield was fired from his job. So, the study that created the very first mention of this theory ended up being based on fraudulent research. In 2008 Columbia University replicated Dr. Wakefield's study and could not find any evidence that the vaccine was linked to autism.

This theory was presented way back in 1998 and it really didn't get much mention. It wasn't until a few years back when it got some celebrity buzz (Jenny McCarthy) that everyone got up in arms about it. Unfortunately it was a flawed theory that got the attention of a celebrity and all the mindless sheep followed along. And the reason that was so easy is because we live in a country when nobody wants to take the blame for anything. I mean, 10 years ago every kid you came across had ADD. Autism is just the new ADD. It gives parents something else to blame for their kids behavior. Has social issues: Autism. Doesn't do well in school: Autism. And of course their are genuinely autistic kids, but the difference is that those kids have autism, the rest are just diagnosed with it. Because there are parents who go to the doctor looking for an autism diagnosis. So they can take all the blame off of their parenting.

The reason for all of this is to find out why the amount of autism diagnosis is up. Well a few years back they changed the way they diagnosed autism. They took a bunch of different kinds of autism and put them all together so there is only one kind of autism and at the same time, they made the symptoms much broader. Making it easier to find a diagnosis. The very same year autism diagnosis when up 800%. That's no coincidence.

So by all mean, be skeptical of the vaccines and the medications and your doctor. I am all for that. And is it possible that there is some link between any vaccine and autism, sure, anything is possible. But right now, no matter what list of talking points someone gives you, there is no evidence anywhere in the world that shows any sort of link. Yes there are kids who have autism that got vaccines, but there is no research anywhere that says it's from their vaccine. There are shitload of perfectly healthy kids that did get the MMR vaccine. And there are actually some kids who have autism that never got vaccinated.

It's all up in the air but this mass hysteria is completely baseless. It causing more people to try to use the system to sue over something that is most likely their fault. More likely possibilities of a rise in autism (if there really is one) are: diet, pesticides, preservatives, man made formula, taking anti-depressants while pregnant. And there are about 4 anti-depressants that say they are safe to take while pregnant or nursing, but are they?

And while I'm on the subject, I looked it up and yes Amish people do get vaccines for their kids. There is a clinic in Pennsylvania (where the largest Amish population is) that says they do a weekly vaccine clinic for the Amish and they are always very busy. they say that about 70% of the Amish community participate is a vaccination schedule. And the same doctor that holds the clinic said there are Amish kids who are autistic but they are less diagnoses because the Amish don't see a regular doctor very often. He said that there do seem to be less autistic kids but it's most likely from diet and lifestyle.

See, if we admit that a possible rise in autism is from diet and lifestyle, well again we would have to blame ourselves and actually change. And we're a country full of people who don't want to do that and THAT is what fuels this "the vaccine gave my kid autism" rage. And of course as soon as a family finds out their kid has autism, what's the first thing they do? They try to sue. It's their meal ticket and it's bullshit.

So if it's one of the things you want to consider when deciding which vaccinations to get, you're not crazy. Even a theory is enough to pay attention to your child's safety. But it is a theory. There are doctors and scientists on both sides of the issue and there are no studies proving or disproving it. So call it a theory, call it an idea, call it a warning, but telling people it is anything more is a lie. Honestly I'm getting our son the MMR vaccination just out of spite for Jenny McCarthy... Screw you Jenny!

CNN: Medical Journal Retracts Study Linking Vaccine To Autism

Do The Amish Vaccinate, Indeed They Do