Childhood Vaccination A Deadly Misunderstanding

Childhood Vaccination: A Deadly Misunderstanding? In the year 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a scientific article that would eventually weaken the human species in both Europe and the United States and sow distrust in the idea of getting children properly vaccinated (Kolodziejski). In his article, Dr. Wakefield falsely claimed that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could be connected with the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (Kolodziejski). Unfortunately, even though Dr. Wakefield’s study was discredited the â€Å"damage was already done† (McLeod 8). The article caused a decline of vaccinations of children by their parents for fear of unintentionally inflicting ASD upon them. Years later, Celebrities Jenny†¦show more content†¦Although some of these statements might be thought to be true, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the Food Drug Administration (FDA) have found no connection between vaccination and the development of autistic spectrum disorder through testing and observation (â€Å"Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism†). No matter what potential dangers could be spouted about vaccinations, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that vaccination has saved countless lives. The way a vaccine works is by introducing a weaker version of a disease to the immune system as antigens and allowing the immune system to construct proper defenses (antibodies) in case it were to ever come in contact with the standard version of the same disease. This should be done while the child is a few months old because they lose the immunities they gain from their mother not long after they are born (Multiple Vaccines and the Immune System.). The first documented instance of vaccination occurred in the year 1796 by Edward Jenner, an English physician (Malone 262). According to Roth, Jenner figured out that immunity from smallpox could be achieved by â€Å"inoculating a person with material from a cowpox lesion† which is essentially infecting a person with a milder and weaker disease so that they would not contract a much deadlier one (Roth). It may sound crude, but this paved the way for vaccinations and allowed smallpox to become the