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Abstract:
Autism and immunization scares have been an ongoing controversy since Wakefield and his colleagues first published the link between the two in 1998. For almost 15 years now, the topic has continued to cause debate, despite numerous studies discrediting the findings over and over. In a recent survey where parents were asked to indicate the sources from which they obtained their information, 82% of all respondents noted the media as one of their sources. These disturbing numbers may suggest why parents are still postponing, or avoiding vaccinations altogether. As members of the healthcare system, it is important to provide patients with the most accurate and up to date knowledge. By incorporating current information into routine examinations, parents can become better-informed decision makers.
Keywords: Immunization, autism, measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, vaccination
For almost 15 years now, parents have experienced fear about vaccine-induced autism. Although the allegations have been refuted by numerous empirical studies (Immunization Safety Review Committee, 2001), the anxiety still remains. As a result, more and more parents are electing to postpone, or abstain, from routine vaccinations every year (Dannetun, Tegnell, Hermansson, & Giescke, 2005). The original claim, based loosely on a small group of isolated children in the United Kingdom (UK), argued that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination (MMR) contained toxins that that could penetrate the gastrointestinal tract, eventually affecting the central nervous system (CNS) and the brain (Wakefield et al., 1998). Since then, the study has been replicated in a variety of individuals, and in larger samples as well, yet researchers still cannot find any correlation between the two (Immunization Safety Review Committee, 2001).
As healthcare providers, it is important to be a reliable source of information to parents and other patients. An in-depth look into why individuals fear the needle could help nurses, doctors, and other providers ease the concerns and apprehensions for scheduled immunization. While the measles virus has been eliminated here in the United States since 2000, it does not mean that the strain does not exist in the U.S.; rather, it is the intermittent transmission of the infection throughout the year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2012a.).
Individuals who remain unvaccinated are at higher risks for contracting the virus. Once infected, the respiratory disease causes symptoms...