Melissa Gutheil
Professor Colmon
ENGL 110-064
April 30, 2017
Vaccination: The Implications and Myths of Choosing Not to Vaccinate
If the ability to save your child’s life from raging deadly diseases like smallpox in the 1700’s was an easy simple choice, would you take it? How about polio in the 20th century? A disease that paralyzed Franklin D. Roosevelt would surely be something one would want to protect their children from. Luckily, we’ve eradicated this disease and many others. Except now we’re facing a possible resurgence of diseases that were well on their way out. Diseases like measles, mumps, pertussis, and many more are starting to have recurrent outbreaks. This is because an increasing number of people are beginning to decide against vaccination for their children. Vaccines save lives. It’s as simple as that. However, still many people decide not to get vaccinated. Why? Well, there are many reasons, some of them are religious while others are purely decisions made out of fear. Vaccinations have eradicated diseases that devastated communities a hundred years ago. Now, there is debate on whether or not these vaccines are truly saving lives. Do these opposers have a viewpoint worth trying to change the system, or is it imperative that we assume the ideology that all children must be vaccinated?
Most famously, our history has been plagued with literal plagues and other deadly diseases. In the 18th century alone, over 400,000 Europeans were dying each year from Smallpox (“Bizarre”). Smallpox, a contagious deadly disease spread from person to person, would cause fever and a very recognizable skin rash (“Smallpox”). Polio would paralyze 10,000 children, while rubella would cause birth defects and mental retardation in about 20,000 newborns. Measles, as disease rarely seen in modern-day, would infect around 4 million children and kill just around 3,000 of those per year. Diphtheria was the most common cause of death in school-aged children while pertussis killed thousands more. A bacterium known as Haemophilus influenzae type b was known to cause meningitis in about 15,000 children a year and cause irreversible brain damage (Largent 20). A British physician set out to change this. Edward Jenner noticed in 1796 that milkmaids tended to never have smallpox. Noticing that they were frequently infected with cowpox, a less harmful disease, he took the pus of a cowpox sore and injected it into an eight-year-old boy. Afterwards, he exposed the boy to smallpox to test if he truly gave this boy immunity. This was the beginning of vaccination. Jenner published his work in 1798 and immediately began vaccinating others. Jenner was paid what would be worth around a million dollars now and the United Kingdom adopted a mandatory vaccination policy (Bizarre). In modern day, by the age of six, children should have received around thirty six immunizations with of fifty vaccines. In 2007, around 90% of two or three year old have received their MMR, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, varicella, and pneumococcus vaccinations (Largent 15).
Despite the life-saving abilities of vaccines, opposition to vaccines keeps growing exponentially. In 2012, only 80% of two year olds had received their important vaccines like their MMR, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, varicella, and pneumococcus vaccinations (Largent 15). After Jenner had inoculated the young boy, he received many critics. One of those critics being William Rowley, claiming that injecting the patient with cowpox would cause the patient to acquire cow-like features (“Bizarre”). But, Jenner’s experiment did not run as smoothly as hoped. He transferred diseases like syphilis and did not write all his failures down (Link 44). Once Jenner’s new vaccination as out, he immediately began receiving opposition from group formed specifically for anti-vaccination. These included the Anti-Vaccination Society in 1798 and the London Society of the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination in 1800. At the time, they had claimed that vaccinations were against God’s will, the human body could be contaminated from the animal vaccines, mandatory vaccination violated civil liberties, and that the vaccinations were ineffective. Overall, these reasoning’s tend to parallel what parents are claiming with today’s vaccines (Kitta 11). 40% of American parents have begun to opt out or delay their child’s mandatory or recommended vaccines. In areas like Ashland, Oregon the number of school-children not receiving these vaccines is as high as 66.7% (Largent 18). Only 40% of informants in one study believed that vaccines actually do increase immunity to diseases, while the other sixty percent attributed it to other factors like sanitation, acquisition of clean water, new advancements in drugs, and improved diets (Kitta 109). Many parents also follow the opinions of more respected authorities, such as Bill Frist, a Republican senator and physician. On an HBO show, Frist was quoted in saying, “I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health” (Largent 88). Between 1991 and 2004 nonmedical exemptions increased from 0.98% to 1.48%. More specifically, exemptions for philosophical or personal beliefs rate also increased from 0.99% to 2.54% (Omer et al.).
Those who chose not to vaccinate with life-saving techniques often fall into certain categories. Political decisions are one of these categories. Typically leftist parents will attribute opting their child out of vaccines to environmental reasons of activism, their health-conscious lifestyles, or their fear of corporate power and profit motives. While right leaning parents will say that they do not want the government to interfere with their own personal decisions to vaccinate their child or not. Another large group of opposers are conspiracy theorists, believing that the vaccinations are just a government plot to suppress and eliminate groups of the population (Largent 16). In children who are unvaccinated, their parents tend to be white, married, well-educated, more specifically mothers with college educations, have large numbers (four or more) of children, and have extremely high incomes (Omer et al.; Largent 35). Undervaccinated children, or children that have missed some vaccines but not all, tend to have mothers who are older than thirty years old, are white, living in a western region, have poor relations with their health care provider, and have a college education. Some may have mothers who are older than forty because of the experience as a consumer and their unwillingness to submit to medical authorities. In fact, the mothers who had a college education were sixteen percent more likely to skip some of the recommended vaccines for their children than those without a college education (Largent 33). In other studies, children who are vaccinated are just simply more likely to belong to families that are purposely opting out of vaccines. On the other hand, undervaccinated children typically miss their vaccinations because of sociodemographic aspects or other factors relating to the health care system (Omer et al.). Despite the fact that they are the group most concerned about the negative side effects of the vaccines, Hispanic parents are the most likely to vaccinate their children with all of the require and recommended vaccines (Largent 33). Parents that exempt their children are also more likely to have health care providers that suggest alternate healthcare, seek for information on the Internet, or belong to groups opposed to immunization (Omer et al.). In a study written about by Mark Largent, 90% of high school graduates reported that they would vaccinate their daughters with the HPV vaccine to protect against not only HPV but also cervical cancer and genital warts. This compares to the two thirds of college grads that reported they would, almost a third less than the high school graduates (Largent 34). The situation is the same in Britain, where high levels of education correlated to how much the parent questions their medical authorities (Largent 35). Middle and upper class parents tend to be less confident about the safety of vaccines than working and lower class parents (Largent 34).
There are many reasons as to why people believe vaccinations are ineffective or invalid. 69% percent of parents polled in one study opted out for the fear that vaccines may cause harm to their child (Omer et al.). One of these claims is that the vaccines contain harmful toxins. In fact, vaccines only contain safe trace amounts of formaldehyde, mercury, and aluminum which has be rendered safe by the FDA and the CDC. On top of that, the amount of formaldehyde produced in the body’s metabolic systems is larger than what is in vaccinations. Another attack claims that infant immune systems cannot handle the amount of vaccinations administered. This is untrue. There are enough antibodies in the infant immune system to handle ten thousand vaccines at one time. If an infant was given all fourteen scheduled vaccines, they would only take slightly over 0.1% of the baby’s immune system. Even further, the amount of bacteria and viruses a baby encounters in daily life is far greater than the vaccines (Vaccine Myths). Parents of undervaccinated or unvaccinated children were found to be more susceptible to the idea that the amount of vaccines children receive is too high (Omer et al.). Another large claim by the anti-vaccinators is that improvements to sanitation decreased disease risk, specifically smallpox cases (Kitta 14). Others believe that because the cases of diseases has decreased exponentiality after vaccines, that the diseases themselves and their susceptibility to it has decreased as well (Omer et al.). To the disbelief of the non-believers, there has actually never been a credible study that can link a vaccine to a long-term health condition (“Vaccine Myths”). Despite that, parents still worry. One parent referred to her choice as if her child would suffer from a severe disease, rather that it being something she did to her child, it was something she did not too. She regarded that as a better decision and easier to live with (Largent 27).
One of the largest and most famous beliefs as to why you should not vaccinate your children is the belief that vaccines cause autism. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published an article in The Lancet saying that he linked the MMR, Measles-mumps-rubella, vaccine with autism and gastrointestinal disorders. In most of the twelve cases he studied, he reported signs of autism. After the publishing, MMR vaccines in Britain plummeted. Many parents delayed or stopped the vaccine in Britain and the United States (“Do Vaccines”). A woman was quoted on page three Kitta’s book with having said “There’s something in there, an ingredient, I think it’s a preservative, so the vaccine lasts longer. Well anyway, it’s doing something to the kid’s brains, I’m not sure what, and they end up developing autism. It happens pretty quickly as well, usually within a few hours or days of getting the shot.” After Wakefield released his findings, researchers worldwide tried to find the same connection. After twelve years of looking, no credible study has confirmed Wakefield’s associations. Years later, it was revealed that Wakefield had been paid by attorneys looking to file lawsuits against a multitude of vaccine manufacturers. Almost a decade later, Britain’s General Medical Council banned Wakefield for practicing medicine in Britain and The Lancet formally retracted Wakefield’s study for their paper. On January 6, 2011 the BMJ revealed that Wakefield had falsified children’s conditions by claiming eight children showed symptoms of either autism or gastrointestinal systems. Research into these children showed that at most only two kids experienced symptoms after speaking with their parents. In fact, at least two of the children who participated in the study had pre-existing symptoms. Also, The Lancet claimed that at least six children showed signs of regressive autism, non-specific colitis, and first symptoms while after further research Brian Deer and the BMJ proved that none of the children actually did (Do Vaccines). Despite this very obvious wrong accusation, about one fifth of American parents still believe that there is some type of link between vaccines and autism (Largent 73).
With all of the evidence to show vaccines do work, it is hard to believe that there is such a large movement surrounding why they do not work. Diseases do not just disappear spontaneously. Vaccines played a large role in this. Small pox has been eradicated. (Link 39). In the twentieth century, around three hundred million deaths occurred due to smallpox worldwide (“Bizarre”). That’s more than the current day deaths worldwide due to heart disease, respiratory disease, tuberculosis, and the other top-ten killers in 2015 combined (“The Top Ten”). By the twenty-first century, not a single death has occurred due to smallpox. The last reported case was in 1978 (Bizarre). Rubella, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b, measles, mumps, pertussis, polio, and tetanus have experienced drops between 97.8% and 100% according to the CDC (Largent 20). In fact, the measles had a reported case amount of about 500,000 before the vaccine. The amount of cases including the unreported is estimate to be about two million. However, with the introduction of the vaccine between 2000 and 2007 there were only 62 cases reported per year (Omer et al). Vaccinations save millions of lives and prevents suffering worldwide (Link 39). Countries with high and middle incomes see the largest drop in disease rates (Omer et al.). Proof of their success has been shown in epidemiological studies, clinical trials, antibody titers, and the recurrence of disease when stopping vaccination (Link 39).
When the population of people who are vaccinated decreases, there are consequences. Vaccine delay leaves children who are in critical ages with high risk to contract a disease vulnerable (Omer et al.). In Brooklyn, there was an outbreak of measles where fifty eight people become infected. Two of those people were pregnant women, and one had suffered a miscarriage due to the measles infection. It was later revealed that all fifty-eight of the people were unvaccinated at the time of infection (“NOVA”). Throughout January 1, 2008 to April 25, 2008 there were five measles outbreaks. In total, 64 cases were reported. Only one of the reported cases involved a vaccinated person. In the 21 adolescents and children, 67%, or fourteen people, were exempt for nonmedical reasons. All ten of the school-aged children were exempt for nonmedical reasons. Thirteen were too young to be vaccinated (Omer et al.). There is a theory called herd or contact immunity which explains that unvaccinated people may become infected by those who are vaccinated by the strain their bodies, putting those who are vaccinated at risk. But, with concepts like herd protection, high rates of those who are vaccinated can protect the unvaccinated because diseases cannot thrive in those communities. Those who are considered “Unvaccinated” are those who cannot vaccinate due to allergies, pregnancy, or pre-existing medical conditions. Unfortunately, herd protection is rapidly decreasing. Less and less people are vaccinating for reasons that are not medical exposing the entire community (Kitta 107). People who are too young to be vaccinated, have medical reasons, or did not have a sufficient enough immunological response to the vaccine are at risk to being infected by others who choose not to vaccinate. At least 11% of kids with vaccines in an outbreak in Colorado got the measles from a child who was exempt (Omer et al.). Just a small percentage of an unvaccinated population can cause an outbreak (“NOVA”). Schools that reported outbreaks had a mean exemption rate of 4.3% while schools that did not have an outbreak reported a 1.5% exemption rate. Nationwide, in the years from 1985 to 1992, children were thirty-five more times likely to contract the measles. More specifically though, in Colorado in the years between 1987 to 1998 children were twenty-two times more likely to contract measles and almost six times as likely to contract pertussis (Omer et al.) In 2010 alone, California experienced an outbreak of 9,120 cases of whooping cough or pertussis. This was the highest number of cases of whooping cough the state has seen since the 1940s. Ten infants lost their life to the outbreak because they were too young to receive the vaccine, the herd protection was lost due to the high percentage of unvaccinated people (“Vaccine Myths”). When polled, forty percent of clinicians reported that they would not continue to assists a family that has not gotten any vaccines, while twenty eight percent would not provide care to a family that has opted out of some vaccines (Omer et al.). The CDC warns that if the number of unvaccinated people increases, the outbreaks will become more frequent and harder to control (“Vaccine Myths”).
All things considered, it is easier said than done to install a program of compulsory vaccination for all, despite the successful eradication of deadly diseases that desolated entire parts of the world. We’ve seen an enormous drop in those same diseases that killed thousands just a few short years ago. Those who oppose immunizations have been around for over a hundred years and have relentlessly fought for what they believe. Rates of vaccination have significantly decreased while the rate of people who are exempting for nonmedical reasons is increasing. This is due to belief that vaccines do not work at all or that they’re toxic for children or any human. The most extreme reason is a completely false belief that vaccines and autism are linked. Unfortunately, there are more than just one consequence for not vaccinating. Outbreaks are occurring more frequently than when the vaccination rate was higher. These will become too difficult to control if the vaccination rate continues to decrease. People are dying, and this will continue to happen if we do not do something to change the negative view on vaccines soon.
Works Cited
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“Do Vaccines Cause Autism?” History of Vaccines. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 05 Apr. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
Kitta, Andrea. Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Largent, Mark A. Vaccine: The Debate in Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2012. Print.
Link, Kurt. The Vaccine Controversy: The History, Use, and Safety of Vaccinations. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2007. Print.
NOVA: Vaccines- Calling the Shots. PBS, 2014. Youtube. PBS, 31 July 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
Omer, Saad B., Daniel A. Salmon, Walter A. Orenstein, M. Patricia Dehart, and Neal Halsey. “Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.” New England Journal of Medicine 360.19 (2009): 1981-988. Web.
Penn & Teller’s Bullshit on Vaccinations. Perf. Penn and Teller. Youtube. UltraMiraculous, 20 Aug. 2010. Web. 7 May 2017.
“Smallpox.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 07 June 2016. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
The Bizarre Story of The Very First Vaccine. Dir. Matt Morales. Perf. Matt Morales. Facebook. Seeker, 21 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
“The Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization. World Health Organization, Jan. 2017. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
“Vaccine Myths Debunked.” PublicHealth.org. N.p., 27 May 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
Painting My Voice 