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The Fallacy of anti-vaxxers
This essay discusses the misconception that vaccines cause autism. The commonly held belief by the anti-vaxxers is that vaccines lead to autism. The lesser known idea by these people opposed to vaccination is that there is no correlation between vaccination and autism. In advancing there argument, the anti-vaxxers commit several fallacies including appeal to authority and appeal to pity.
A vaccine refers to medication prepared to boost immunity to a specific disease (Commonwealth of Australia ). The components of a typical vaccine are mainly an agent that resembles the pathogen made from a dead or weakened diseases-causing microbe, or its antigens. The vaccine works by inducing the body’s immune system to recognize the antigens of the pathogen destroy it and be prepared to fight the pathogen if it later attacks the body (Gottlieb 170). The first published use of vaccine was by Edward Jenner in 1796. From its time of first use, vaccination has been useful in the treatment of some diseases. There are some people who oppose vaccination. They are referred to as anti-vaxxers. Several people have advanced arguments that inoculation leads to autism which is a development and neurological disorder.
The genesis of this misleading information originated from Andrew Wakefield, a physician and researcher (Gottlieb 159 ). Wakefield published a study in The Lancet, a renowned medical journal. In the research, Wakefield claimed he conducted a study involving 12 children and stated that he had discovered a link existed between autism, and mumps, measles and rubella vaccine. Wakefield hypothesized that MMR vaccines led to intestinal inflammation which subsequently caused translocation of peptides that ordinarily are non-permeable, to the brain via the blood stream thus affecting development. The study was proved to be false and the journal subsequently withdrew the article while Dr. Wakefield was barred from practicing medicine and his license revoked (Commonwealth of Australia ). The impact of his erroneous study had already been published with several people convinced of its finding.
There are some other hypotheses that have emerged supporting the misconception that there is a link between vaccination and autism. Two of these include components of vaccine being toxic to the central nervous system and administration of multiple vaccines simultaneously overwhelming the immune system thus weakening it. The thimerosal hypothesis is the first of these two hypotheses. Thimerosal is a vaccine compound whose 50% content is ethyl mercury (Gottlieb 167). The US food and drug administration published a report stating that children in the country were receiving more than 18µ of mercury in the first 6 months after their birth. American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service gave recommendations that mercury should be removed from all vaccines given to young babies although there was no data proving that the mercury in vaccines was harming the infants. The public misinterpreted this cautionary action to believe that mercury in the vaccines caused autism (Commonwealth of Australia ). Several advocacy groups emerged campaigning against inclusion of mercury in inoculants. The third theory emerged after the previous two theories failed to link vaccination and occurrence of autism. This hypothesis suggested that administration of several vaccines simultaneously overwhelms the immune system or even weakens it creating an interaction with the nervous system. This triggers autism in the vaccinated children.
The three theories have been scientifically proved to be false. Dr. Wakefield’s MMR theory was debunked by researchers across the world. Scholars in the UK evaluated autistic children born in the country between 1979 and 1992. Of the 498 evaluated cases, they did not observe any change in the autism diagnosis rate after the MMR was introduced in 1987 (Commonwealth of Australia ). They did not establish any differences in the rate of autism among vaccinated children and the unvaccinated one. USA academics of California did a comparison between the rate of MMR vaccination and children with autism. They concluded that there is no link between MMR and autism (KhanAcademy). Canadian researchers showed that the rate of autism increased when MMR rates decreased, further debunking the myth.
Researchers have equally debunked the thimerosal theory. Scholars in Denmark and Sweden found an increased rate of autism during the time vaccines with thimerosal were in use (KhanAcademy). The researchers also established that there has been a steady increase in autistic cases from 1990 after thimerosal was removed from vaccines (KhanAcademy). Similar studies conducted elsewhere provided same results. In the US, researchers scrutinized 140,887 children born between 1991 and 1999 including more than 20 autistic children (Fogelin and Duggan 264). They established no relationship between autism and vaccines containing thimerosal. In England, 12,810 children born between 1991 and 1992 were analyzed and no relationship between exposure to thimerosal and autism was established (Fogelin and Duggan 264). The theory of thimerosal has been therefore been concluded as a myth.
The too many vaccines theory has not held waters either. According to scientists, vaccines do not overwork the immune system. Despite an infant’s immune system being comparatively weaker, it is able to generate numerous responses to protect the body (KhanAcademy). Researchers have also shown that there is no difference between giving vaccines individually or collectively; the body’s response is the same. Furthermore, the body of a child is naturally exposed to more pathogens than what is administered through vaccination. Autism condition is not related to immunity. People with autism have no immune activation.
The misconception that vaccination causes autism is believed by numerous people despite scientists refuting the myth. Some logical fallacies are responsible for the belief and spread of the unfounded claims. Fallacy refers to an error in committed in an argument (Fogelin and Duggan 260). One of the fallacies used by the anti-vaxxers is appeal to authority. This fallacy occurs when an authority is misused. People who commit this fallacy quote false, irrelevant or poor authorities. For instance, anti-vaxxers cite Jenny McCarthy who is an actress, TV personality and screenwriter (Fogelin and Duggan 260). Although she is a strong anti-vaccine activist, she does not have background training in medicine. She is not an authority in the field of medicine. Citing her in a medical argument is committing a fallacy since she cannot authoritatively speak in issues regarding medicine.
The second fallacy committed by the anti-vaccine is appeal to pity. Such arguments appeal to the emotions of people without giving actual facts supporting their argument (Fogelin and Duggan 260). For instance, parents opposed to vaccinations such Jenny McCarthy campaign against inoculation by appealing to the emotions of parents. The parents fear having their children suffer from autism and therefore may be tempted to avoid taking their children for vaccination.
Works Cited
Commonwealth of Australia . "Myths and realities about immunisation." 6 February 2013. Australian Government. 29 May 2018 <https://beta.health.gov.au/file/1156/download?token=U4LOo_Ob>.
Fogelin, Robert J. and Timothy J. Duggan. "Fallacies." Fogelin, Robert J. and Timothy J. Duggan. Argumentation. Vol. I. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1987. 255-262.
Gottlieb, Samantha D. "Vaccine resistances reconsidered: Vaccine skeptics and the Jenny McCarthy effect." BioSocieties XI.2 (2015): 152-174.
KhanAcademy. Vaccines and the autism myth – part 1. 9 March 2013. 29 May 2018 <https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/infectious-diseases/influenza/v/vaccines-and-the-autism-myth-p