EzraS wrote:
The problem as I understand it is that they administer a huge cocktail of vaccines in a huge syringe all at once into a little baby.
I always scoffed at the idea of a link between vaccines and autism, until I found out about that. Now I'm not so sure.
And, there are far more vaccines that infants, toddlers and older children must endure than their parents did at the same ages. Reducing the variety of vaccines and number of vaccinations would help children if their parents still wish to pursue vaccinations at all; not because of autism, but because of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) where vaccine combinations can create the conditions for ADRs.
kraftiekortie wrote:
If there was a link between vaccines and autism, we would have had a veritable pandemic of autism in the late 1950s-early 1960s, when the polio vaccine (both oral and injected) was massively used. Autism would have been on the front pages, and we would have known much more about autism during that time.
Perhaps, maybe the vaccines should be spread out, and not injected in "cocktail" form.
Maybe they should conduct research into the preservatives which they use in vaccines.
But I am of the firm belief that the benefits of vaccines FAR FAR outweigh the potential pitfalls.
The polio vaccine actually created Vaccine-Derived Polio, a not-too-rare result of the "vaccinate them all" mentality in the 1950s and 1960s ... and even today. Perhaps that fact should inform us of the safety and efficacy of all future mass vaccinations. But, autism uniquely? I doubt it; it just doesn't ring true. Even vaccinations which are spread out over time and combined only when two or more vaccines are known to work well together could have ADR problems. Penicillin is considered extremely safe and effective. And yet, I had a serious ADR to penicillin when I was 24-months old. My parents questioned
every drug recommendation from my physicians from then on. I do the same now. I make no snap decisions, research the best I can about a drug's known and possible ADRs, and consider my own, personal, "need" for a drug. As a result, I have had no ADRs since my anaphylaxis. In other words, I am sympathetic to those who resist vaccinations unless absolutely needed.
I believe that, because of the increased variety of vaccines and number of vaccinations, most vaccine-related ADRs in the last few decades when autism diagnostic criteria was broadened caused too many parents to see autism-related behaviors and characteristics when, in fact, they were probably seeing ADRs which mimicked autism instead.