Children’s health is something all parents take very seriously. However, this means that news on certain threats to children’s health may become sensationalised and blown out of proportion, even when there are little to no facts to back up these claims.

The controversy that won’t go away

A common and recurring controversy theory is the link between vaccines and autism. This has been led by the anti-vaxxer movement, which argues that vaccinating your child — particularly with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine — causes autism.

This began in 1998 when The Lancet, a renowned medical journal, published a study led by British surgeon Andrew Wakefield, who claimed there was a causal link between vaccines and autism. The paper argued that the MMR vaccine led to autism in children who had received the vaccine.

When bad research goes viral

However, several major problems emerged with Wakefield’s study. The paper only examined 12 children, which is a very small sample group that cannot be taken as indicative of the large number of children across the world. There were also problems due to financial conflict of interest, as Wakefield was allegedly paid by lawyers to find a link between vaccines and autism.

Since Wakefield’s damaging claims, follow-up studies have been conducted to debunk his argument. While the cause(s) of autism remain yet unknown, it has been proven that there is no conclusive link between vaccines and autism. Vaccines contain weakened or killed versions of the bacteria or virus, which in their normal form do not cause autism and thus, also cannot cause it in the vaccine form.

Wakefield’s paper has also been retracted by the journal, albeit 10 years later, which further discredited the study. However, anti-vaxxers remain across the globe, even in developed societies and countries.

Should I vaccinate my child?

The answer is an overwhelming ‘yes’. Vaccination is important for the following reasons:

1. Protects your child against vaccine-preventable diseases

Vaccines will help to strengthen your child’s immune system as they are at an age when they are more vulnerable to certain diseases.
Vaccines train the immune system to recognise certain viruses or bacteria so that the body is well prepared when the real germs infect your child.

2. Creates herd immunity

When other children are vaccinated, it does not mean that your child does not need to be vaccinated. Vaccinating your child provides another layer of immunisation and helps to prevent the spread of diseases among the community.

The risks that come with vaccinating your children are often minimal and rare. The weakened or killed bacteria and/or viruses in vaccines would not overwhelm your child’s immune system. The benefits of vaccines — saving your child from life-threatening diseases — far outweigh the risks.

Listen to the podcast ‘Public Health #1: What Will it Take to Convince Anti-Vaxxers?’:

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