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Every so often we publish a story, usually with the exact same information, explaining why, scientifically, we should vaccinate our kids. But the anti-vaxx movement continues to grow.
The movement – which many researchers believe is the cause of the current mass measles outbreak (but more on that later) – strongly believes vaccinations can cause more harm than good, with their biggest myth being that it’s linked to autism.
But the latter is based on a popular study in the 90s by Andrew Wakefield that has since been retracted, while Wakefield himself has been discredited. And still, despite numerous studies proving the exact opposite, parents refuse to vaccinate their children.
So we’ll keep writing about, and researchers will keep publishing articles, proving there is absolutely no link between vaccinations and autism.
Also read: Italy just ruled that unvaccinated tots will be banned from kindergarten
657 461 children receive the MMR vaccine
The latest research comes in the form of a study published earlier this year in the Annals of Internal Medicine by researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen.
In the report, the researchers explain,
“The hypothesised link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism continues to cause concern and challenge vaccine acceptance almost 2 decades after the controversial and later retracted Lancet paper from 1998 (1), even though observational studies have not been able to identify an increased risk for autism after MMR vaccination.
In a 2014 meta-analysis, 10 observational studies on childhood vaccines were identified: 5 cohort studies and 5 case–control studies. Of these, 2 cohort studies and 4 case–control studies specifically addressed MMR and autism, all reporting no association. This is consistent with more recent studies of note.”
Their study, conducted on over 650 000 Danish children – a massive 657 461, to be exact – born between 1999 and 2010, addressed the concern that children who were vaccinated were “at risk”, before showing, once again, no link between those who received the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.
“We found no support for the hypothesis of increased risk for autism after MMR vaccination in … Danish children; no support for the hypothesis of MMR vaccination triggering autism in susceptible subgroups characterized by environmental and familial risk factors; and no support for a clustering of autism cases in specific time periods after MMR vaccination.”
30 338 more cases of measles
UNICEF reported earlier this year:
- 98 countries around the globe reported a rise in measles cases in 2018.
- At the time of the survey, the Ukraine had the largest increase in cases between 2017 and 2018 with 30 338. A further 24 042 was reported in the first two months of 2019.
- The Philippines increased to 13 192 over the period, again with a further 12 736 more cases and 203 deaths reported by March 2019.
- Brazil also reported 10 262 cases, notable for the fact that this number is up from zero.
That's right: Brazil went from having zero cases reported in 2017 to 10 262 cases in 2018. And Brazil is just one, of several countries, that had previously completely eradicated the life-threatening disease, through vaccination.
Read more here: With mass measles outbreaks across the world in 2018 and 2019, the UN urges parents to not fall for anti-vaxx disinformation
Louder for the people in the back: Vaccinate your kids!
We have to mention that the study conducted by the researchers at the Statens Serum Institut proving no link between vaccinations and autism isn’t all that new. In fact, many of the same scientists that put together this study did an earlier one published in 2002 testing 537,303 Danish children born between 1991 and 1998. The results, of course, were exactly the same, but Anders Hviid, one of the researchers, explained to STAT the need to continue researching – and it’s the same reason we keep publishing articles busting any and all myths on vaccinations:
“The idea that vaccines cause autism is still going around. And the anti-vaxx movement, if anything, has perhaps only grown stronger over the last 15 years...
The trend that we're seeing is worrying.”
Numerous studies have proven no link between vaccinations and autism, but there's a clear, direct and worrying, indeed, link between the current mass outbreak of disease and more and more people choosing not to vaccinate their kids.
Also read: Anti-vaxx billboards are going up all over the US – here’s why it’s problematic
So in conclusion, and to put it quite simply, Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, explains:
“Almost all of these cases are preventable, and yet children are getting infected even in places where there is simply no excuse...
Measles may be the disease, but, all too often, the real infection is misinformation, mistrust and complacency.
We must do more to accurately inform every parent, to help us safely vaccinate every child.”
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