Earlier in class this week we discussed the many anecdotes that have lead to the controversial beliefs of the possibility of vaccines causing autism. Although there is not a sufficient amount of evidence to prove that vaccines cause or do not cause autism, many people believe in the possibility, including influential figures varying from doctors and politicians to actresses and socialites. One specific example of a well-known social figure whom has taken action in the Vaccine-Autism Wars is actress and model Jennifer McCarthy.

McCarthy started her autism activism in 2007 after revealing that her son had been diagnosed with autism in 2005, soon after receiving his MMR vaccine. “McCarthy served as a spokesperson for Talking About a Cure for Autism (TACA) from June 2007 until October 2008. She participated in fundraisers, online chats, and other activities for the non-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders.” She also released her book: Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, the same year explaining her personal and family struggles with Ethan and his diagnosis. McCarthy also believes that her combinations of diets, multivitamin therapy, B-12 shots, and numerous prescription drugs helped cure her son of autism [source]. As an influential public figure, Jennifer McCarthy’s activism has been a huge anecdote in vaccine-autism controversy.

Despite McCarthy and many others’ beliefs on the matter, there is no scientific proof that the theory correct. Yet, there is also little science to reject the null hypothesis that it is not causing it. As mentioned in class, there have been studies conducted both in the UK and the US that brought up reason for concern about autism and vaccine relations. Andrew Wakefield’s article published in 1998 described 8 children showing symptoms of autism soon after receiving the MMR vaccine. “Several issues undermine the interpretation by Wakefield and this case series. First, the self-referred cohort did not include control subjects, which precluded the authors from determining whether the occurrence of autism following receipt of MMR vaccine was causal or coincidental. Second, endoscopic or neuropsychological assessments were not blind, and data were not collected systematically or completely. Third, gastrointestinal symptoms did not predate autism in several children, which is inconsistent with the notion that intestinal inflammation facilitated bloodstream invasion of encephalopathic peptides.” [source] The article goes on to list many other issues, which falsify Wakefield’s information. There were numerous ecological studies [study1, study2, study3], retrospective observational studies [study1, study2, study3], and prospective observational studies [study1, study2] analyzing MMR vaccines, Thimerosal, and the use of too many vaccines, but all were either inconclusive or did not provide enough proof to confirm anything.

In conclusion, the highly controversial Vaccine-Autism Wars are still up in the air. Autism remains a mystery, and vaccines remain highly effective. As you can see, many experiments and studies have been conducted but none have come up with a sufficient amount of proof. I enjoyed further researching the relationship between autism and vaccines, but I still strongly believe that any argument against the use of vaccination is bogus, considering the extremely high success rates vaccines have continually demonstrated.