Controversies come up every day over evidence interpretation and this then makes the issue either explicitly or implicitly related to causality. These controversial issues are usually brought about by disagreements on opinions and points of view. They may also be brought about by the misinterpretation or exaggeration by the media to a statement made thus creating controversy over what was meant. They can also be caused by wrong facts being sold as truth or doctored information. One such incidence happened when Billionaire business tycoon turned republican presidential candidate Donald trump in one of his campaigns made a remark to imply that vaccines were harmful and they caused Autism. He sparked the vaccine link to autism debate after claiming that autism had become an epidemic and was blowing out of proportion. He implied that vaccines were harmful and people should avoid them (Carroll 41).
Had he consider the other Confounding Variables or Mediating Variables?
Donald Trump claims to have come to this conclusion after he witnessed an employee’s baby get vaccinated then develop autism afterwards. He stood by his remark and claimed there to be causal relationship between vaccines and autism. He rejected all other arguments against his point of view. He does not consider mediating and confounding variables that could have led to development of autism in his example. Trump also generalizes a single incidence with the world population development of autism. Statistics show that there is no correlation between vaccine administration and development of autism. Many scientists have disputed this link and although the actual cause of autism is not outlined vaccines have been ruled out. A researcher with Lancet in 1998 had made claims that there was a correlation between vaccines and autism after a lot of debate and research into the subject the research was retracted and ruled out.
How can He Generalize One Incident (sample) to the whole Population?
Politicians tend to thrive on controversies so as to get media attention and to have people talking about them continuously as this keeps them relevant, and this was indeed erroneous as he generalized one case to form a basis for his arguments. The media loves a story they can eat up and in this incidence with Trump they took up the issue raising more questions about how safe vaccines are and whether or not parents should vaccinate their children. There are anti-vaccine lobbyists who agree with trump and they advise parents not to have their children vaccinated (Bernier, and Jennifer 65). This has caused many parents to fear having their children vaccinated and therefore putting them at risk of developing diseases. Trump may have made the remark as a campaign strategy to give his campaign the media attention as a political stunt. He does this at the expense of those who will follow his opinions and not vaccinate their children which might lead to increased death rate through preventable diseases. This puts the countries future at risk and also places those who are vaccinated in danger. This might lead to epidemics in the near future. Anti-vaccination lobbyists also agree with Trump and demand the law for compulsory vaccination repealed.
What does the Autism statistics say?
There are various statistical accounts that link the rise of autisms to certain circumstance sand dispel rumors often labeled as foundation to the autism menace. Doctors have raised concerns following the controversy that many parents especially from affluent neighborhoods have refused to have their children vaccinated. Environmentalists and liberal democrats are spreading word that health authorities advocating for vaccines are in the pocket for big pharmaceuticals (Sears 19). The CDC and many science research journals have guaranteed that there is no causal relationship between vaccines and autism. It however takes a whole lot more convincing to make the general population to buy into the vaccines are safe mind set. Reviews are showing that there is a direct correlation to parent’s belief that vaccines cause autism and reduced vaccine uptake in states. More research is being done on the topic in the hope to collect enough data to refute or support this claim. Other causal factors have to be evaluated and identified so as to rule out vaccinations. With developing technology the main cause of autism is soon to be discovered and this will shed light on the controversy resolving it.
Robert sears in his book about vaccines dispels all fears that vaccines cause conditions such as Autism. He emphasizes of educating the public with facts about vaccines and the benefits of vaccination. He warns that if this is not done effectively it could endanger future generations. He especially addresses parents who have been misled by anti-vaccine lobbyists (Sears 21).He is supported by actor Jenny McCarthy. Wakefield a British gastroenterologist and workmates had published a paper in The Lancet claiming MMR vaccine caused autism; this was after conducting a study on eight cases. This information was later retracted and the report discarded of because there was no scientific proof to relate the incidents. Wakefield and their colleagues had not used a control subject and the instances of autism could have been coincidental. There have been no comparative studies on instances of autism in unvaccinated, vaccinated and alternatively vaccinated individuals. Those concerned with these blame the thimerosal contained in vaccines as a cause for autism however studies have shown that neither thimerosal nor MMR vaccines cause autism (Plotkin and Gerber 54). Future studies on the controversial subject should look deeper and try to dispel fear of vaccinations. I believe more public awareness should be done on the benefits of vaccinations their limitations and dangers of not being vaccinated. This will quiet the debate on dangers of vaccinations. Research carried out should be published for the public to access so that they can make an informed decision about vaccines.
Works Cited
Bernier, Raphael, and Jennifer Gerdts. Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print.
Carroll, Rory. "Donald Trump on vaccines: ‘It’s not helpful’, experts say ." The Guardian . 2015, Print.
Plotkin, Stanley and Jeffrey S. Gerber. "Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses." oxford journals (2015), Print.
Sears, Robert. Who authored The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. Sears Parenting Library, 2007, Print.
