Naif Alsultan
Introduction
The vaccine-autism controversy came into limelight in 1998 after a UK-based gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism using inappropriate and false research techniques (Gerber & Offit, 2009). The theory was later disproved. Yet, some parents still felt that the reason for their child having autism was vaccine. This is primarily because the human mind is inclined towards reasoning, questioning and pattern perception. As Chabris and Simons point out in their book, this very drive for stamping on reasons for every occurrence and coincidence leads to the Illusion of cause theory (2010). According to this theory, everything around us is built to seek an explanation and is intolerant to randomness. This can also be perceived as an innate mechanism to seek stability through obtaining reasons, rather than accepting chaos in the form of randomness. The second bias is when two unrelated random incidents happen at the same time, the mind tends to find a plausible connection between them and even convinces itself that one of the incidents caused the other when in reality there is no connection whatsoever. The third bias according to the theory is the appeal of the human mind to chronology. Again, in an attempt to seek stability through putting things in order, the human mind likes to associate events through chronological ordering. There are extensive scientific data disproving the vaccine-autism connection, and yet parents only see what they wish, because they need someone or something to blame for their child’s condition.
Do vaccines cause autism?
As stated above, many studies have been conducted that have found autism in both vaccinated and non-vaccinated children. Thirteen studies conducted from 1998 to 2002 failed to find any connection between the MMR vaccine and occurrence of autism. The MMR vaccine has been particularly blamed because it is administered when the child is around 2 years old, which is the same time around when autism symptoms are visible, which happens to be a purely coincidental association (Gerber & Offit, 2009). This proves the illusion of cause’s second bias.
Exemption from vaccination
Laws for compulsory vaccination became prominent in the 1970’s in the US. Free vaccines were provided for the entire country and schools threatened parents to expel their wards if they would not comply (Flanagan-Klygis, 2003). Now there are laws that provide exemption from vaccination on ground of religious, personal and philosophical beliefs. On the other hand, it is mandatory for everybody else to vaccinate their child before they enter school (Poland, 2011). According to such exemptions, the person can and should refuse all vaccines. These exemptions differ from state to state. 17 states in the US allow philosophical and personal belief exemption and all states allow religious exemption. 50 states allow medical exemption (Omer et al., 2009).
Any exemption can lead to endemic outbreaks that could become difficult to contain. Vaccines were developed in order to protect a society and country from contagious and crippling infectious diseases that could prove lethal. Vaccination schedules are designed not only to contain infection, but also eradicate the disease. Disease such as measles can be eradicated if people do not fall prey to false information and stop vaccinating (Poland, 2011). Once eradicated, the complete future generation can be exempted from being vaccinated for that disease.
However, a parent, whose relative or friend has a child with autism, which the relative or friend has attributed to vaccination, will have a hard time following the rationale of vaccinating their child. The tendency of the mind to empathize will reinforce preexisting illogical beliefs and obstruct logical thinking. Thus, the current exemptions maybe continued, but no more exemptions must be added for the safety of the future generation.
Performance task presentation
In the presentation, it was demonstrated that a couple, Pam and Jim, were contemplating on whether to vaccinate their child or not. Personally, I would recommend Pam and Jim to vaccinate their child, as there is no clinically proven correlation between vaccines and autism.
Upon viewing the different evidence presented by them, the most convincing evidence was Exhibit A, where the graphs shows a certain direct correlation between mercury exposure and autism. However, this claim, just like the vaccine-autism claim, is untrue. Thimerosal is an antibacterial agent that contains mercury. However, there were no proven side effects of thimerosal in children. The FDA removed this compound from vaccines only as a precautionary step and not due to autism (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013).
Exhibit F was the least convincing, as it was merely a rant by a mother of an autistic child blaming the condition on the vaccines. This is in line with the theory of illusion of cause that talks about the behavior of conspiracy theorists who try to contort their perception of an idea to fit their theory. The exhibit proves that the mind convolutes out thoughts and evidences to fit into the hypothesis that we want to prove.
In order to explain why some parent feel threatened by vaccines, the best approach would be to explain the three biases that the human mind is inclined to favor along with experimental evidences that people thought connected these two independent events.
Conclusion
People must be educated on the harmful effects of not vaccinating on their children, family and the country. Since the human mind tends to receive information more through empathizing and anecdotes, the scientific data highlighting effects of vaccinating and non-vaccinating should be campaigned through personal experiences. It is difficult to alter completely the course of human thinking and causation. However being aware that such a phenomenon exists could be helpful in making unbiased decisions.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Understanding thimerosal, mercury and vaccine safety. Retrieved on November 8, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/patient-ed/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-thimerosal-bw-office.pdf
Chabris, C. F., & Simons, D. J. (2010). The invisible gorilla: And other ways our intuitions deceive us. (pp. 150-182). Crown Publishing group.
Flanagan-Klygis, E. (2003). School Vaccination Laws. Virtual Mentor, 5(11).
Omer, S. B., Salmon, D. A., Orenstein, W. A., deHart, M. P., & Halsey, N. (2009). Vaccine refusal, mandatory immunization, and the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(19), 1981-1988.
Poland, G. A. (2011, September). MMR vaccine and autism: vaccine nihilism and postmodern science. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 86, No. 9, p. 869). Mayo Foundation.
