Based on the reading of Autism and Vaccinations I found the research to be very well done. It provided strong facts to support the reasoning for their belief that “choosing to not vaccinate your child is not only dangerous and irresponsible to that child; it is morally reprehensible”. Citing in the essay that “the vaccination controversy, while a hotly contested one in recent history, is not new”, is a subject for debate that may never end. I found the essay to have a good flow but thought that the understanding what Autism is could have come closer to the beginning of the essay; this would allow the reader, who may not know or have a clear understanding of what Autism is, to have a better understanding of this mental condition and how it affects children. I did find the detail of describing autism excellent, including disorders, such as Asperger’s and Rett’s Syndrome, with classic autism being the most well-known and commonly diagnosed form. The statistic that classic autism can affect one of every 150 children in the U.S, is staggering.
I believe that with the increased presence of social media and Hollywood does have a significant affect on how others feel and their thoughts on these types of issues. As stated in the essay, the debate has popular figures weighing in claiming validity to the vaccine-autism link. Model Jenny McCarthy and actor Jim Carrey is just a couple of those claiming the validity. When Hollywood weights in on these issues, swaying public opinion and distracting attention from the scientific evidence, makes it very difficult in trying to decipher fact from fiction. I believe we should strongly encourage parents to have their children vaccinated for protection against serious diseases. I understand that some parents will still have concerns about vaccines, particularly if they have a child or relative with autism. I would encourage them to find a health practitioner who will consider their concerns and help them ensure the well-being of their child.
The group of people resistant to vaccines as mentioned in the essay are “Anti-vaccinationists”, people who "tend toward complete mistrust of government and manufacturers, conspiratorial thinking, denials, low cognitive complexity in thinking patterns, reasoning flaws, and a habit of substituting emotional anecdotes for data", including people who range from those "unable to understand and incorporate concepts of risk and probability into science-grounded decision making" and those "who use deliberate mistruths, intimidation, falsified data, and threats of violence".