Immunizations Support Group

The eradication of smallpox, which was last seen in a natural case in 1977, is considered the most spectacular success of vaccination. Some people assert that childhood vaccination plays a role in autoimmune disease and autism, though large-scale scientific studies have not shown any link.

In an attempt to eliminate the risk of outbreaks of some diseases, several governments and other institutions have instituted policies requiring vaccination for all people. For example, an 1853 law required universal vaccination against smallpox in England and Wales, with fines levied on people who did not comply. In the United States, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1905 case Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts that the state could require individuals to be vaccinated for the common good. Common contemporary vaccination policies require that children receive common vaccinations before entering school. Compulsory vaccination is believed to have greatly reduced the rates of some infectious diseases.

Beginning with early vaccination in the nineteenth century, these policies led to resistance from a variety of groups, collectively called anti-vaccinationists, who objected on ethical, political, medical safety, religious, and other grounds. Common objections are that compulsory vaccination represents excessive government intervention in personal matters, or that the proposed vaccinations are not sufficiently safe. Many modern vaccination policies allow exemptions for people who have compromised immune systems, allergies to the components used in vaccinations or strongly-held objections.

Vaccines typically contain one or more adjuvants, used to boost the immune response. Tetanus toxoid for instance is usually adsorbed onto Alum. This presents the antigen in such a way as to produce a greater action than the simple aqueous tetanus toxoid. People who get an excessive reaction to adsorbed tetanus toxoid may be given the simple vaccine when time for a booster occurs.

In the preparation for the 1990 Gulf campaign, Pertussis vaccine (not acellular) was used as an adjuvant for Anthrax vaccine. This produces a more rapid immune response than giving only the Anthrax, which is of some benefit if exposure might be imminent.

They may also contain preservatives, which are used to prevent contamination with bacteria or fungi. Until recent years, the preservative thimerosal was used in many vaccines that did not contain live virus. As of 2005, the only childhood vaccine in the U.S.A. that contains thiomerosal is the influenza vaccine, which is currently recommended only for children with certain risk factors. The UK is considering Influenza immunisation in children perhaps as soon as in 2006-7. Single-dose Influenza vaccines supplied in the UK do not list Thiomersal (its UK name) in the ingredients. Preservatives may be used at various stages of production of vaccines, and the most sophisticated methods of measurement might detect traces of them in the finished product, as they may in the environment and population as a whole.

The practice of vaccination has been opposed by some since its inception in the late 18th century, but criticism has become more visible in the US and some other developed countries in recent years partly paralling the widespread availability of information through the web. While positions vary from outright rejection of the practice to calls for more selective and cautious use of vaccination, one or several of the following arguments are typically invoked:

Critics claim that the public health benefits of vaccinations are exaggerated. They further claim that the mortality rates of some illnesses were already dramatically reduced before vaccines were introduced, and claim that further reductions cannot immediately be attributed to vaccines.

Secondary and long-term effects on the immune system from introducing immunogens directly into the body are not fully understood.

The recommended vaccination schedule does not consider the cumulative effect of being exposed to multiple immunogens at the same time and at a young age.

At least some vaccine studies did not include such young children (e.g., 5 week old infants, 2 month old infants), yet vaccination schedules start with newborns. There can be a vast difference between the weight and all around development of a newborn baby versus a toddler, yet this is not accounted for.

Opponents of current vaccination policy question if vaccinations actually create immunity against the targeted diseases because some people who have been vaccinated still contracted the illness.

By not exposing children to common childhood illnesses, they may be more susceptible to diseases at a point when their immune system is weakened, e.g., at an old age or when sick for other reasons.

As is true with any medication, adverse events to the vaccine (even when rare) may be worse than the disease itself, and there are isolated reports of serious health damage and even death within hours or a day or two of vaccination. Although there are now various national databases where reported reactions can be recorded, anti-vacinationists claim that serious adverse events are grossly under-reported.

There are a number of possible conflicts of interest that may affect the research design, findings, and opinions about vaccines, including financial interests of companies, the self-regulatory mechanism of medical doctors, and fear of the consequences should vaccines be found to be dangerous. But there are also concerns that opponents of vaccines may be seeking to enrich themselves through litigation or the sale of alternatives, by spreading fear and misjudgment among the public.

Religious objections, by certain churches and by Christian Scientists to all forms of medical intervention.

Controversy has arisen regarding the safety of the MMR vaccine, because a handful of scientists and parents argue that the vaccine is the cause of the increased incidence of autism noted in western countries and Japan, and bowel disorders such as Crohn's disease. A theory advanced by proponents of the link is that the MMR vaccine overwhelms an immune system they assert is already struggling from the effect of thimerosal contained in previous vaccines. They assert that live measles virus in the formulation of the MMR is detrimental to susceptible individuals in a fashion in which wild measles never was.