Flu Vaccines V.S. Autism

     Chances are that when you were a young child you got vaccinated against deadly diseases such as polio, HepB, DTaP, MMR, and many others. Where would you be without these vaccinations? Maybe in a hospital, in long term care, or maybe even dead. These vaccines have had amazing outcomes and have prevented deaths to many children. Children who have grown up to be lawyers, presidents, astronauts, anything they wanted to become because they had the chance. The flu vaccine isn't any different. The flu vaccine has saved 40,000 lives in a 9 year period. Thats 40,000 people who have gotten a second chance because of this vaccine. Many parents are scared to vaccinate their kids because they feel that there will be long-term mental deficits and this just isn't true. Scientists have proven time and time again that the flu vaccine does not cause Autism or any other mental deficit, yet we are still having this argument. Even though Andrew Wakefield is a discredited doctor and his research about vaccines linked to autism has been disproven many times, (image 2) people still talk about him like he was right. Not everyone knows that he was discredited and still look at his research like it is true and quotes him to others, spreading the wrong information. It is harder to disprove wrong data like this when powerful people "agree" with what Dr. Wakefield has said, for example our President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is a very powerful man who influences many people with his platform.

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 Just because someone is in a power position doesn't make them right. (image 1) One ingredient in the Flu Vaccine that was in question was thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. Just reading that name and not knowing anything about it, it sounds really bad but it actually does good. The CDC have a whole article disproving any thoughts that thimerosal causes autism. 

     Autism is a genetic disorder, you are either born with or without it, you cannot develop autism after you are born. Autism is a spectrum and "autistic signs" can show up later in life, like Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's can start to show when a child starts talking or socializing with other children, but it's always been there no vaccine made it show up. Vaccines don't change your genome. Vaccines introduce an unaffected disease into your blood so your white blood cells can form antibodies to fight the infection should you contract it. Vaccines can make you temporarily sick but they in no way can change the genetic makeup of your genes. 

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     The flu kills between 3,000 and 49,000 people each year, it is a deadly disease that is very smart. The flu virus changes every year and better adapts to its environment and gets stronger and more deadly each year. If you aren't vaccinating your kids because you believe a hoax that they might get autism you are putting them at more risk. Not getting the flu vaccine might put your kids in more danger. Every vaccine has its pros and cons but most of the time the pros and they chance at life outweighs the cons. 

     Picking up any credited, critically acclaimed, science reviewed article/ book about vaccines vs. autism you would find out that they aren't related and they don't even belong in the same book together they are so unrelated. Doing research and not just bandwagoning on with any politician will get you the mot accurate information possible. They are politicians for a reason, not scientists. This shouldn't be an argument because any credible scientist will say that the flu vaccine and autism do not correlate. Fact check who you are sourcing. 

     Overall, Flu Vaccines do NOT cause autism or any other mental deficits. The internet is a great source to find information as long as you know it is credible and not opinionated. The CDC is an amazing resource to find any information about any vaccine because they have the raw data. Vaccinate your kids, vaccinate yourself and wash your hands.

Resources: 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/flu.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/news/flu-vaccine-saved-lives.htm

https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/do-vaccines-cause-autism

Engaging The Public With Science

     In the past couple months of this semester I have participated in service learning projects in and outside of class. My favorite was when the elementary school students came to our classroom to participate in the 'Archie Carnival' because I could see first-hand our handwork in place. They really seemed to enjoy it and we enjoyed having them. It was exciting to see them participate and have fun while also learning something new.

     Another service learning activity was the Earth Day display at the Watauga Public Library. I liked the Archie Carnival more because I could see the effects right away but this one was also nice because it will have a more long term effect. This way local people who may not attend Appalachian can still learn about our professors and some of the research going on right in their backyard. It was fun to meet outside of class and also see other people there at the library utilizing the free information. I hope the information we gathered interested someone and made them learn more about the scientists in their community!

     My out of class service hours didn't have to do with science because I was unable to find one that fit well with my schedule but I did volunteer on campus so I gave back to my community in a different way. I ushered at the school's production of Sweeney Todd because I knew they needed the help to make sure everything ran smoothly and I could help. It was a great performance and i'm glad I could be one of the people behind the scenes to help it run.

     From all of these experiences I remembered how much I enjoy volunteering and giving back. I volunteered a lot in high school and I haven't done it nearly as much as I would like to since coming to college because of the packed schedule but I really did enjoy getting back to that. I have always liked to volunteer for things that I can see the immediate effects for and those are the things I would volunteer for in the future, like helping at the humane society, or at a soup kitchen, or volunteering at the veterans house at home.

     Scientists and science enthusiasts can help their community understand science in so many different ways. Most scientists give lectures or informational talks and post about their research which helps the community. A lot of science enthusiasts talk about things casually, or have more fun ways to portray the same information which can be easier for the public to understand the information given. Both are great ways to gain knowledge, it's just whichever you understand better and have access to.  The more information available to the community, the better because everyone learns a different way.