Issues Behind Thimerosal Controversy, Essay Example

Vaccines are rather developed to help young children, especially infants to avoid particular complications that could endanger their lives. However, in recent studies, it has been pointed out that the supposed safety that vaccines provide the youngsters is the very element jeopardized by the said form of preventive medication. The existence of thiomersal in vaccines is what makes each doze apparently dangerous to the infant’s mental health development. This compound is an organomercury that is used to preserve vaccines so that they would be able to last for a long time. This particular claim is suppored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC as they intended to test the medicines along with the mandated review on food and drugs that are specifically suspected to contain mercury. The American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP supports the same concern thus moving them to ask producers of vaccines to remove thiomersal from the newly created vaccines for children.

Through relative research on the effect of thiomersal on infants and young children, Bernard and his (2001) colleagues pointed out that the said substance could possibly cause autism especially if the parents follow a certain schedule of vaccines. The more prone the infant becomes to the substance, the more likely he or she is to develop particular mental anomalies like autism. Although evidences on experimentation show that thiomersal do not directly cause autism, it is assumed that its directive route into the brain’s system makes it a contributor to the development of such mental anomaly among young children.

The need to be precautious is always a better choice. Parents who are aiming to make sure that their children would be able to face life at a much healthier state through vaccines should be able to decide whether or not to take a vaccine according to schedule. Notably, the human body has the capacity to adjust and infants have a fascinating system that could specifically adapt to the environment they are living in, most of the time, even without vaccine (Gross, 2009). With the many reviews and children to medications that they think might protect their young ones in the future.

Meanwhile, cautious agencies in the government and in the medical industry like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), continue to campaign for the removal of thiomersal in vaccines not because it has been confirmed to cause autism, but because a mere hoax on the matter should not be set aside. This is especially true when it comes to issues concerning the health of infants whose system is not yet that strong to face mental anomalies ( Bernard, et al, 2001). While autism might not be the end factor of the existence of thiomersal in vaccines, the National Institute for Health (NIH) believe that whatever effect it may have on the receivers of the vaccine should be contained accordingly (Gross, 2009).

The continuous concern of both parents and pediatricians on the matter has caused for a revolutionary manner of producing and preserving vaccines. The schedule of vaccination has also be reevaluated to make sure that no over-lapse on each vaccine provided to the infants might cause overdose or particular anomalies that might also cause mental retardation or under-development. A stricter process of quality control and an ongoing research on the safety of vaccines continue to be handled by CDC thus enabling medical practitioners to get the most accurate data they need to note whether or not a particular vaccine is safe for an infant or child belonging to a specific age.

On the other end, children who do develop autism [and are regarded to have been affected by vaccinations] are suggested to undergo tests and several diagnoses so as to make sure what caused their case. Relatively, such operation aim to clear out particular wrong manifestations on the fault of vaccines and likely create a more responsive route that could actually help the infants recover or at least be treated in relation to their situation.

References

Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L, Roger H, Binstock T (2001). “Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning”. Med Hypotheses 56 (4): 462–71. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11339848. (Retrieved on September 16, 2013).

Gross L (2009). “A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine–Autism Wars”. PLoS Biol 7 (5): 756–9. http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000114. (Retrieved on September 16, 2013).