President Donald Trump's stance to study the alleged link between vaccine and autism stirs fear of hampered study and minimal funding among health sector. A previous study has already debunked the myth that vaccines can cause autism but Trump opened the doors to further research. Advocates of mass vaccination fear that they have to turn their energy defending vaccines instead of moving forward with a medical breakthrough.
To recall, the renewed vigor started in 2008 when the National Vaccine Advisory Committee pushed for a safety agenda about the issue. Parents were assured of transparent access to results of research about vaccine's link to autism. The agenda resurged at the start of Trump administration.
Health experts argued that Trump's policy might delay or hamper the administration of vaccines. By doing so, children will be more susceptible to natural infections. This heightened risk can occur even at small delay between vaccine shots.
Another implication could be the difficulty in availing health insurance being stipulated under Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. The said law assures health coverage for pre-existing condition. Health insurance companies can simply imply that autism is not part of coverage since it is debatably not pre-existing but aggravated by vaccines. Another law that will suffer a setback is Disabilities Education Act that ensures education for autistic children, Live Science reported.
Meanwhile, New England Journal of Medicine stressed the idea of multiple vaccines as the culprit for deteriorated immune system is absurd. On the contrary, modern vaccines are giving children 150 immunologic components through 14 available shots. Current medical science took a leap from a century ago when children have one shot for smallpox. Smallpox vaccine way back then contains 200 viral proteins, both structural and non-structural.
Vaccine-Autism link study is allegedly part of Trump Administration's $54 billion budget cut. To justify the funding, the government argued that children with autism rose dramatically over the decade and it is prudent to know the circumstances behind. Present statistics show that there is 1 child with autism for every 150 as opposed to 1 in every 2,000 in the 70's.
