Vaccine Phobia Becomes a Public-Health Threat

Hello world! My name is Sidney Chi, I am a junior at Mills. I think that science is a very useful subject to learn in school because it explains how everything in the world works.

I found an interesting article in Discover magazine (January/February 2010, page 19) about the theory that vaccines cause autism in children and adults. 1-1.5 million children and adults have been diagnosed with autism in the United States alone but there is no clear explanation to the cause of the social disease. Researchers have concluded that vaccines are not to blame for the rise in autism diagnoses.

People and organizations who advocate anti-vaccine movements appear all over the Internet in blogs, forums, etc. and on talk shows telling their view on how vaccinations are harming children causing them to have autism. All that does is confuse the public on what they should believe: good science with evidence to back up that vaccinations are crucial for keeping society healthy or conspiracy theorists who are a threat to public health. Some researchers who are against vaccinations are trying to prove that the symptoms of autism start at 18 months for children, which is the age that they receive many of their vaccinations.

Parents are now unsure about whether or not to get their children vaccinated but children who are not immune to deadly diseases such as measles or rubella can spread the disease unknowingly. Children who are sent to school or daycare without being fully vaccinated put the welfare of everyone else around them at risk by spreading the virus.

No one has figured out whether or not vaccines directly cause autism but credible researchers are assure the public that vaccinations are crucial to give to children to stay healthy. Autism may be a predisposed disease that is passed on genetically.

A positive side to the media exposure of the autism issue is that research for autism is finally getting more attention. The public has become more educated about the disease and more financial commitment is being given to organizations to increase research on autism.

Action Project Response

The presentation about legalizing marijuana in Colorado really stood out to me. The presentation had supporting facts to back up his thesis but I strongly disagree with them. I don't believe that when he said that marijuana doesn't harm the human body because marijuana destroys brain cells. Medical marijuana is a different matter because when cancer patients go through the painful procedure of chemotherapy, small amounts of marijuana can help relieve their pain. He stated in the power point that smoking marijuana will make kids not drink as much I thought that was very irrelevant because smoking pot is just as bad as drinking alcohol, if not worse. Alcohol messes with your immune system like destroying your liver but marijuana destroys your brain cells and hurts your cerebral system. They are both highly addictive and sound unpleasant in my opinion. Is the alternative to teens drinking alcohol telling them to smoke pot instead? There are other solutions such as NOT DRINKING OR SMOKING MARIJUANA AT ALL!!!

U.S. in Afghanistan

I chose my topic not really knowing what it was about but I was determined to find out more about it. I didn't really understand why we were at war in Afghanistan or in Iraq before. I had just heard things in the news about it but never paid attention. Learning more about the war changes my thinking because I feel like I understand more about the decisions our government makes daily and the action taken to defend our country. My thinking is changed because I now know what the brave men and women of our military are risking their lives fighting for now. They are fighting for my freedom as an American and it makes me appreciate our armed forces more. I am intrigued by this topic and I'm driven to learn and understand more about my country and why we are at war.