Most people bring their child to receive vaccinations before they attend school, especially since state law requires this practice.

However, there have been many news reports over the past decade or so that state the preservative in the vaccines could cause their child to develop autism spectrum disorder.

While the safety of children should not be taken lightly, current research shows no link between the use of thimerosal as a preservative in vaccinations and the development of autism spectrum disorder, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Additionally, the levels of thimerosal have been reduced or eliminated in most vaccines. The only vaccine that still contains the preservative is the influenza vaccine.

Parents who refuse to have their child vaccinated because of this fear are actually putting them at a much greater risk, contracting a deadly disease, one which the vaccinations already protect people from.

It’s not inly the child that is protected; once a person is vaccinated they prevent the spread of the disease to those who have not been vaccinated, which can include infants.

One example is smallpox, a deadly disease that was fatal to a third of those who contracted it. Since the introduction of the smallpox vaccine, that disease was classified as eradicated in the 1980’s.

Vaccines are not entirely risk free. They essentially entail injecting a person with a weakened or dead version of the virus or disease.

However, this introduction causes the body to produce antibodies that fight off subsequent infections.

But without the antibodies the body would be unable to fight off the introduction of the live, full strength version.

So, protect your family and other families by having  your child vaccinated.