Vaccinations cause autism? Can children with autism get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Vaccines, these two words have now become more and more close to the lives of our ordinary people, especially in the severe years of the new crown epidemic situation, vaccination has become a "high-frequency word".

As a parent of an autistic child, it is inevitable that there are more or less scruples: it is said that vaccination will cause autism in children, is this true? Can I vaccinate a child with autism (autism)? Is it really safe for children with autism?

Today, the Warm star community has come to talk to parents about the things that autism is related to vaccines, as well as some misunderstandings about vaccination.

Vaccinations cause autism? The hospital was claimed more than 5 million

Vaccinations cause autism? There was a previous case like this:

In May 2018, Tong Tong's (pseudonym) parents sued the hospital to the court, claiming: Beijing Daxing District Jiugong Hospital in the case of knowing that their children have a history of egg allergy, still vaccinated their children with measles vaccine, about half a month after vaccination began to have language and intellectual regression, to a number of hospitals, were diagnosed with autism, for this reason the hospital sued the court, claiming medical expenses, 20 years of nursing expenses disability compensation and mental consolation and other losses totaling more than 5.27 million yuan.

Is there a causal relationship between improper vaccination and autism? The court entrusted the Institute of Science and Technology Appraisal of the Tribunal to conduct the appraisal, but the Institute held that the cause of autism was unclear and could not be proved to be directly related to vaccination.

In the end, the court held that those who have a history of allergy to eggs do not actually have the conditions for vaccination, but when the hospital vaccinates the child for the second time, as a professional vaccination unit, it should order its parents to provide a professional appraisal report or diagnostic certificate to ensure that the child is not allergic to eggs, and should not rely solely on the experience of parents from daily life. At the same time, the court also held that parents know that their children are allergic to eggs, which is a contraindication to vaccination, subjectively slack, and is secondary negligence.

In addition, the court held that due to the uncertainty of the causal relationship between improper vaccination and autism, out of the principle of fairness, the court finally ordered the Old Palace Hospital to compensate the parents of the child and the child with 300,000 yuan.

The historical cause of vaccines causing autism

In fact, vaccines can cause autism, which has a long history. But is that really the case?

In the late 1890s, a British scholar, Andrew Wakefield, published a paper in the Lancet, the most authoritative academic journal in the field of medicine, saying that the increased incidence of autism was closely related to vaccination, and the earliest childhood vaccine was related to autism.

Based on clinical data from 12 children with gastrointestinal disease, the study determined the chronological order between vaccination and the onset of autism based on the recollection of the parents of the children, and then speculated on the causal relationship between vaccination and autism. Of the 12 children it collected, parents of 11 children recalled developing symptoms of autism after being vaccinated.

At that time, the paper caused an uproar in the parent community, controversy, and a public health and safety panic. A series of studies have since proven that the paper is suspected of academic fraud, and wakefield himself has a large conflict of interest with the study, but it is undeniable that the vaccine panic wood has become a boat.

This absurd academic controversy was not settled until 2004. This year, WHO commissioned independent researchers to evaluate the methodology and conclusions of these studies, carefully studied the links between autism and MMR, and submitted the report to the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS).

GACVS concluded that there was no evidence of a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism, autism-like disorders. Therefore, GACVS recommends not changing the current MMR vaccination procedure.

In March of the same year, The Lancet withdrew the paper on the grounds that its description of symptoms was false and had not been approved by the local ethics association. And 10 of the 13 co-authors also issued a statement saying, "The article does not conclude that the leprosy vaccine will cause autism because the data are insufficient." ”

So it's a story that has been reversed over 6 years. And many people often only know the beginning of this story and regard the wrong conclusion as the truth; some people take it out of context and deliberately only one-sidedly spread the beginning of the story without mentioning the real ending, resulting in the statement that "vaccines can cause autism" is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Now if anyone tells you that vaccines cause autism. You can pat him on the shoulder and tell him, wake up, this conclusion has been overturned more than a decade ago.

Can a child with autism be vaccinated against COVID-19?

So, the current domestic launch of the new crown vaccine for children aged 3-11 years old, can it be vaccinated against children with autism?

According to expert consensus guidance for other neurodevelopmental disorders, children with autism can be vaccinated against COVID-19. Special children also need to be vaccinated, and it has not yet been found that special social groups such as autism conflict with some vaccines, and there is no relevant evidence in science and medicine.

In principle, children with autism can be vaccinated against the new crown virus, but if the child combines the following points, it should be vaccinated with caution:

epilepsy. Some children with autism spectrum disorder have epilepsy, and patients who have had seizures in the last 6 months can be suspended from vaccination.

With allergic disease. For example, those who are allergic to dust mites, pollen, food (eggs, peanuts, seafood, mangoes, etc.), alcohol, penicillin, etc., with allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, etc., if the condition is stable, they can be vaccinated against the new crown virus. However, it should be noted that vaccination should be prohibited if you are allergic to the ingredients contained in the vaccine or if you have had a previous vaccine that is severely allergic.

with asthma. Asthma is not a contraindication to COVID-19 vaccination, so people in remission with asthma can be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, if the asthma is acute (wheezing, cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other symptoms), especially when the whole body is applied to the glucocortical technique, the vaccination should be suspended.

Comorbid chronic disease. For children with autism who have a combination of various chronic diseases (including neurological diseases, such as convulsions, etc.), if they are in the active/acute phase of chronic diseases, they need to be suspended, and vaccination may be considered after 3 months of stabilization.

If parents are not sure if their child is eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, don't worry, take your child to a doctor for an assessment and then consider whether to vaccinate.

There are some misunderstandings about vaccination

Myth 1:

Vaccines have a number of long-term, harmful side effects that are not well known.

Vaccination can even lead to death.

Vaccines are very safe.

Most reactions to the vaccine, such as sore arms or mild fever, are usually mild and temporary.

Serious health events are extremely rare and are carefully monitored and investigated.

Vaccine-preventable diseases are far more likely to cause serious harm than vaccines are.

Myth 2:

Giving children more than one vaccine at a time increases the risk of harmful side effects and overburdens a child's immune system.

Scientific evidence suggests that simultaneous vaccination of several vaccines does not adversely affect a child's immune system.

A child is exposed to far more antigens than the vaccination route is exposed to as a result of the common cold or sore throat.

One of the big benefits of getting several vaccines at once is that they can go to the hospital less, saving time and money, and more likely, children are vaccinated with the recommended vaccines in accordance with the procedure.

In addition, if a combination vaccination such as measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is possible, the number of injections can be reduced.

Myth 3:

Immunization through disease is better than vaccination.

The immune response produced by the interaction of vaccines with the immune system is similar to that produced by natural infections,

But vaccines do not cause disease and do not expose vaccinators to potential complications. In contrast, obtaining immunity through natural infections can come at a high cost.

Myth 4:

Continental vaccines of the first class are necessary, while the second type of vaccine is dispensable.

The continent's vaccine classification standards are set according to the health financial investment policy, not according to the importance of vaccines.

A type of vaccine refers to the vaccine included in the national immunization program, most of which is funded by the government and provided free of charge, and must be vaccinated! These include: BCG vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, polio vaccine, DTP combination vaccine, DTP vaccine, leprosy vaccine, leprosy vaccine, brain flu, Japanese encephalitis vaccine and live attenuated hepatitis A vaccine.

Parents only need to take the baby to the community hospital and community health service center for vaccination. Failure to vaccinate as planned will affect your baby's school attendance.

The second type of vaccine is a vaccine that citizens pay for and voluntarily receives, that is, they are voluntarily vaccinated at their own expense! Including chickenpox vaccine, influenza vaccine, pneumonia vaccine and so on. Don't listen to the saying that "one type of vaccine is important, two types of vaccines are not important", the second type of vaccine has the same importance as the first type of vaccine, and it also has a good preventive effect on infectious diseases.

Parents can combine the child's physical condition, health needs and family financial ability to decide whether to vaccinate their children with Type II vaccines and which Type II vaccines to vaccinate.

What are the precautions for vaccination?

Finally, parents are reminded that parents with their children to be vaccinated must go to a regular hospital or clinic; when vaccinating, they must see the allergens clearly, and everything depends on the child's own situation. The following points to note after vaccination:

1) Stay and watch for 30 minutes. After vaccination, stay in the hospital or vaccination center for 30 minutes to assess the child's state after vaccination, and then leave after calming down.

2) Heat treatment. A very common adverse reaction after vaccination is fever, usually a moderate-low fever. When the baby's body temperature is higher than 38.5 degrees Celsius and the spirit is not good, it is necessary to take fever reducer when these two points are met. If the fever persists and the spirit is not good, you must remember to contact the customer service department of the clinic, and it is necessary to go to the clinic to do an assessment, if it is an adverse vaccine reaction, the clinic will report to the CDC for further treatment.

3) Ensure wound hygiene. Pay attention to the hygiene of the vaccination site to prevent inflammation and infection.

4) Pay attention to dietary nutrition. After vaccination, you can eat normally, you can properly strengthen nutrition, but overeating is not recommended, and a balanced diet is preferred.

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