MMR VACCINE AND CURRENT ISSUES SURROUNDING ITS USE: AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Nature of the Analysis and Definitions of Key Terms
This paper presents an epidemiological analysis of the MMR vaccine and attendant health issues. Specifically, the report will examine whether there is any support for the recent claims that the MMR vaccine can produce serious debilitating and life-threatening consequences such as inflammatory bowel disease, autism, diabetes, and so forth.
The analysis begins by defining key terms used in the report and specifying the nature of the undertaken problem. This is followed by a delineation of the target population and a discussion of the significance of the problem. The analysis is then presented. The final section of the study presents a brief summary followed by conclusions formulated on the basis of the presented analysis.
So that the presented analysis can be fully understood, the following key terms are here defined:
Health - Based on the model of Roy (1997, p.43), the term "health" is conceptually defined as freedom from disease in general; as applied to the epidemiological analysis it is used to refer to not only freedom from disease but particularly to freedom from any lasting adverse effects of the MMR vaccine itself.
MMR Vaccine - The MMR vaccine is a "3-in-1" vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Although single antigen vaccines have been developed for each component of the MMR, they are not readily available and usually used only for very specific situations (Zimmerman & Burns, 2000, p.S34).
It is common for all vaccines to have some side effects. In this regard, the University of Maryland, U.S.A. (2000, p. 2) reported that the MMR is known to be associated with certain mild to moderate adverse effects. These include:
(1) for the measles vaccine component, a rash occurring within one to two weeks after the immunization in about five percent of childre...