Emma Johnson, Matthew Versichelli
Faculty Sponsor: A. Malcolm Campbell
You Should Vaccinate Your Children
A 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield claimed that the MMR vaccine was linked with autism. Since this widely discredited study was published, people have been led to believe that the MMR vaccine causes autism, which has decreased the number of parents who vaccinate their children. In 2004, only about 80% of children were vaccinated. Danish epidemiologists observed the rates of autism diagnosis for vaccinated and unvaccinated children from 1991 to 1998. The data, collected before Wakefield’s study, does not support a link between MMR vaccines and autism.
Football Is Safer Now
Football is currently undergoing widespread scrutiny, especially for the danger surrounding the sport. In the United States, approximately 1.1 million high school and 75,000 college athletes participate in the sport annually on top of 32 National Football League teams. One of the major concerns surrounding football is how to prevent fatal brain and cervical spine injuries. To date, parents of athletes have been hesitant to let their children play football due to their perceived dangers of the sport. However, through policy, football has become a much safer sport for its athletes. A study done on the number of football-related fatalities that occurred from 1945-2017 demonstrates that rules put in place by the NFL and other football organizations have been successful in limiting the danger of football.
