The harmful effects of vaccines Vaccines are becoming increasingly dangerous for many children and parents are not informed about the safety of their children. Current reports link vaccines to serious life-threatening disorders such as asthma, autism, immune system dysfunction, and mental retardation (Williams). These recent revelations are causing a growing number of people to seek religious and medical exemptions from vaccines. From 1999 to 2006, exemptions more than doubled, going from 9,722 to 24,919 (Cronin). It is clear that vaccinations pose many problems for parents everywhere. Every day researchers discover information about vaccines and realize that there are many more risks than benefits. The Dr. Phillip F. Incao explains: “Today, many more children suffer from allergies and other chronic immune system disorders than from life-threatening infectious diseases. It is neither reasonable nor prudent to persist in assuming that the benefits of any vaccination outweigh its risks” (qtd in Spaker). Even though infectious diseases are becoming rare, there is no need for anyone to get vaccinated. There are many problems related to vaccinations around the world. Vaccines are made with dangerous toxins that can cause disorders in many different people. Dr. Joseph states that almost all vaccines are made with an immune adjuvant, which causes the immune system to react in a harmful way (qtd. in Garcia). Some serious side effects of immune adjuvant include reduced intellectual and sexual abilities and death in severe cases (Garcia). Furthermore, in a recent study Mark Geier and David Geier found that thimerosal in vaccines is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. They found…half of the paper…clearly shows that vaccines are more likely to harm someone than prevent them from getting disease. Furthermore, autism has increased dramatically since children have been heavily exposed to mercury. Autism has increased 500% since 1992. A recent study shows that children were exposed to large amounts of mercury when they were vaccinated, and high levels of mercury are toxic and can cause neurodevelopmental disorders and behavioral disorders (O 'Meara). Why expose a child to toxic levels of mercury if it's not necessary? Parents deserve the right to choose whether or not to have their children vaccinated. People are forced against their will to vaccinate their children with harmful substances that could potentially kill them (Cronin). Every parent should be able to choose to protect their children from the harmful effects of vaccinations.