Vaccine

Vaccines are preparations intended to immunize an organism against a disease of some form. Vaccines are mostly preventative, but some are intended to provide additional resistance to an existing condition.

There has been some speculation that vaccines can cause autism, and thousands of people have filed claims with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program at the Department of Health and Human Services. On February 12, 2009, a special court ruled against over 4,800 claims, saying that autism in those cases was not caused by vaccines.CNN: Vaccine didn't cause autism, court rules (February 12, 2009)

Vaccines are so named because the first vaccine ever used was actually cowpox (variolae vaccinae), which provided immunity to smallpox because the human immune system response to cowpox also prevented smallpox infections.Traditional vaccines use some component of the infectious agent's outer shell, or a similar agent; however, newer vaccines use the DNA of the agent itself in various ways.

There has been common vaccines given to children, such as measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can cause autism. Thousands of families have filed claims with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program at the Department of Health and Human Services. On February 12, 2009, a special court ruled against over 4,800 claims, saying that autism in those cases were not caused by vaccines. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine have found no credible link between vaccines and autism.CNN: Vaccine didn't cause autism, court rules (February 12, 2009)