Cases
of autism have been on the rise in the United States in recent years. Experts are not sure whether the reason is
better diagnosis and reporting of the disorder, or whether there is something
environmental causing the increase in cases.
But reputable experts all agree on one point: vaccines and immunizations
do not cause autism and have nothing to do with the rise in autism.
Reputable Studies Show Vaccines Safe
The
Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2004 released a new report on vaccines and
autism. The IOM is a private, nonprofit organization that provides scientific
advice to the government. It is made up
of experts from pediatrics, neurology, infectious diseases and other medical
specialties. Their report found that
vaccines are not associated with autism, whether or not they contain thimerosal
-- a form of mercury preservative that has caused concern among some parents of
autistic children. The IOM reached
these conclusions after carefully reviewing dozens of studies, including one
involving almost a half-million children in Denmark, another involving more
than 100,000 American children, and yet another involving about 100,000 British
children.
Fear Versus Facts
People
who claim that vaccines cause autism often mention a study done by British
researcher Andrew Wakefield. In 1998,
Wakefield published a small study in the Lancet, involving less than a dozen
children, suggesting that the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine was linked to
inflammatory bowel disease or autism. The study was later found to have
significant problems, and his co-authors later disavowed its findings. No other reputable or large-scale studies
have supported his alleged link between the MMR vaccine and inflammatory bowel
disease or autism.
Thimerosal: Not In Vaccines
In
1999, the Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
recommended that thimerosal be taken out of vaccines. Even though there is no evidence that thimerosal in vaccines is
dangerous, the Public Health Service and the AAP felt that any attempt to
lessen the amount of mercury a child is exposed to early in life is a good
thing. Since 2001, all vaccines made
for American children contain no thimerosal, except for some flu and tetanus
shots. The MMR vaccine, the one that
causes so much concern for some parents, is one of the vaccines that NEVER
contained thimerosal.
Vaccines Prevent Disease
Autism
is a common developmental disability that is often first diagnosed in children
between the ages of 18 months and three years old. The MMR vaccine is given just before that age range, which has
led to the mistaken belief that it causes autism. The true scientific evidence suggests that if people would take
the energy and resources they use to fight vaccines, and instead put them toward
new research toward the cause and cure of autism, their time would be better
spent.