The researcher who helped popularize the belief that vaccines cause autism has already been discredited several times over, but just to be sure the government had scientists check again. Once again, they found that parents shouldn’t be worried about having kids get their recommended shots, but unsurprisingly, anti-vaccine activists are still insisting that the research is wrong.
The latest analysis was performed by the highly-respected Institute of Medicine, and included a review of the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella, which some still say causes autism. Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, the chairwoman of the panel, told the New York Times, “The M.M.R. vaccine doesn’t cause autism, and the evidence is overwhelming that it doesn’t.” The report found that most children who have adverse reactions to the shots have preexisting conditions that are made more apparent by the vaccine. The study states, “In some metabolically vulnerable children, receiving vaccines may be the largely nonspecific ‘last straw’ that leads these children to reveal their underlying [problems].”
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
