Parents Can Relax: Vaccines Do NOT Lead to Autism

After almost ten years (and drop in childhood vaccinations which resulted in a rise in measles) the Lancet medical journal, which originally proclaimed the link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR), has finally issued a full retraction of the now-discredited paper.

Although experts say this vaccine is safe, the Lancet published a study in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, which linked MMR to autism and bowel disease. This led parents across our country to eschew the treatment, and high-profile mothers like Jenny McCarthy to publicly demand “safe” vaccines.

While responsible parents should take the time to research and question any medical treatment received by their children,we at Skeptical Monkey suspect that many parents have been too quick to act on poor information, and too willing to let fear cloud their senses of logic and reason. Hopefully,  we can put this chapter behind us and focus more energy on determining the actual cause of autism.

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Tweet by Sara on Feb 7, ‘10 in Misconceptions