The Claim:
The pandemic has dealt a blow to routine childhood vaccine uptake, but recent Midwestern measles outbreaks highlight that the old lie about autism being in some way connected to the MMR vaccine still has legs. So let’s talk about vaccines and autism.
The Facts:
Excessive alarm about the rate of autism diagnosis is one of the factors spurring this myth. The reasons for the rise in these rates are multi-faceted: changes in diagnostic criteria, increased awareness, educational changes, and lowered rates of intellectual disability (PDF) account for most of the rising rates. Biological risk factors such as a father’s age and premature birth could account for some of the rise in the incidence of autism.
Plenty of evidence tells us that vaccines do not cause autism. Not only do the studies done to date show vaccines are not in any way linked to autism, but studies indicate disorganization of the prefrontal cortex in the brains of autistic people. This finding links autism to development that takes place before birth. Of all the risk factors for developing autism, we know genetics looks the most likely and being vaccinated is not among them.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved since this was originally posted. Browse the latest information posted in Just the Facts Topics.
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