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The Correlation Between Vaccinations & Autism

According to the CDC, autism affects 1 in 110 (almost 1 percent) children in the United States. For unknown reasons, the rate of autism has increased at an annual rate of over 10 percent. Genetics and pollution are suspected causes, and one popular theory is that vaccines cause children to become autistic.

  1. Origin of the Autism/Vaccine Story

    • On February 18, 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an article in The Lancet medical journal that claimed that the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine was responsible for triggering autism in toddlers because the vaccine contains thimerosoal, a preservative with a small amount of mercury in it. This was the first time that it was proposed in the medical community that vaccines cause autism.

    Jenny McCarthy

    • Celebrity Jenny McCarthy is one of many parents that feels vaccines can cause a child to have autism. Jenny McCarthy chronicles her story in "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Healing Journey in Healing Autism." Jenny McCarthy along with actor Jim Carey have started their own autism organization called Generation Rescue. Jenny McCarthy has also spoken on Oprah about her belief that autism caused her child to develop autism.

    2009 US Supreme Court Ruling

    • In 2009, the US Supreme Court ruled that there was no correlation between vaccinations and autism, bringing into question Dr. Wakefield's findings.

    Controversery

    • In "On Second Looking Into the Case of Dr. Andrew J. Wakefiled," William Long, MDiv, Phd, JD. found that Wakefield's motivation for denouncing the MMR vaccine was that so he could put his own vaccine into the market to treat measles. After Wakefield's article came out, use of the MMR vaccine declined and there was a measles outbreak in England. At least one child died as a result of measles that could have been prevented had he been vaccinated. Wakefield has charges pending against him before the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom.

    Theories/Speculation

    • Currently, there is no known correlation between autism and vaccinations. Some studies argue that autism triggers at a certain age, and when the child receives the MMR vaccine, it is usually in line with when the child would develop autism. Many parents claim that their child developed autism immediately after having the MMR vaccine, but no conclusive evidence that vaccines are responible for causing autism exists.

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