Claims Debunked

 See also: Jane Leu Rekas, LCSW - Autism and Autism Spectrum

The claim that vaccines cause autism has been extensively researched and consistently debunked by large-scale, high-quality studies. Here’s a summary of key research studies and reviews that have refuted any link between vaccines (especially MMR or thimerosal-containing vaccines) and autism:

🔬 Key Studies Debunking the Vaccine-Autism Link

1. Madsen et al. (2002) – Denmark

Study Type: Nationwide cohort study (over 537,000 children)

Vaccine: MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)

Findings: No increased risk of autism in vaccinated children.

Citation: Madsen KM et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2002

 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021134 

2. Taylor et al. (1999, updated 2014) – UK

Study Type: Case series and meta-analysis

Findings: No temporal relationship between MMR vaccine and onset of autism.

 Updated 2014 analysis of over 1.2 million children found no association.

Citation: Taylor LE et al., Vaccine, 2014

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.085

3. DeStefano et al. (2013) – CDC Study

Study Type: Case-control study

Focus: Timing and amount of vaccine antigens

Findings: No increased risk of autism from exposure to multiple vaccines.

Citation: DeStefano F et al., Journal of Pediatrics, 2013

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.02.001

4. Hviid et al. (2019) – Denmark

Study Type: Nationwide cohort study (over 650,000 children)

Vaccine: MMR

Findings: No increased risk of autism after MMR vaccination, even among high-risk groups.

Citation: Hviid A et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2019

 https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2101

5. Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report – 2004

Review Type: Comprehensive systematic review

Conclusion: No credible evidence supports a causal link between MMR vaccine or thimerosal and autism.

Citation: IOM (now National Academies of Medicine), Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism, 2004

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK25344/

6. Meta-analysis by Taylor et al. (2014)

Scope: Over 1.2 million children

Conclusion: No relationship between vaccination and autism or autism spectrum disorders.

Citation: Taylor LE et al., Vaccine, 2014

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.085

🧪 What About Thimerosal?

Thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative) was removed or reduced to trace levels in childhood vaccines in the early 2000s in the U.S. Yet autism diagnoses continued to rise — further evidence disproving any causal relationship.

7. Verstraeten et al. (2003) – CDC Study

Study Type: Cohort study

Vaccine Ingredient: Thimerosal

Findings: No consistent association between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Citation: Verstraeten T et al., Pediatrics, 2003

 https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.112.5.1039

🔥 The Wakefield Study: Retraction & Fraud

The original 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that suggested a link between MMR and autism was:

Based on only 12 children

Retracted by The Lancet in 2010

Wakefield was struck off the UK medical register for serious professional misconduct, including falsifying data.

Lancet retracts 12-year-old article linking autism to MMR vaccines - PMC