Statement Regarding CDC Vaccine Post

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

By: Joe Lee, MD / Medical Director of the Grayson County Health Department

The latest information about autism and vaccines from the CDC betrays their mission of promoting and improving the health of our nation. Instead of portraying the CDC’s diligent work on ensuring the safety of vaccines and their effectiveness, this committee (without the knowledge of the scientists in the CDC) published the following statement:

“The claim that ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

This statement is not true. The statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is most definitely an evidence-based claim.

Vaccines have played a significant role in improving our nation’s health and have undergone rigorous study. This is especially true since the article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield was published in 1998 in The Lancet, a respected British medical journal, linking the MMR vaccine to autism. This article, which Robert Kennedy, Jr often referred to in his eight years as Chairman of the anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, has been refuted by over 40 studies that included data from several million children. These articles proved there was no causal connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. Wakefield lost his license, and the Lancet Medical Journal withdrew the article, the only article they have ever withdrawn in over 100 years of publication.

The second statement: “Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”

This is also not a true statement. Any studies suggesting a link between vaccines and autism have been refuted by larger studies showing no causal relationship. They have not been ignored. They’ve been disproven.

The CDC's push to study possible causes of autism is appropriate. However, to claim that previous studies of vaccines are inadequate is not true. Suggesting that previous studies have been misinterpreted detracts from those researchers’ years of work and triggers doubt in the parents of infants who desperately need these vaccines for their health and safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics has strongly denounced this recent move by the CDC, which had previously been a committed ally in its pursuit of a healthy tomorrow for America’s children.

For a more in-depth discussion of autism and the safety of vaccines, go to healthychildren.org, an AAP website for families with children.