Monday 27 April 2015

Yet another study debunks yet another vaccine/autism myth

As reported by ABC Science last week, a large study (roughly 95,000 people) has hammered another nail into the well-and-truly debunked vaccine-autism link.

In an accompanying editorial in [the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)], Dr Bryan King, a doctor at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, says the data is clear.

“The only conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that there is no signal to suggest a relationship between MMR and the development of autism in children with or without a sibling who has autism,” writes King.

“Taken together, some dozen studies have now shown that the age of onset of ASD does not differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated children, the severity or course of ASD does not differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated children, and now the risk of ASD recurrence in families does not differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.”

Make no mistake: if you avoid vaccines in fear of autism, you are a misguided fool. If you spread this myth, you are an ignorant menace to society. This may sound harsh but people can really die if anti-vaxxers get their way.

Reference:

Jain A, Marshall J, Buikem A, Bancroft T, Kelly JP & Newschaffer CJ (2015): Autism Occurrence by MMR Vaccine Status Among US Children With Older Siblings With and Without Autism. JAMA 313(15): 1534-1540.

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