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It’s Back

Some medical myths, also called misinformation, never seem to go away regardless of how many times they’re debunked.

It’s been a little over 25 years since Dr. Andrew Wakefield released a paper claiming that the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism in children. After a multi-year investigation, the medical journal The Lancet, retracted the paper after discovering Wakefield’s financial conflicts and flawed study design. An investigation by another prominent medical journal discovered that Wakefield misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of his argument that the MMR vaccine caused autism. Numerous large, longitudinal studies have found that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism.

Yet, the debunked myth of the MMR vaccine causing autism lives on and expands. Prominent voices in the anti-vax community are falsely claiming that all childhood vaccines can cause harm, not only autism, but chronic diseases and other health risks. Last month, entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, who is not a doctor or medical expert, falsely stated at a Pennsylvania Senate hearing:
“The Amish are a perfect example of a large group of people who are largely unvaccinated and there’s no autism — we can’t find an autistic kid who was unvaccinated. It’s very, very rare. In the Amish community — very, very rare.”  Also currently making the rounds is an Instagram post by Grant Cardone, an  entrepreneur and not a medical expert, falsely suggesting that rising autism rates are due to the increases in the number of vaccines recommended for children. With a quick Google search, you will find many other examples of current childhood vaccine misinformation!

Inoculate yourself against childhood vaccine myths and other medical misinformation. And what better time to do it then now, during National Immunization Awareness month! Be sure check out Autism Look Back with articles about the discovery of autism in children – long before the development and use of many childhood vaccines!
Happy Reading!

Suzanne Daniels