• Question: has the MMR vaccine affected the amount or autism

    Asked by anon-184456 to Lorna on 13 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Lorna Camus

      Lorna Camus answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Hi Ed!
      Although this is a an issue that has been raised over and over by anti-vaccines supporters and other groups, the MMR vaccine does not cause autism in any way.
      The myth basically started with one study, which turned out to be bad science and was soon discredited. However, the damage was done and many people still believe that vaccines can cause autism.
      Many studies (even one with over 1 million children!) checked whether this was the case, and none of these rigorous scientific studies found an effect of vaccines on autism rates.
      You can read more about this here: https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/
      and here: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/no-link-MMR-and-autism
      Hope this clarifies it for you!

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