Feb 13, 09 | Posted by: Michelle Linsmeier, M.D.

MMR does not cause Autism!

At Last!  Drs. Paley, Bencik, Melbye and I have been saying it for years!  There is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.  And finally, the terrible study which came out just over 10 years ago that put undo fear into the hearts of parents worldwide has finally been proven to be what we have known for a long time – worthless! 

What am I referring to?  The concern that has been building for the last few years regarding the safety of the MMR vaccine (and all vaccines in general) and their connection to autism first started after a physician named Dr. Wakefield of Great Britain published an article showing a causal link between the two.  Guess what?  He lied!  He falsified symptoms in his patients!  He ignored signs of autism that were present before the vaccine was given!  He had no true data supporting  a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.  However, he was being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to find a link – and so he did!  He is a fraud.  And thousands of parents in Great Britain and the United States have agonized over or made choices regarding the health of their children based on false conclusions and lies.  Despite over 20 subsequent studies that have shown no connection between the development of autism and the administration of the MMR vaccine, parents continued to hold onto the information initially given by Dr. Wakefield.  Hopefully, knowning that his data was contrived, these families can start to recognize the necessity and safety of vaccines. 

I don’t know what causes autism.  I don’t think anyone does. Yes, there are some theories out there – autism seems to be more common in children of older fathers – but no one has the answer right now.  What I do know is that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Vaccines SAVE lives! It’s as simple as that.  I also know that each year researchers, scientists and companies that fund the studies put countless time, energy and money into finding the answer.  Maybe now these groups can stop having to put all of their efforts into proving the safety of vaccines, and instead put more of their efforts into new theories and ideas in hopes of finding the true cause of autism.  

I think that the people who were hurt the most by Dr. Wakefield’s horrible lack of ethics and moral standards are the countless children who were not vaccinated due to the information in his study.  How many children contracted the measles, mumps or German measles, who now have mental retardation, seizures or infertility issues (not to mention the children who died as a result of the diseases) all because of one man’s need for notoriety?  Hopefully this information can finally put many questions to rest while at the same time parents recognize that most physicians do have a child’s best interest at heart.  I know that my decision to fully vaccinate my children came from an ultimate desire to protect them and help them grow into healthy adults.

You can find more information on recent finding of Dr. Wakefield’s study in the Times UK edition.

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