Autism vaccination theory

Overview

There is a popular theory, believed by many parents and a minority of medical professionals and supported by a number of individual cases, that autism may be caused or exacerbated by certain childhood vaccinations – possibly due to the presence of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in the manufacture of vaccines during the 1990s and possibly earlier (it appears that its use began to be phased out in 1999, though it will be at least 2006 before existing thimerosal-bearing stocks are used up or reach their expiration date).

One piece of evidence often brought up in support of this theory is that autism among the Amish (who generally do not use vaccines) is reportedly 1 in 15,000. There are, however, many other factors which could be leading to this low rate. (Is anyone investigating to see what other factors might be at work? Perhaps those factors could help reduce the rate of autism in society at large.)

This theory has been firmly and repeatedly rebutted by the scientific establishment and seems unlikely at this point, but some questions and answers remain to be documented.

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