Do vaccines cause autism? We dismantle the myth
There is no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism, but there is a widespread idea about this issue that is causing fear in parents.
The myths rooted in science can become very dangerous , and may end up causing a lot of serious problems. For example: there are those who believe that during menstruation, a woman cannot become pregnant . The consequence of believing in this can be an unwanted pregnancy, because during menstruation the woman is still likely to end up getting pregnant, of course.
There are much more widespread myths , and that even some public voices have come to defend on more than one occasion. You’ve probably heard of this one in particular: vaccines can cause autism in children . Relatively recently, earlier this month, Javier Cárdenas, a famous Spanish journalist, stated the following: “A more than interesting reflection, especially to those who touch us closely. Even Obama said it, autism has become an epidemic. So you can see to what extent something is being done wrong. Sure. From a vaccine point of view, as many hold this theory and it is a theory supported by important facts; that they have heavy metals that children do not know how to absorb, that their bodies do not know how to absorb. Or for whatever reason. But in the United States they have risen 78% in the last ten years. Almost 80% of the cases of autism! And obviously they haven’t increased by chance . ”
The transcript, provided by a journalist from 20minutos.es , continues. After a brief cut, Cárdenas wonders: ” Do we have to wait much longer to act? To investigate and to compare? As much as they are huge lobbies, what about vaccines, for example? Because most children It happens to them when they are very small. That is, they are born, they are like other children, totally normal, and when time passes, especially a large part of them as a result of the first vaccines, that ordeal begins for so many families“That is to say, the journalist practically affirms that autism is caused by vaccines; an affirmation that is as unscientific as it is truthful, and that it can be very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Because there may be people who end up believing this, and choose not to vaccinate their children, and unfortunately, that could cause real epidemics.
Index
NO, VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM
First of all, one must be clear: vaccines do not cause autism. This is literally impossible, since autism is a genetic disorder (although there may be certain changes depending on the environment), and vaccines do not have the ability to alter genes. Autism Spectrum Disorder is, according to Autism Speaks, “a complex neurological disorder that generally lasts a lifetime .” What autism does is damage the ability that a person may have to communicate with their environment , to relate to the people around them; In addition, they can also have certain very repetitive behaviors and routines. However, being a neurological disorder, the symptoms can change a lot depending on the person.
The myth that autism in children is caused by vaccines is nothing new, but goes back many decades. The doctor (ex-doctor, to be true) Andrew Wakefield , conducted a study in which he discussed the relationship between autism and vaccines. His article, proven fraudulent, was published in 1998 , and what he tried to prove, always relying on false data, is that the MMR vaccine caused autism, in addition to certain stomach diseases.
Relatively recently, in January 2010, a court of the General Medical Council ended up declaring the article a fraud , and they ended up expelling Wakefield from the medical school, saying that he had acted ” dishonestly and irresponsibly ” throughout his investigation. In addition, they found him guilty of having abused children with developmental problems. A year later, it turned out that Wakefield was trying to raise the alarm against the MMR vaccine, sparking more research and encouraging other companies to make a lot of money.
Despite the fact that the report was shown to be totally false, and that Wakefield had misrepresented the information, vaccination rates in many countries began to decline . Parents, on occasions, are not sufficiently informed (because they do not have the means at their disposal, or because fear paralyzes them) and they prefer to choose not to vaccinate. However, that does nothing more than harm the general population.
NOT VACCINATING CAN BE PROBLEMATIC
Until now, on a scientific level, the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorder and vaccines is totally non-existent . There is no evidence that there is any kind of relationship. The fact that autism is diagnosed shortly after children start to be vaccinated (in most cases) has more to do with waiting for a certain time to see how the child relates to their environment.
There is another theory that thimerosal , a derivative of mercury, could be the cause of autism. Thimerosal is found in various vaccines, including MMR, which we have already discussed previously. A study was published in 2003 that spoke of a causal relationship between thimerosal vaccines and autism, but subsequent studies have shown that the toxicity of this element is very, very low. The 2003 study by Geier and Geier was challenged by some researchers years later , and the data was shown to have been influenced by the company’s intention to file complaints; again, the intention was to harm the pharmaceutical companies that sold MMR.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.