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Decade-Long Study: Measles Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism, Even in High-Risk Kids (reuters.com)

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine isn't associated with an increased risk of autism even among kids who are at high risk because they have a sibling with the disorder, a Danish study suggests. From a report: Concerns about a potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism have persisted for two decades, since a controversial and ultimately retracted 1998 paper claimed there was a direct connection. Even though subsequent studies haven't tied inoculation to autism, fear about the risk has weighed on parents so much in several communities across Europe and the U.S. that vaccination rates have been too low to prevent a spate of measles outbreaks.

In the current study, researchers examined data on 657,461 children. During this time, 6,517 kids were diagnosed with autism. Kids who got the MMR vaccine were seven percent less likely to develop autism than children who didn't get vaccinated, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "Parents should not skip the vaccine out of fear for autism," said lead study author Dr. Anders Hviid of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark. "The dangers of not vaccinating includes a resurgence in measles which we are seeing signs of today in the form of outbreaks," Hviid said by email.

6 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Seven percent less likely means correlation by TimothyHollins · · Score: 5, Informative

    Like parents who don't vaccinate do so because they are noticing signs of autism and sometimes they are right. Or something else entirely. In either case, you can't claim both that there is no link and that vaccine cuts down on autism. If authors really wanted to claim no link, they should have said that the difference is below statistical noise at their sample size.

    No, they didn't want to draw those conclusions since there were confounding factors.

    From TFA:

    "Another drawback is the potential for some kids to have undiagnosed autism before getting the MMR vaccine, which could make the MMR vaccine appear linked to autism when it really isn’t connected, the study authors note. It’s also possible that the onset of autism symptoms might lead parents to skip the vaccine. "

    They don't feel confident noting a correlation since the numbers are within the margin of error. What can safely be concluded is that there is no increase in autism in the vaccinated group.

  2. Make childhoods disease great again by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Reminder: Donald Trump is an anti-vaxxer.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/...

    The wife of Bill Shine, Trump's communications chief of staff, is also an anti-vaxxer.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/po...

    Rand Paul is an anti-vaxxer.

    https://thehill.com/policy/hea...

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    You are welcome on my lawn.
  3. Re:If So Safe, Why Are Vaccine Makers NOT Liable? by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Traditional, long time used vaccines have a proven track record. However, to suggest vaccines are 100% safe isn't honest. For as misguided as many anti-vaxxors are, they're not completely wrong. There are real, documented safety issues with some vaccines.

    If vaccines are so safe, then why are vaccine manufactures NOT liable.

    Because the government, while acknowledging that vaccines are not 100% safe, still mandates vaccinations with some exceptions. Because getting vaccines is mandatory and there are known but rare side effects it makes sense that government bears the liability, not the manufacturers, and has paid out well over 1 billion dollars in claims for injury due to vaccine (do you know what the highest payout rate is? Tetanus).

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    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  4. Re:Seven percent less likely means correlation by bobbied · · Score: 4, Informative

    This has been studied many times in the last decade or two. Always with the same result....

    What they are saying is there is no INCREASED risk of autism in kids who got the MMR vaccine and those who didn't. They are saying that correlation does not imply causation and in this case, MMR didn't cause autism. They are, however, acknowledging that the onset of autism happens to coincide with the giving of MMR vaccine. This is because autism is diagnosed at about the same time as it becomes apparent in the developmental delays about the same time as the vaccine is given. They are debunking the logic error used by the antivaxx dogma to push their mistake.

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  5. Re:Learn something by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Informative

    The problem is a lot of people are looking for 100% safe. Nothing is 100% safe, it never will be.

    The direction towards progress is choosing the options that are safer then the options.
    So the problems you get with a Vaccine is in general much less then the problems you have without it. Sometime when I get my Work Mandated Flu shot, I feel a little ill for a week. But that is still better then actually getting the Flu, and spreading it to people who may not be able to get the Flu shot (Immune system problems).

    Vaccines work by telling your body there is a dangerous infection in your body. So your body creates Antibodies to fight it. This puts extra stress on your body, but if you are of relatively good health you can deal with it. And that stress will do less harm then the stress of an actual infection.

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    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  6. Re: But don't worry by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Informative

    Except those that can't be. We rely upon 90%+ of people to be vaccinated to protect the minority who, for specific reasons cannot be. For chrissakes, this isn't news. We've known about the notion of herd immunity for well over a century. This is as established a branch of science as one can get.

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