The Latest From Experts on Vaccines and Autism
| 1 min read
While there have been opponents in the past claiming a connection between life-saving vaccines and autism, the scientific community is now supporting vaccinations for children. Thousands of peer-reviewed articles have shown that vaccinations have no impact on a child’s risk for autism.
And recently, the website for Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy group, began referring concerned parents to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which goes into detail about the lack of risk associated with vaccinations. In particular, it calms fears about the use of thimerosal in vaccines. According to the Federal Drug Association, the only childhood vaccine today that has anything beyond trace amounts of thimerosal is one type of influenza vaccine, and even that one has a thimerosal-free alternative.
Experts are more concerned about the health risks created when parents skip vaccinations, a trend that’s linked to an increase in diseases like measles and whooping cough. One expert, Dr. Michael J. Smith, a pediatrician at the University of Louisville who has studied immunizations and developmental health outcomes among kids, described skipping or postponing a vaccine like refusing to buckle your child up in a car seat.
So what should you do? Educate yourself on the lack of risk and follow the CDC’s guide for childhood vaccinations and schedule a checkup with your child’s doctor today.
