Study: Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccines Not Associated With Autism

A new study on childhood vaccines determined that immunizations do not lead to autism — a finding that researchers hope will dissipate fears propagated by antivaccine campaigners such as Hollywood stars Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey.

Researchers in the study referenced 67 scientific papers, which were chosen for their control and comparison groups and relevance, to expose the low-risk factors of vaccinations.

“Without this work there would be a lack of transparency around this issue, so by doing this important research in a thorough and systematic way, we acknowledge that there are rare but actual side effects,” said co-author Margaret Maglione, a policy analyst at RAND Corp.

The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics concluded there is no link between vaccines and leukemia or food allergies. Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) were found to occasionally have the severe side effects of fever or seizures; although, crucially, the report concludes that the “MMR vaccine is not associated with autism.”

Although vaccines have eliminated many communicable diseases, some parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children in recent years. A 2010 study showed that California had the highest cases of whooping cough since 1947. Researchers did not directly study the effects of vaccine opt-out, but found that a cluster of unvaccinated children played a role in the epidemic.

Researchers in the Pediatrics study hoped parents would be convinced by the effectiveness of vaccines, which they wrote represent “one of the greatest public-health achievements of the 20th century for their role in eradicating smallpox and controlling polio, measles, rubella and other infectious diseases in the United States.”

Study co-author Courtney Gidengil, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School, told AFP that while some parents may still be reluctant, the research should “increase some trust in the vaccine process and the trust between parents and their health care provider.”