PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - The measles, mumps, rubella vaccine does not cause autism.
That's according to a new study that observed over 650,000 children in Denmark.
Dr. Marian Michaels, infectious disease expert at UPMC Children's, tells KDKA Radio's Lynne Hayes-Freeland this isn't the first study to disprove the belief that the vaccine is related to autism diagnoses.
“This is somewhere between the 10th and 20th study that has really gone on to show very robust data that the MMR does not cause Autism.”
This most recent study found no increased risk of autism in the children studied, even those who were already considered at-risk.
Dr. Michaels says those that avoid vaccines because of the concerns over autism put themselves and others at risk.
“It really has been so troublesome to me because in fact it’s not only the question of people disbelieving but it puts people at harm because then they are avoiding vaccines that are life-saving,” said Dr. Michaels. “These vaccines save lives, prevent disease and we really don’t want to go back to a time that we were at before vaccines were available.”
The original 1998 study that claimed vaccinations caused autism was retracted and the doctor behind the study, Andrew Wakefield, is unable to practice medicine in the U.K. Ten of the co-authors of the study have since said there wasn’t enough evidence to say that getting a vaccination was not safe.
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