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2.9.10 | The Lancet retracts link between autism and the MMR vaccine
Caroline Eggerding, M.D., Bancroft's vice president of clinical services and chief medical officer offered the following position statement on Bancroft's behalf.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects communication and social abilities. In many children, the first warning signs of autism may present in the second year of life, around the time of the MMR immunization. In fact, in as many as 20% of children, the first symptoms of autism can present suddenly, often after a normal period of development and language acquisition. We do not yet fully understand why these symptoms develop when they do, but it would seem logical to tie the change in a child’s developmental pattern to some other event in their lives. Since immunizations are scheduled to be given during this same time period, you can understand how people questioned the association between the MMR vaccine and autism.
The many concerns about the 1998 study in The Lancet have been present for some time, and by 2004, 10 out of the 13 authors of the original 1998 study had already retracted the conclusions of the study, saying that the data could not establish a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
There have been numerous studies since 1998, both in Europe and the United States, that have failed to show a relationship between MMR immunization and autism. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has summaries of these studies for anyone who wishes more information.
In addition, the Institute of Medicine convened a committee of independent scientists, who reviewed the concerns about the relationship between immunizations and autism in 2001 and again in 2004. They concluded that the evidence did not show an association between autism and the MMR vaccination.
It is extremely unfortunate that poor science was reported in a reputable scientific journal and it has caused such harm, leaving many children unvaccinated and vulnerable to many serious diseases.
Although I could state that the original controversy has ironically generated a great deal of good science that has thoroughly addressed the issue of vaccine safety, which I hope is reassuring, I am concerned that research dollars that might otherwise have been used to address the reasons for autism have been unnecessarily diverted long after the question of vaccine safety was answered over and over again.
For more information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control’s web site at www.cdc.gov