Another anti-vaxxer shibboleth bites the dust
One anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory holds that thimerosal, an ethylmercury preservative once used in childhood vaccines, caused the dramatic increase in autism diagnoses in the past 20 years. In addition to the fact that the amount of ethylmercury in vaccines is miniscule and rapidly cleared from the body, thimerosal was discontinued in childhood vaccines back in 2001. If thimerosal caused autism, ASD diagnoses would have fallen since then, but the opposite happened.
Another anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory is that aluminum-based adjuvants, which enhance immune response, are responsible for autism. Now, that’s been debunked as well:
“Researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen led the nationwide study, which used registry data on childhood vaccinations and aluminum content, outcomes, and potential confounding factors in the first 2 years of life among more than 1.2 million children born in Denmark from 1997 to 2018. Median age at the end of the 2-year follow-up period was 5 years.
“Only 15,237 children (1.2%) received no aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines before age 2. Each aluminum-adjuvanted vaccine dose contained 0.125 to 1.00 milligram (mg) of aluminum. The total vaccine-related aluminum exposure by age 2 varied by birth year (median, 3 mg).
“During follow-up, the team looked for vaccine-related events involving 50 chronic conditions, including 36 autoimmune (dermatologic, endocrinologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, and rheumatic), 9 atopic or allergic (asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhino conjunctivitis, and allergy), and 5 neurodevelopmental (autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
“The researchers found no association between cumulative aluminum exposure in vaccines in the first 2 years of life and increased risk of any of the 50 chronic conditions.”
Wonder what the anti-vaxxers will come up with now?
No link between aluminum adjuvanted childhood vaccines and chronic diseases
Another anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory is that aluminum-based adjuvants, which enhance immune response, are responsible for autism. Now, that’s been debunked as well:
“Researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen led the nationwide study, which used registry data on childhood vaccinations and aluminum content, outcomes, and potential confounding factors in the first 2 years of life among more than 1.2 million children born in Denmark from 1997 to 2018. Median age at the end of the 2-year follow-up period was 5 years.
“Only 15,237 children (1.2%) received no aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines before age 2. Each aluminum-adjuvanted vaccine dose contained 0.125 to 1.00 milligram (mg) of aluminum. The total vaccine-related aluminum exposure by age 2 varied by birth year (median, 3 mg).
“During follow-up, the team looked for vaccine-related events involving 50 chronic conditions, including 36 autoimmune (dermatologic, endocrinologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, and rheumatic), 9 atopic or allergic (asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhino conjunctivitis, and allergy), and 5 neurodevelopmental (autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
“The researchers found no association between cumulative aluminum exposure in vaccines in the first 2 years of life and increased risk of any of the 50 chronic conditions.”
Wonder what the anti-vaxxers will come up with now?
No link between aluminum adjuvanted childhood vaccines and chronic diseases
Yeah, there ain’t no telling what the Mad Hatters will come up with next …
Ten Bears, now that is funny!
The funny thing about “following the science is”, there always seems to be peer reviewed, published research that’s contradictory. One never knows what to believe. I ate margarine for years thinking it was the healthy alternative. Oh yeah, there was also the high carb low fat diet that I ate for years too.
https://publichealthpolicyjournal.com/vaccination-and-neurodevelopmental-disorders-a-study-of-nine-year-old-children-enrolled-in-medicaid/
@Wiley,
The funny thing about science is that all scientific conclusions are provisional and subject to revision in light of new data. That’s not a bug, that’s a feature. In the case of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (margarine), the problem wasn’t contradictory data, it was that new data required revised conclusions about the relative benefits of margarine over butter. Once I saw the new data, I knew exactly what to believe.
As for the link, the funny thing about kids who get regularly scheduled vaccines is that they are, on average, seeing doctors more regularly and are thus more likely to be diagnosed with a medical condition than kids who don’t.
What’s important about science is understanding the evidence, not memorizing the conclusions. If the conclusions appear contradictory, it’s usually because they’re looking at different evidence.
I wasn’t trying to be funny. I am on record here that 1) the increase in numbers is due to better diagnosis and reporting and 2) likely due to elevating ambient industrial pollution, specifically mercury. Hence the Mad Hatter allusion. From amalgama to tailpipes
It could be that I am as I am because as a two year old Army brat headed to Yurp in 1957 they hit me with everything they had, including the first ever MMRs, but given the geology of where my parents and grandparents grew up and I was gestated and spent a good part of my youth I think elevated levels of mercury in the ambient environment more likely
First commercial enterprise in Central Oregon was a mercury mine. Before cows, before timber …
@Ten,
The evidence is overwhelming that genetics underlies most cases of ASD. There is evidence that environmental factors such as air pollution, diet and microbiome, and prenatal valproate and SSRI exposure can influence ASD symptoms. The vaccine conspiracy theory has been thoroughly debunked.
I haven’t seen any research on association between ASD and mercury mining.