FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 31, 2008

Health Departments warn against vaccine misconceptions

Area Health Departments caution against misinformation linking childhood vaccines and autism.  Several concerned non-medical groups mistakenly assert that a preservative called thimerosal in vaccines causes autism, even though numerous national and international health organizations have researched this concern and have found no link.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Institute of Medicine, current evidence argues against any cause/effect relationship between thimerosal or mercury in vaccines and autism.

“The use of thimerosal as a vaccine preservative has been greatly reduced; it has not been used in routinely recommended children’s vaccines except for flu shots since 2001, but autism rates continue to climb,” said Dr. Rex Archer, Director of the City of Kansas City, Mo., Health Department. “Common sense tells us that the thimerosal in regular vaccines is not causing this increase in the number of children with autism.”

The diseases prevented by these vaccines often cause hospitalization or death in children who are not vaccinated.

“These vaccines protect children from deadly diseases,” said Gary E. Zaborac, Director of the Clay County Public Health Center. “We must continue to base our health care decisions on facts. The Institute of Medicine's most recent report on immunization safety review states that the body of epidemiological evidence does not support a causal relationship between childhood vaccines and increased autism rates."

Health departments advise parents to talk to a trusted health care provider about vaccine questions and concerns. 

“Often scary stories in the media can definitely be more interesting or popular than facts,” said Joe Connor, Director of the Unified Government Public Health Department. “It is vital that we know the facts. Our children’s health is too important to base decisions on rumors and misconceptions.“

For more information on autism, visit the CDC Web site at www.cdc.gov/autism or the American Academy of Pediatrics at www.aap.org.

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