Is there any scientific evidence that autism can be linked to certain vaccinations?
The possibility of a link between autism and vaccinations has been a matter of great concern to parents. Because signs of autism may appear at around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine, some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism. The MMR vaccine protects children against the dangerous, even deadly, diseases of measles, mumps, and rubella. Carefully performed scientific studies have found no relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. Not vaccinating children against these potentially dangerous diseases does pose a significant risk to children. Other concerns have centered around the preservative thimerosal, which has been used as a preservative in many vaccinations. Thimerosal is metabolized to methylmercury. High levels of methylmercury are known to be toxic. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Vaccine Safety Committee and multiple research studies have looked for a relationship between thimerosal and autism, and they have not found a relationship. In 2004, a r
