#VaccinesCauseAutism #VaccinesAndAutism #VaccineMyths #VaccineFacts
Did people believe vaccines cause autism in the 90s?
Edit: Thanks friends for asking this important question! Let’s dive into the history of the controversial belief that vaccines can cause autism and separate fact from fiction.
Introduction
In the 1990s, a theory emerged that linked vaccines to the development of autism in children. This theory was based on a now-debunked study that suggested a possible connection between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism. Over the years, this belief has been widely discredited by the scientific community, but it continues to persist among some individuals.
Exploring the Origins of the Myth
The belief that vaccines cause autism gained popularity in the 1990s following the publication of a study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in 1998. The study claimed to have found a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in a small group of children. However, it was later discovered that the study was deeply flawed and that the data had been manipulated. The study was retracted, and Dr. Wakefield’s medical license was revoked.
Despite the retraction of the study, the myth that vaccines cause autism continues to be perpetuated by some anti-vaccine groups and individuals. This has led to a decrease in vaccination rates in some communities, posing a risk to public health.
Debunking the Myth
Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the alleged link between vaccines and autism, and none have found any evidence to support this theory. Here are some key points to consider:
1. Extensive research has shown that there is no link between vaccines and autism. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the safety and effectiveness of vaccines in preventing serious diseases.
2. The original study that claimed a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism has been thoroughly discredited and should not be used as a basis for making vaccination decisions.
3. Vaccines undergo rigorous testing before they are approved for use, and their safety is continuously monitored by health authorities.
4. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. Vaccines have been instrumental in reducing the incidence of deadly diseases and saving countless lives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the belief that vaccines cause autism in the 90s was based on a discredited study and has been debunked by scientific research. It is important to rely on evidence-based information when making decisions about vaccination and to consult with healthcare professionals to address any concerns. Vaccines are a crucial tool in protecting public health and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Let’s continue to spread accurate information and combat misinformation for the well-being of our communities.
Remember, vaccines save lives!
Thank you for reading and stay informed!
The guy who started the whole thing, Andrew Wakefield, published his paper in 1998. He also did so saying only the current MMR vaccine caused it, because he wanted to sell his own vaccine to be used instead. There wasn’t as much of a following then as there is now though.
Watch hbomberguy’s video on vaccines. He goes over the MMR scare of the 90s in great detail and why it was a scam. Might be worth showing it to hee too.
Not Autism specifically, as we didn’t quite have the phrase or understanding of the condition.
[But vaccine hesitancy is not new. In the late 90s and early 2000s a vaccine for Lyme was pushed out of the market due to reported side effects.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease#LYMErix)
There was little evidence these side effects were caused by the vaccine, but word spread, and sales died. Today we can vaccinate dogs for Lyme but have no way to help humans who suffer as Lyme carrying ticks spread further and further.
All 7 of your children/nieces/nephews have diagnosed ASD? That’s quite a statistic
Yes and unfortunately some people still do even though this was debunked long time ago.
It was from a badly-run test where 12 kids, that right, 12 kids (not 1000, not 50,000, 12) were shown to have correlation between autism and vaccines. Of course, this has been debunked, and the guy who tested this lost his medical license.
In the eighties our pediatrician was against certain immunizations. Wouldn’t allow DPT because of autism concerns
Yeah.
People _still_ fucking belive that. Cue the autism moms weeping about how horrible their burden is while they post their children’s entire lives on Instagram.
https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/
Not til about 1998 or so.
I never hear anyone talking about this, but it’s not really vaccines themselves that have been blamed for causing autism. It is the aluminum, mercury, and formaldehyde present in some vaccines that has been blamed for causing brain inflammation that thus has been blamed for causing autism.
The public didn’t really catch on to it until like, the 00’s. We didn’t have smart phones back then. But we did have tv, magazines, newspapers. I didn’t hear about it until Jenny McCarthy on The View. Back then, we got Amy Fisher, Menendez brothers, Tonya Harding, Rikki Lake, Jurassic Park. The public didn’t get anti vaxx until much later in the 00’s.
its not real
Yup. And it wasn’t made any better by Jennie McCartney and that group.
Anti-vaxxers have been around since at least the 70’s.
Specifically autism appears to have started later, but it’s not a new movement by any means.
Yes. The dangers of vaccines was much more common in the 90s and 00s.
I spent a lot of time arguing with idiots about how vaccines are 100% safe before I had a bad reaction to a flu shot that tempered my hated for antivaxxers
Some people believe weird things. I work with little ones and when some find out they keep trying to convince me that autism is contagious…. I don’t know what world they think they live in.
they still do
[The OG Brian Deer expose of Andrew Wakefield’s bogus “study”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7UbL8opM6TM&pp=ygUdbW1yIHdoYXQgdGhleSBkaWRuJ3QgdGVsbCB5b3U%3D)
[The entertaining video by HBomberguy, largely based on the work of Brian Deer](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8BIcAZxFfrc&t=147s)
My parents, or more specifically my mother, wouldn’t let me have an MMR vaccination because she was convinced I would become autistic. This was in the early 2000s. When I was 8 I ended up getting diagnosed with autism anyway, and now 16 years later she’s been diagnosed with it too lmao
In the 90s my brother was a paralegal for a law firm that specialized in vaccine litigation. They represented clients whose children had been made sick by vaccines. There’s a small number of them. Some of their clients were children with autism. I don’t know any more specifics than that, but the idea that vaccines might cause autism had already taken hold by then.
I’ve been following this garbage for years as I’m on the autism spectrum.
Some years ago, quite to my surprise, I read some research that indicated that [Tylenol may have something to do with autism](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-015-0371-9#CR103). (As this is not a mommy blog, the article is quite difficult to digest if you’re not a pharmacologist). It’s unclear to me how close to “proof” the researchers have come as I don’t have PubMed access to follow all the references. Also, I’m not a pharmacologist and don’t even play one on TV.
The really interesting take-away for me is that people can come up with a false association with vaccines and autism because their kid appeared to develop autism after a vaccine, but it’s also quite common to give a toddler an antipyretic right after vaccination. That might be a cause of autism or it might not, but how can you tell? If you’re going to try to sort out cause and effect when you can’t do a double-blind test on humans (because it’s unethical), you really have your work cut out for you because there is usually a lot happening at the same time. Countries with public health systems have followed children and compared autism symptoms to the amount of acetaminophen in banked cord blood and found a positive correlation (which is *not* causation).
That article also mentions valproic acid, which is a medication given for bipolar disorder and a few other serious issues. I took it for migraines. It didn’t help and made my hair fall out.
Recently when I was looking to see where the research has gone, I’ve seen mention of other molecules that may have similar actions. IIRC the big ones are augmentin, an antibiotic given for ear infections and such, and glyphosate, also known as Roundup, a weed killer (fucking Monsanto).
i’m not sure how may people believed it, but back then the news infrastructure was not yet in place to ram it down your throat 10 times/day every day. So it was not an issue that everyone had to have a hard and fast opinion on and smack you if you disagreed. It was more of a conspiracy theory that maybe one dude at the party wanted to talk about when he got hammered. So crap like that was way more easy to ignore back then.
I don’t remember hearing any kind of anti-vax rhetoric until maybe 2002 or 2003. I remember being really confused by it.
Yes, and the still believe it now. Andrew Wakefield is a scourge on society.
Fuck Jenny Mc-carthy, she was the one who really popularized the whole movement with Oprah and such talking about how her son has Autism saying it was from the vaccines.
everything you need to know about this is in this video:
Yes, and still do, smh
Wait until you find out that THAT led to our fully developed lyme disease vaccinebeing pulled off the shelves!
I don’t remember many people being freaked out over vaccines before the 2000’s. There wasn’t really a debate over it and it definitely wasn’t political.
OP, I don’t remember anyone ever talking about autism in the 90s. At all.
Possible exception might have been when the movie Rain Man came out. But, even then, people probably would have used a stupid term like: “idiot savant.” Not autism.
Unfortunately, I know people that still believe that.
Yes
Yes, in part because an asshole falsified his research to show an apparent link, and the stupid Lancet published it.