More Parents Refusing Vaccines

An Associated Press story on 2/17/09 reported that more parents are refusing vaccines for their children because of a perceived threat of autism. Dr. Bernadine Healy, former director ofthe National Institutes of Health, responded to the question, “Are vaccines safe?” By noting that, like aspirin, they are safe most ofthe time, but in certain people, they might not be. That’s what parents are afraid of. There is no doubt that the incidence of autism is increasing, and the increase parallels an increase in the number and kind of vaccines. Autism usually strikes about 2 years ofage, which is a peak time for vaccines. But scientific studies have not proven the link. To me it does seem prudent to delay somevaccines to a later age, depending on risk, and to avoid givingmultiple vaccines at the same time. If a child is genetically predisposed to autism, multiple vaccines at an early age might trigger autism, and that would not necessarily show up in the studies.

See Associated Press (click here), February 17, 2009 and Jenny McCarthy (click here) an actress whose child has autism.