Earlier this week, Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood made headlines for his giving his opinion about the debunked theory of the vaccines-autism link. In a video, LaHood said, “I’m here to tell you vaccines can and do cause autism.”
Although LaHood was not mentioned specifically, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District released a statement concerning this topic, which starts as follows: The evidence is clear: thimerosal is not a toxin in vaccines, but merely a preservative, preventing contamination, that has been used in vaccines for decades. The fact that thimerosal is no longer used in vaccines and the autism rate is increasing supports further evidence that it is not the causative agent. The long ago debunked study in the 1998 issue of the journal Lancet was retracted for shoddy and misleading interpretation of scientific findings.
The statement also discusses the incredible public health success vaccines have and continue to be and discusses Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Related:
- Vaccines: An interview with Dr. Paul Offit
- Tennessee: Cool Springs Family Medicine says ‘No more vaccines’
- Vaccines: Myths, misinformation and safety concerns contribute to ‘Vaccine hesitancy’
- Donald Trump continues talk about vaccine-autism link
- Dr. Rob Ring of ‘Autism Speaks’ calls on parents to vaccinate their kids
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