I work with autistic children, so the vaccine debate is always of interest to me. This article, by Robert Kennedy, Jr., is one of the best I've read on the subject. He mentions the rate of autism among the Amish is 4, when it should be around 130, in comparison to the rest of the population. Amish people, as a rule, don't vaccinate their children, but 3 of these 4 were vaccinated, and one was exposed to mercury from a power plant. In other words, no unvaccinated Amish children have autism, except for one who was exposed to mercury poisoning from another source.
http://www.robertfkennedyjr.com/docs/
ThimerosalScandalFINAL.PDF
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Interesting, however keep in mind that the Amish are an isolated population as a rule. Reasons for lower autism rates might be a result of genetics (the not-so-varied gene pool might be protected from autism)as well as factors such as organic diets, and less fast foods. The modern bells and whistles of electronics, computers, cell phones and the lot are not common in Amish communities either so it's all food for thought really.
Thanks, Kim, for your comment. It's definitely true that there could be other confounding issues. I think all of those things you mentioned could possibly contribute to autism, or at least to illness. I would be interested in seeing studies like this replicated with other groups who don't vaccinate, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, and those who might not be as isolated.
Hi Jessica- my nephew is severely autistic and I know my sister has banged her head for years to come up with a "reason". Way back when this vaccine/ thimerosal connection was first thrown out there she was willing to look into it, as was I, but in the years since that time have come to believe that science and the many studies conducted just don't back the theory. Even worse the publicity has caused some parents to not vaccinate their children at all due to misinformation which is a horrendous end result.
Personally I think RFK sometimes goes for sound bites at the risk of his own credibility and should have thought twice before he pounced all over this in an effort to boogedy-ize the pharmaceutical industries ( they're not without other faults by any means)this whole episode just fell flat for him and cost him in the realm of public opinion.
Kim,
I'm sure you've done more study on this than I have, as just a casual reader of articles such as this. I just can't get away from the stories (of kids I know personally and have read about) who had an immediate reaction, such as stopping talking, or having seizures and then never being quite the same. I think the CDC is at least more open now to looking into it than they have been in the past, so hopefully some good, unbiased (from either side) info will come out.
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