Vaccine link to autism disproven by multiple studies | Fact check

The claim: Mercury in childhood vaccines causes autism

An Oct. 3 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a video of a woman speaking about the purported risks of vaccines.

“It's time to talk about the truth: the clear link between autism and mercury in childhood vaccines,” reads part of the post's caption.

The video was liked more than 800 times in a week.

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Our rating: False

Multiple studies have demonstrated there is no link between mercury in vaccines and autism. Routine childhood vaccines have not contained mercury for more than 20 years.

Improved recognition likely behind increased autism diagnoses, researchers say

Numerous studies have demonstrated there is no link between vaccination and autism, said Dr. Taison Bell, a UVA Health provider specializing in infectious diseases and critical care.

Those studies include:

• A 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study

• A 2010 review of studies published in the Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics

• A 2015 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association comparing autism rates among children in the same families

• A 2019 study that looked at a nationwide cohort of more than 600,000 children in Denmark

Autism researchers say an increased awareness and recognition of autism is largely responsible for the condition's rising prevalence in the U.S.

While the social media user claims multiple studies have linked autism spectrum disorder to vaccines, none are cited in the video.

One of the studies often cited by those who claim vaccines cause autism is a 1998 paper from Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who reported he had found a link between the condition, a bowel syndrome and the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

That paper was later debunked when it was discovered its data was misrepresented. The medical journal The Lancet, which originally published the paper, retracted it in 2010. Wakefield was also found to have committed numerous ethical violations throughout the course of his research, according to The New York Times.

“There is zero truth to it,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, director of the Colorado Pediatric Practice-Based Research Network, said of a link between vaccines and autism.

“We are finding more and more possible causes for autism as people look at genetic factors, as well as some environmental factors," he said. "Those could include exposures during pregnancy, but not vaccines.”

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The source of mercury in vaccines is thimerosal, a preservative that has been used in multi-dose vials of certain vaccines and medications for decades to prevent bacteria and fungi growth. But vaccine manufacturers and other groups agreed in 1999 to reduce or eliminate its use out of an abundance of caution and it has not been used in routine childhood vaccines for more than two decades, O’Leary said.

USA TODAY previously reported that the form of mercury in thimerosal, ethylmercury, is easily filtered out by the body and is not linked to any health issues. Medical providers are more concerned with methylmercury, which can accumulate in the body.

Toward the end of the video, the woman references aluminum and formaldehyde in vaccines. Both Bell and O’Leary said the amounts of both substances in vaccines are far below levels considered safe. O’Leary also pointed to research showing that aluminum levels in children’s hair, a measure of how much is in the body, are not affected by whether they are vaccinated.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Dr. Sean O’Leary, Oct. 9, Phone interview with USA TODAY

• Dr. Taison Bell, Oct. 9, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• CDC, last reviewed Aug. 24, 2020, CDC Study (2010) on Thimerosal and Risk of Autism

• CDC, last reviewed Aug. 19, 2020, Timeline: Thimerosal in Vaccines (1999-2010)

• CDC, last reviewed May 2, 2001, Notice to Readers: Summary of the Joint Statement on Thimerosal in Vaccines

• Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, July-Sept. 2015, Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Autism: A Review of Recent Epidemiologic Studies

• The Lancet, Feb. 28, 1998, RETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children

• British Medical Journal, Jan. 6, 2011, How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed

• Journal of the American Medical Association, April 21, 2015, Autism Occurrence by MMR Vaccine Status Among US Children With Older Siblings With and Without Autism

• Annals of Internal Medicine, April 16, 2019, Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccination and Autism

• Journal of Academic Pediatrics, March 2018, Blood and Hair Aluminum Levels, Vaccine History, and Early Infant Development: A Cross-Sectional Study

• USA TODAY, May 16, Child, other vaccines avoid mercury-based additive, but no sign it was harmful | Fact check

• New York Times, April 20, 2011, The Crash and Burn of an Autism Guru

• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, May 7, 2018, Vaccines and Autism

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vaccines rarely contain mercury, do not cause autism | Fact check