in our PBL discussions today, the "vaccines cause autism" statement came up. it seems like the most recent celebrity to take up this cause is jenny mccarthy.
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dearest jenn,
i think it's fantastic that you've "cured" your son of autism. kudos to you. really. i'm glad you've done your research and showed your child the motherly love that so many of our generation are missing.
however, i strongly urge you to reconsider your stance on vaccines causing autism - in particular the MMR vaccine. it's just simply not true. several scientific studies have shown that there is NO relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. unfortunately the first signs of autism often appear around the same time children receive the vaccine. it's just unfortunately coincidence. it's not a causal relationship.
the 1998 study that you seem to be referring to has been debunked. you see, that study had a very small sample size of 12 children. 12 is much too small to derive any big generalizations from. much bigger studies (498 children) have found no link. furthermore, in 2004, 10 of the 13 original authors retracted the study's interpretation. they said that the data was insufficient to establish a causal link between the vaccine and autism.
all of this info and more can be found on the website for: centers of disease control and prevention.
sincerely,
44darts.
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ok seriously. what is wrong with this world?!? how can someone like jenny mccarthy have such a huge effect? ok. she's a celebrity. i get that. but a B-lister at best. she's known for playing the ditzy, raunchy cheerleader role. she's a playboy centerfold for crying out loud! check that, she's 1994's playmate of the year (& props for that).
i'm not saying take my word over hers. after all, i'm just a measly 2nd year med student. but i am saying take the word of the CDC, the word of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the word of the Institute of Medicine. come on people.
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