Skip to content
Surprising Science

Autism and Vaccines

A Federal judge has ruled that there is no causal relationship between a mercury-containing agent used in vaccines and the occurrence of autism in those who have been vaccinated.

A Federal judge has ruled that there is no causal relationship between a mercury-containing agent used in vaccines and the occurrence of autism in those who have been vaccinated. “A federal court ruled Friday that the evidence supporting an alleged causal link between autism and a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines is unpersuasive, and that the families of children diagnosed with autism are not entitled to compensation. Special masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims released more than 600 pages of findings after reviewing three test cases and finding all the claims wanting. ‘Petitioners’ theory of vaccine-related causation is scientifically unsupportable,’ wrote Special Master Patricia Campbell-Smith in her conclusion about William P. Mead, whose parents, George and Victoria Mead, had brought one of the suits. ‘In the absence of a sound medical theory causally connecting William’s received vaccines to his autistic condition, the undersigned cannot find the proposed sequence of cause and effect to be logical or temporally appropriate. Having failed to satisfy their burden of proof under the articulated legal standard, petitioners cannot prevail on their claim of vaccine-related causation.'”


Related

Up Next
Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia, writes in today's Guardian that there is a light at the end of infidelity's dark tunnel if partners are willing to overcome societal pressures to split.