This article describes the results of the latest study that purports to show no relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism:

Researchers looked at the incidence of autism in a Japanese city before and after the withdrawal of the measles, mumps and rubella jab in 1993.

New Scientist reports autism rates kept rising after MMR was withdrawn.

Michael Rutter, of the Institute of Psychiatry, who worked on the study, said it “rubbished” the link between MMR and a general rise in autism….

This study is the first to look at rates of autism after the withdrawal of the vaccine.

Japan withdrew MMR after concerns that the strain of mumps vaccine it contained was linked to cases of meningitis, and replaced it with single vaccines.

I’ve long been skeptical of the claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism. What bothers me about this story is not that it defends the MMR vaccine but that it distorts what actually occurred in Japan.

If you read all the way through the article, you learn that Japan replaced MMR with three separate vaccines for mumps, measles, and rubella. Given that, it’s pretty misleading to say, as this article does in the first sentence and elsewhere, that Japan “withdrew” the vaccine.

The subtitle of the BBC story is: “Scientists say they have strong evidence that the MMR vaccination is not linked to a rise in autism.”

A more fair and balanced subtitle would read: “Scientists say they have strong evidence that replacing the MMR vaccine with separate vaccines for mumps, measles, and rubella is not linked to a rise in autism.”

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Related:

- When weighing the risks and benefits of the MMR vaccine, don’t forget the risk of contamination.

- The New York Times editorial page is worried about the Food and Drug Administration’s use of experts with ties to industry. How come the Times has never expressed concerns about similar conflicts of interest among vaccine experts?

- For the second year in a row, Canada’s flu vaccine was apparently ineffective because it completely missed the strains circulating around the world. I hear the same was true here in the U.S., but haven’t seen any news coverage here. More on the inefficacy of flu shots here.