# Has the government been hiding information about a vaccine-autism link? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 10, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554 "2019-01-10T21:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/21 "2019-01-11T13:09:12Z")
Please, please, DON’T click on any of his Autism/Vaccine links. He’s using our board to drive traffic to these shitty bad science sites. (Possibly for profit! He’s been that successful working his routine here!) He’s done this ‘just asking’ silliness numerous times in regards to this topic. He doesn’t participate and occassionslly even admits he’s not interested in engaging or changing minds. Not sure why this board doesn’t step in to stop this behaviour. Especially considering the whole ‘fighting ignorance’ thing. Exactly how many times can he claim he’s ‘just asking’, before this routine borders on trolling, you have to wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/22 "2019-01-11T13:58:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So this is the truth about vaccine court: many of the winners have been genetically tested and one commonality has arisen. They all have Dravet syndrome which is a severe incurable form of epilepsy that has autism like features. Eventually these kids were going to be symptomatic as babies or toddlers, but getting a vaccine can cause symptoms to appear slightly sooner if they spike a fever. Had they never been vaccinated it still would have been a matter of weeks to months before an illness caused a fever to spur their first convulsions. I have not seen anything to indicate that a large percentage, much less all of the vaccine court “winners” had Dravet syndrome and were thus destined to develop a seizure disorder +/- autism-like symptoms. The provided links do not show that. Whether or not vaccination might trigger earlier onset of this syndrome by producing mild fevers leading to febrile seizure is another matter, and brings up an important point relative to mitochondrial disorders. Antivaxers have jumped on the idea (not documented) that all or most autistic kids have mitochondrial disease and thus vaccination causes their autism. If a mild antigenic stimulus is enough to throw such children into an autistic state, then routine infections (anything from common colds and ear infections on through vaccine-preventable diseases like measles which feature a much greater antigenic load than mere vaccination) should be and are (according to experts in the area) a considerably greater risk. Thus we have Dr. Zimmerman recommending DTaP vaccination for childre with mitochondrial disease, since active infection (i.e. with pertussis) is a significant risk factor in these children for neurodevelopmental disorders. \*kids are bombarded with antigens from various sources including bacteria and viruses on a constant basis through normal daily living. The antigenic stimulus from vaccination is a drop in the bucket by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/23 "2019-01-11T16:31:42Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Please, please, DON’T click on any of his Autism/Vaccine links. > > He’s using our board to drive traffic to these shitty bad science sites. (Possibly for profit! He’s been that successful working his routine here!) He’s done this ‘just asking’ silliness numerous times in regards to this topic. He doesn’t participate and occassionslly even admits he’s not interested in engaging or changing minds. > > Not sure why this board doesn’t step in to stop this behaviour. Especially considering the whole ‘fighting ignorance’ thing. Exactly how many times can he claim he’s ‘just asking’, before this routine borders on trolling, you have to wonder. Please do not threadshit. I’ll continue this conversation by PM. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/24 "2019-01-11T16:46:09Z")
General rule of thumb. One scientist says ‘Yeah’. Fifty scientists say ‘No way and here’s why’. More often than not, the fifty are right and the one is a nutjob. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/25 "2019-01-11T16:53:20Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Also note: the people in this discussion are not anti-vaccine. They still support their benefits and getting flu shots. I should emphasize that on the contrary, virtually everyone interviewed or referenced in **Urbanredneck** ’s link is deeply antivaccine and/or playing footsie with antivaxers, their claims of being “pro-vaccine” notwithstanding. RFK Jr. has characterized himself as being “fiercely” pro-vaccine, but he has a [very long history](https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/10/kennedy-vaccine-book/) of promoting antivax nonsense, going at least as far back as a now-retracted _Salon_ article alleging a vaccine conspiracy by regulators. More recently he authored (or just edited, it’s hard to tell) a book alleging horrific dangers of thimerosal preservative in vaccines, despite the fact that thimerosal was removed from virtually all childhood vaccines back in 2001 and never has been found to cause health problems anyway. [Sharyl](https://respectfulinsolence.com/2014/05/27/antivaccine-journalist-sharyl-attkisson-tries-once-again-to-convince-us-that-vaccines-cause-autism/) [Atkisson](https://blogs.plos.org/thepanicvirus/2011/03/31/more-embarrassing-anti-vaccine-reporting-from-cbs-newss-sharyl-attkisson/) was alluded to earlier as an antivaxer and conspiracy theorist. [Congressmen Dan Burton](https://vaxopedia.org/2016/10/09/dan-burton-on-vaccines-and-autism/) and [Bill Posey](https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2016/03/27/why-was-rep-bill-posey-involved-in-tribeca-de-niro-wakefield-kerfuffle/#392bf26b277c) have a history of shenanigans promoting antivax ideology. And on and on. Pro tip: when you see someone insisting they’re pro-vaccine (or "pro-safe vaccine) but they continually push debunked antivax nonsense and stage wholesale attacks on immunization, they’re actually antivaccine but can’t bear to be honest and admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/26 "2019-01-11T17:04:05Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Pro tip: when you see someone insisting they’re pro-vaccine (or “pro-safe vaccine”) but they continually push debunked antivax nonsense and stage wholesale attacks on immunization, they’re actually antivaccine but can’t bear to be honest and admit it. “Pro-safe vaccine” is to antivax what “intelligent design” is to creationism. Exactly the same thing with marketing spin. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/27 "2019-01-11T17:54:39Z")
Dear OP, There is no credible evidence that vaccinations cause autism. But there is at least some decent evidence that the radiation from 5G cell towers causes brain cancer and Roundup is a carcinogen. Both matters are open questions, but they’re not as totally off the wall as any vaccines and autism link which came from one discredited study. [https://www.mobilesafety.com.au/brain-tumour-advocate-pleads-safety-testing-new-5g-technology/](https://www.mobilesafety.com.au/brain-tumour-advocate-pleads-safety-testing-new-5g-technology/) [Glyphosate toxicity and carcinogenicity: a review of the scientific basis of the European Union assessment and its differences with IARC](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5515989/) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/28 "2019-01-11T18:29:32Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Dear OP, > > There is no credible evidence that vaccinations cause autism. But there is at least some decent evidence that the radiation from 5G cell towers causes brain cancer and Roundup is a carcinogen. Both matters are open questions, but they’re not as totally off the wall as any vaccines and autism link which came from one discredited study. > > [https://www.mobilesafety.com.au/brain-tumour-advocate-pleads-safety-testing-new-5g-technology/](https://www.mobilesafety.com.au/brain-tumour-advocate-pleads-safety-testing-new-5g-technology/) > > [Glyphosate toxicity and carcinogenicity: a review of the scientific basis of the European Union assessment and its differences with IARC](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5515989/) Is this a joke? I hope so, because your first link involves a woman who wants the rollout of 5G stopped because she has collected anecdotes of people with brain cancer who used cellphones. Setting aside the extremely :dubious: nature of this “evidence”, it doesn’t relate to a technology just now being implemented. As for link #2, it references the EU perspective on glyphosate (unlike the discredited IARC study, the European Food Safety Authority’s analysis did _not_ label glyphosate a carcinogen) and says the following: _“The EU assessment did not identify a carcinogenicity hazard, revised the toxicological profile proposing new toxicological reference values, and conducted a risk assessment for some representatives uses. Two complementary exposure assessments, human-biomonitoring and food-residues-monitoring, suggests that actual exposure levels are below these reference values and do not represent a public concern.”_ That’s not an endorsement of “decent evidence” that glyphosate causes cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/29 "2019-01-11T18:38:44Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > In short, it seems that in 2007 or so in the vaccine injury court, a special court set up by the US government to protect the pharma industry from lawsuits… Let me stop you right there. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was set up as a _compromise_ between pharmaceutical companies and the public to avoid endless litigation by individuals. It’s actually much better for the public than a typical medical malpractice or product defect lawsuit. The plaintiff doesn’t have to establish causation for most conditions. They only have to show that (1) their injury is a type which _can_ be caused by a vaccine, and (2) that the injury occurred within a plausible time frame from the administration of the vaccine. In other words, it is presumed that the vaccine caused an injury, without actual proof that it did. If the injury is not a type which studies show can occur from vaccines, the plaintiff can still offer medical evidence that a vaccine caused the injury, and the standard of proof is still virtually a presumption of causation. The plaintiff need only show: > [@](#): > > (1) a medical theory causally connecting the vaccination and the injury; (2) a logical sequence of cause and effect showing that the vaccination was the reason for the injury; and (3) a showing of a proximate temporal relationship between vaccination and injury. In other words, there only needs to be a _plausible_ link. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/30 "2019-01-11T20:04:23Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > But there is at least some decent evidence that the radiation from 5G cell towers causes brain cancer > **[Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/electromagnetic-fields-fact-sheet)** > > A fact sheet about research on electric and magnetic fields and studies examining their potential connection with cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/31 "2019-01-11T22:03:04Z")
Yes, your right. Giving a kid a vaccine wont automatically cause autism. Also I agree vaccines have stopped some of the worse diseases like smallpox and polio. However I think what Zimmerman is hitting on is that our current method of administration of vaccines, which is to give every kid the same dose level at the same time, could cause autism in some cases. I think what they are implying is maybe we should have some sort of test we can do beforehand to see if their is a potential for vaccine injury. I mean their are dozens of chemicals in vaccines like aluminum. Yes, all countries vaccinate. However not all at the same time and at the same schedule as the US. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/32 "2019-01-11T22:16:06Z")
The links that show that those questions have already been answered have already been posted, so I see no reason to post them again just so that they will be ignored again. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/33 "2019-01-11T22:27:41Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > However I think what Zimmerman is hitting on is that our current method of administration of vaccines, which is to give every kid the same dose level at the same time, could cause autism in some cases. But there is no more evidence for this claim than for the claim that vaccines will automatically cause autism in **every** recipient. Just making your hypothesis more restricted doesn’t automatically make it more plausible. If I start out by declaring that NASA’s moon launches were a complete hoax filmed on a California soundstage, and then modify that to the claim that we did actually send a spaceship to the moon’s orbit but just faked the landing, that doesn’t mean that my second claim is more likely or better worth investigating than my first. Half a ton of bullshit is less bullshit than a ton of bullshit, but it’s still nothing but bullshit. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think what they are implying is maybe we should have some sort of test we can do beforehand to see if their is a potential for vaccine injury. 😕 Huh? Are you unaware that there **are** many tests that researchers “do beforehand” to investigate the potential for vaccine injury, as [described here](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/history/index.html)? > [@](#): > > Monitoring Vaccine Safety: Pre-Licensure > > Before vaccines are licensed by the FDA, they are tested extensively in the laboratory and with human subjects to ensure their safety. First, researchers use computers to predict how the vaccine will interact with the human immune system. Then researchers test the vaccine on animals including mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and monkeys. > > After the vaccine completes these laboratory tests successfully, the FDA approves its use in clinical studies on human subjects. […] > > The FDA requires that vaccines undergo three phases of clinical trials with human subjects before they can be licensed for use in the general public: > > Phase one trials are small, involving only 20 to 100 volunteers, and last only a few months. The purpose of phase one trials is to evaluate basic safety and identify very common reactions. > > Phase two trials are larger and involve several hundred participants. These studies last anywhere from several months to two years and collect additional information on safety and efficacy. Data gained from phase two trials can be used to determine the composition of the vaccine, how many doses are necessary, and a profile of common reactions. > > Unless the vaccine is ineffective or causes health problems, the trials are expanded to phase three, which involves several hundred to several thousand volunteers. Typically these trials last several years. Because the vaccinated group can be compared to those who have not received the vaccine, researchers are able to identify true reactions. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yes, all countries vaccinate. However not all at the same time and at the same schedule as the US. In order to justify proposing changes to the standard American pediatric vaccine schedule, you’d need to provide some evidence that another country’s version of the schedule is better, and what feature(s) specifically make it better. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/34 "2019-01-11T22:45:59Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > However I think what Zimmerman is hitting on is that our current method of administration of vaccines, which is to give every kid the same dose level at the same time, could cause autism in some cases. I think what they are implying is maybe we should have some sort of test we can do beforehand to see if their is a potential for vaccine injury. I mean their are dozens of chemicals in vaccines like aluminum. What you think is completely irrelevant to what actually happens in reality. And given that this is a subject that you care about, you have no excuse to have remained uninformed. If you’re worried about something, the solution is not to spread ignorance and avoid reality. Murdering children, simply because you hate the idea of being proven wrong, is not justifiable, it is purely an act of malignant ignorance that results in the deaths of children, and protects no one from autism - since that’s not how autism happens. Let’s say that there’s a 10% chance that your worries have some validity. They don’t, but let’s say that they do. That leaves you with two options: 1. Worry and spread your worry, hoping that someday, someone will find an answer that allows you to either qualm your fears or that one day, through some amazing stroke of lottery-winning luck, you finally save one single, lone child from one obscure, statistically insignificant vector for autism that can be prevented. Congratulations, you accomplished something! But, in so doing, you have still caused the spread of disinformation and fear, resulting in the deaths and injury of _dozens of children_. 2. Keep that shit to yourself, and protect those dozens of children. Because a) you had a 90% chance of being wrong to begin with, and b) you are probably not the person to win that lottery. In option 1, you really only ever - in the real world - cause death and misery. Yeah, you get to act on your worries, but manning up and keeping your worries to yourself when it saves people is what actually shows courage and caring. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/35 "2019-01-11T23:03:20Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Giving a kid a vaccine wont automatically cause autism. Giving a kid a vaccine won’t ever cause autism. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/36 "2019-01-11T23:13:39Z")
But will it cause their heads to explode Scanners-style? I mean, sure, it clearly doesn’t cause _all_ their heads to explode, I never said it did. But maybe it sometimes does? Maybe _sometimes_ it explodes them? Can you prove it doesn’t? (Note: That proof you just gave? I reject it.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/37 "2019-01-12T00:13:34Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I mean their are dozens of chemicals in vaccines like aluminum. I, for one, have decided to avoid vaccines until they develop one that’s completely devoid of chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/38 "2019-01-12T02:12:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I, for one, have decided to avoid vaccines until they develop one that’s completely devoid of chemicals. It’s far worse than that. V - Vanadium AC - Actinium C - Carbon I - Iodine NE - Neon S - Sulfur Vaccines are made out of elements! Everybody panic! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/39 "2019-01-12T02:36:46Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yes, your right. Giving a kid a vaccine wont automatically cause autism. … > > I mean their are dozens of chemicals in vaccines like aluminum. Maybe you’re expertise on medical science would be better believed if their were evidence of you expertise in basic English. But the claim about aluminum is too serious to go unattacked. [Rebuttal](http://www.immunizeforgood.com/fact-or-fiction/aluminum). > [@](#): > > You may have heard fellow parents warn about aluminum in childhood vaccines. Dr. Sears’s book The Vaccine Book has exacerbated this fear by creating an “alternative vaccine schedule” to space out vaccines to keep aluminum exposure to a minimum. > > There is no need for parents to fear aluminum. The element is the most common metal found in nature and is a part of our everyday environment. [Another rebuttal](https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/aluminum-in-vaccines-paper-anti-vaxxer-claims/). > [@](#): > > In an article, published in Academic Pediatrics [March 2018, Volume 18, Issue 2, Pages 161–165], a moderate impact factor peer-reviewed specialty journal, researchers examined aluminum levels compared to infant development for vaccinated and unvaccinated children. > > The study followed 85 children aged 9 to 13 months, excluding those who received aluminum-containing pharmaceuticals, were evaluated for blood and hair aluminum levels, vaccination history, and cognitive, language and motor development scores. The authors measured aluminum levels using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, a powerful and highly accurate method to measure incredibly small amounts of metals, like aluminum. It can measure aluminum down to 1 in one quadrillion parts, or 1 in 10[sup]15[/sup]. > > Let’s keep this simple. The authors found no correlation between infant blood or hair aluminum concentrations and vaccine history or between blood aluminum and overall developmental status. Let me make it more simple – a powerful analytical tool found no evidence that an infant, after numerous vaccinations in their first six months, showed any signs of an additional burden of aluminum. None. [Another 2018 paper](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X18311654). > [@](#): > > However, the inclusion of Al salts in vaccines has been debated for several years because of studies that seem to indicate that chronic Al exposure through vaccine administration can interfere with cellular and metabolic processes leading to severe neurologic diseases. Children, who in their first years of life receive several vaccine doses over a reduced period of time, would be most susceptible to any risk that might be associated with vaccines or vaccine components. The main aim of this paper was to discuss the data presently available regarding Al neurotoxicity and the risk for children receiving vaccines or other pharmaceutical preparations containing Al. Analysis of the literature showed that no apparent reason exists to support the elimination of Al from vaccines for fear of neurotoxicity. I emphasize the dates of the research papers. Science proceeds in small steps, each building on all the others. It is often messy and uncertain. No study can cover every possibility; no study is large enough to investigate the entire population. This unfortunately makes it easy for the cranks to cite older papers without mentioning that their results may have been superseded. Of course, you don’t bother to give any cites for your assertion. It’s apparently pulled freely out of your arsenic sulfur. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554/40 "2019-01-12T02:45:45Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I mean their are dozens of chemicals in vaccines like aluminum. Forget it, **Urbanredneck** , you’re out of your element! 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-government-been-hiding-information-about-a-vaccine-autism-link/827554.md?page=3)