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There’s been an outbreak of measles in the San Diego area, with 11 cases identified and a 12th awaiting confirmation by medical tests. Measles presents at first as flu-like symptoms including fever, but quickly expands to more unusual symptoms like conjunctivitis and an unusual rash. Measles often leads to complications, up to and includig death.

None of the 11 children diagnosed with Measles were immunized against it. This has been attributed to the growing anti-vaccination movement. The anti-vaccination movement largely believes that a preservative used in some vaccines, thimerosal, is linked to an increase in child autism. Original anti-vaccination hypotheses were that the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination was linked to child autism. These studies have been disproven. But, the conflation of worries about thimerosal and the MMR vaccination and autism has already taken root with many fearful parents.

Here’s the truth: there is no causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Thimerosal, which is mercury-based and hella dangerous, was never used to preserve MMR doses. Therefore, you should have every child who can tolerate it innoculated with the MMR vaccine without fear. The three diseases it protects against are all extrememly contagious, and the MMR vaccine has dramatically improved health in the US and the world.

Obviously, you have to trust doctors and the CDC on this information, which might be difficult, since they apparently did let manufacturers preserve some vaccines with a mercury-based preservative. But in truth most of the treatments that were preserved with thimerosal have long since expired (check the table here) and probably should be considered mercury-free.

I’m not saying anything definitive about autism and vaccinations, because what do I know? We were very careful about selecting what immunizations our children would get and when…and my oldest son is autistic anyway. What I am saying is that the potential risk of autism through vaccination has been examined closely by scientists, and the body of opinion is that there is no causation. I’m also saying that the supposed link between MMR and autism is a myth, and an artifact left over from 1 original study with an extremely small sample set and some unacceptable biases introduced into the study has been superseded by larger better designed studies that reached the opposite conclusions. You don’t want to mess around with the measles (Canada recently had a mumps outbreak which seems even worse).

More Information About the Measles Outbreak

Measles Information

The Preventable Plague

Vaccine choices and the San Diego Measles Outbreak

CDC report on San Diego Measles Outbreak