Over the last decade, autism has gone from a rare and misunderstood condition to a disorder that may affect as many as 1.5 million Americans. Without a clear explanation in sight, parents and doctors have worked tirelessly to pinpoint the cause of autism, but the answer remains elusive. Are vaccines the missing link?
In a recent interview on CBS news, Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former head of the National Institutes of Health and member of the Institute of Medicine, acknowledged that the public health officials have failed to fulfill that duty when it comes to the problem of autism. She stated “ I think public health officials have been to quick to dismiss the hypothesis that there is a link, as irrational without sufficient studies of causation….without studying the population that got sick”.
Faced with an epidemic of developmental disorders in children and increasing evidence linking autism and childhood vaccines, Dr. Healy reiterated the position taken by parents and doctors for many years: that there may be a subset of children who, for genetic or other reasons are susceptible to developing autism following vaccination.
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