We need to talk about measles vaccines…. Again.

Why RFK Jr is pushing a dangerous narrative.

I am so disappointed, sad and upset that I should even have to write this but I hope you find it helpful.

The CDC has announced it plans to launch a study into exploring possible links with MMR and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This makes no sense considering the research has already been done robustly multiple times before with consistent results as they all showed NO link between ASD and MMR vaccines. I thought it may be helpful to review these studies and frame why this announcement is particularly ill-timed.

Why would there have been so many MMR and Autism spectrum disorder studies?

A putative link with ASD and MMR was raised in the 90s by a then clinician called Andrew Wakefield. The results were misleading, couldn’t be reproduced, the research unethical (for example highly invasive unnecessary procedures were performed on children with ASD) and there was a clear conflict of interest regarding Mr Wakefield’s funding. Wakefield was subsequently struck off as a clinician and the data he published retracted. Unfortunately, this episode did impact vaccine confidence with devastating effects. in response, multiple studies have been conducted to debunk one man’s fraud.

There is extensive evidence of there being no link between the MMR vaccine and ASD.

In 1999, Taylor and colleagues assessed the clinical records of 498 children to see if there was a hint of a link between ASD and MMR administration. They found no such association: the percentage of children who were vaccinated and unvaccinated had the same incidence of ASD. Furthermore, there was no difference in the age of diagnosis of ASD in vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

An even bigger study of 537,303 children was then conducted- of which 82% had received the MMR vaccine. The risk of ASD in the group of vaccinated children was THE SAME as that in the unvaccinated children. In other words there was NO link between ASD and MMR again.

A further study asked what about people who had a history of ASD in their family (ASD has a strong genetic component)- might there be a link there? So they looked at 100,000 people with a family history of ASD and again found no increased risk of developing ASD if vaccinated.

Studies evaluating MMR and ASD have been repeated multiple times in different countries. Studies have even asked is there were impacts of trace ingredients found in the vaccine- there was not. The results have ALWAYS been the same. Just to emphasise this further- a meta-study reviewed multiple studies including five cohort studies involving 1,256,407 children and five case-control studies involving 9,920 children. Guess what they found- NO enhanced risk of ASD from the MMR vaccine. The National Academy of Medicine even performed 3 additional evaluations and again found no risk!!

MMR Vaccines are NOT associated with ASD and a great deal of time, effort and money has been spent debunking a study that was shown to be fraudulent. So why are CDC announcing they want to repeat all this work all over again? Well- we don’t know for sure. However, the CDC are now under the directorship of RFK Jr, Trump’s pick to lead the department of health. RFK Jr has been notorious for years for seeding vaccine doubts including stating that vaccines cause ASD as recently as 2023.

Measles is a very serious and life threatening disease.

Currently, the USA has multiple cases of measles with the incidence highest in parts of the country with lower vaccine rates including parts of Texas and New Mexico. Tragically two people have died as a result- a child and an adult. Both were unvaccinated. At least 20 people are hospitalised and the situation is extremely concerning.

Image of virus that causes measles taken from .https://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/53483356800..

In response to the growing health crisis Kennedy agreed to have 2000 vaccines sent to Texas. Reports are emerging the state is facing shortages of the vaccine so more may be needed. Kennedy wrote an Op-Ed that highlighted the importance of vaccines. However, Kennedy did NOT recommend vaccination- rather he framed vaccines as personal choices and pushed a healthy diet and particularly vitamin A supplementation. Furthermore, he downplayed the severity of measles and wrote about people dying in the 19th century. Given his position as health secretary, this narrative is irresponsible to say the least. Equally shocking are reports of a Texas pastor bragging about how few people are vaccinated in their school. This is not a bragging matter.

Here’s the thing. Measles is extremely infectious and it’s a nasty airborne virus so easy to catch- especially if unvaccinated. The vaccine, if a full course is taken, can prevent 97% -99% of cases. People without the vaccine are not only more likely to catch the virus, they are highly susceptible to the infection which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and encephalitis. Approximately 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles need to be hospitalised and roughly the same proportion of children develop pneumonia. As is that were not bad enough, the virus can also cause the immune system to forget prior infections - a kind of immune amnesia- making people much more likely to get sick from infections after recovering from measles.

Sadly, I know only too well how serious measles can be. My brother contracted measles before he could be vaccinated and was incredibly sick. He spent months in hospital far from our home. I was not born yet but my parents, extended relatives and my brother (who survived measles thank goodness) used to talk about how frightening it was, how alone he and they felt and the hallucinations he endured whilst feverish. It left a scar on my family and I am devastated that measles is resurging when it can be prevented by a safe vaccine.

There are many reasons why people may be hesitant about the vaccine so how we discuss the vaccine really matters. Dismissing the seriousness of measles, promoting diet above vaccines and announcing a needless research study into vaccine safety at this time is irresponsible and reprehensible.

I really fear that the narrative from Kennedy is fuelling the concerns of the vaccine hesitant. We should be promoting vaccines especially at a time when people are dying of measles.