Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism: Latest Panel

Once again, a panel of experts has determined that a vaccine isn’t to blame for autism—but the latest findings aren’t likely to sway those who disagree, notes the New York Times. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, at the center of the debate, “doesn’t cause autism, and the evidence is overwhelming that it doesn’t,” says the chairwoman of the panel, convened by the Institute of Medicine. Rather, some children may have underlying problems that are simply brought to the forefront after receiving a vaccine.

The government requested the organization investigate vaccine safety for the twelfth time in 25 years, this time over questions of compensation for those who say vaccines harmed them. “In some metabolically vulnerable children, receiving vaccines may be the largely nonspecific ‘last straw’" that reveals existing problems, the panel reported. But doubters remain unconvinced. “I think this report says that the science is inadequate, and yet we’re giving more and more vaccines to our kids, and we really don’t know what their safety profile is,” says the head of a group that claims there’s a link between vaccines and autism. (More vaccines stories.)