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Original poster

MMR vaccine and autism

48 replies

BettyBleue · 14/04/2016 23:04

Hi, I'm feeling a bit anxious about my DD having the MMR jab in a few months. Robert de Niro has sparked a fresh debate, saying he believed it caused his son to have autism. I have heard stories from other parents who said their child became autistic after having the jab. I know that medical professionals are saying it there is no link, but I still have a seed of doubt in my mind. Robert De Niro was saying that he believes there is something in the vaccine that some children react to, that causes them to develop autism. Is this vaccine completely safe or should I be worried? Thank you.

OP posts:
GreenMarkerPen · 14/04/2016 23:04

there is no link.

TheBitterBoy · 14/04/2016 23:05

You would trust the opinion of an actor over thousands of doctors with years of training?

UmbongoUnchained · 14/04/2016 23:06
Biscuit
PurpleDaisies · 14/04/2016 23:12

Robert de Niro has sparked a fresh debate, saying he believed it caused his son to have autism.

Robert de Nero is not a doctor or a scientist.

It's absolutely normal to consider the risks and benefits of vaccination. Can I encourage you to talk to your GP about your worries? The link between mmr and autism has been totally debunked.

SweetieDrops · 14/04/2016 23:16

I'd be much more worried about the diseases than the vaccine. My child, like millions of others, is fully vaccinated and non vaccine-damaged.

Original poster
BettyBleue · 14/04/2016 23:17

Thank you for your responses. I know that Robert de Niro is not a medical professional, it is just that him bringing it up has got me thinking about it and I just got a bit worried.

OP posts:
GunShotResidue · 14/04/2016 23:17

My cousin completely changed in the days after his vaccine... except he didn't have it as he was ill.

Sometimes coincidences do happen, my aunt always says she would have sworn it was the vaccine if he had had it on schedule. That is why individual anecdotes are so unhelpful. There's been so much research into this and no link has been found, there is no reason to worry.

PacificDogwod · 14/04/2016 23:21

No, there is no link.

Now, I have to ask, and I truly do not mean to be inflammatory, so with that in mind: why would you give more weight to an actor's opinion than scientific evidence? I don't understand that way of thinking.

Vaccines, like any other effective medicine, have desired and undesired effects.
The statistical risk of the actual illness vs vaccines is very heavily in favour of vaccination.
End of.
No vaccination protects absolutely and forever.
Not every child with, say, measles will suffer longterm after effects.
But I am very sure on what horse I would put my money. My 4 DCs are all fully vaccinated, including the preemie one.

GiddyOnZackHunt · 14/04/2016 23:22

My DD has ASD and she had the MMR. I do not believe there is any link between the two things.
She was different from the word go. She wasn't like other children at all.
My younger dc had the MMR too and is definitely not autistic.

badg3r · 14/04/2016 23:35

There is no peer reviewed scientific research that shows a link between the mmr and autism.

SideOfFoot · 16/04/2016 18:46

No, the MMR is not completely safe, sadly nothing in life is. All you can do is consider the risks of MMR versus the risks of the diseases and go with whatever one is more acceptable to you. Everything has been done to discredit the link between MMR and autism however I think some people will remain unconvinced and I can understand why Robert De Niro is one of those.

OddBoots · 16/04/2016 18:50

Although I know it has been ongoing I have not looked at the research for a few years as my children are older now but last I looked rates of autism in developed countries were statistically the same for un-vaccinated children as they were for non-vaccinated children.

I know it is hard when the timing seems to match up but there has been so much research that if they were linked we would know.

lljkk · 16/04/2016 19:03

There was a big kerfuffle in the USA recently, some allegations made about MMR.
A film was made about it (funded by anti-VAx people).
This film argues that there's a grand conspiracy to hide evidence that MMR is unsafe.
DeNiro wanted the film shown at a film festival he is involved with.

The arguments against some (?most) of the film evidence are well explained here.

I don't know if MMR is overwhelmingly safe. I just know there isn't any good evidence to suggest otherwise.

lljkk · 16/04/2016 19:15

Another thing about the film DeNiro wants to screen, most the anti-vaxxers discussing it are mentioning mercury as the dangerous MMR vaccine ingredient.

Mercury has NEVER been in the British MMR given by NHS. So... the antijabbers (and that film??) aren't even talking about the same MMR as used in the UK.

DarkBlueEyes · 16/04/2016 19:17

Oh FFS. Really?

lljkk · 16/04/2016 19:35

ooh... American FDA says thimerosol was never in American MMR, either.

Confused

Dtap formulations & Hepatitis B look like the main pediatric jabs that would have had thimerosol in them, historically, not now.

If you're rabidly anti-jab then you believe everything govt says is pure lies, anyway.

redcaryellowcar · 16/04/2016 19:50

I read up about the mmr before my DC got to mmr age, I realise the published paper that linked to mmr has been proven to be incorrect, none the less I still worried about it. I read about single vaccines which are not available on NHS but privately you can get measles and rubella separately, from what I understand mumps isn't much fun but not as life threatening as others. Also better for boys to have it before they reach puberty, but not a concern for your dd?

Heatherjayne1972 · 17/04/2016 07:36

My brother had measles Before the days of the MMR jabs
Was awful. No way I would wish that on a child

There's a reason we have these jabs- these diseases are potentially life threatening

timeforabrewnow · 17/04/2016 07:51

If you feel uncomfortable with the MMR - you can get the jabs done separately - you have to go privately - but that way your child still gets protection.

VilootShesCute · 17/04/2016 08:03

Mumps left a friend of ours in intensive care and unable to walk properly possibly for the rest of his life. Incidently he'd had the illness before and had the vaccine. Just saying, mumps isn't always the mild one we don't have to worry about.

PacificDogwod · 17/04/2016 21:45

In practice, one of the big issues with single vaccines is that a significant number of children don't get the full course and are therefor less protected than they could be.

FuckOffJeffrey · 19/04/2016 15:09

I think it's always wise to question vaccinations when there is any suggestion that serious side effects can happen. I was the same as you OP, I debated with myself if I should get DD the MMR or not. I read up on it a lot and decided in the end to go for it. DD had a very high fever for almost a week afterwards and was quite poorly so I was kicking myself and questioning if I had made the right choice. It did pass though and she is perfectly fine and normal now.

I did not get the MMR when I was a child in the 80's. At the time it was brand new and rolled out first in our area. My mum was uncomfortable with the 3 in 1 aspect of the vaccination (years before the autism link was suggested) and the Doctor refused to give me the seperate injections so in the end up I got no vaccinations for measles, mumps or rubella. I did catch all 3 illnesses and recovered with no issues but I understand that is not the case for all who get these illnesses.

I think the subject of vaccinations will always be a highly debated topic that won't be resolved any time soon. I can see both sides. I have family members that had polio and TB in the 50's and have seen first hand how these diseases have reduced thier quality of life. If they could have been spared years of health issues by getting a simple vaccine then they would have jumped at the chance. Then on the other hand I have 2 friends who's children have both showed signs of Autism almost immediately after the MMR (this happened after I got DD vaccinated). I also know a lady who lost her daughter to leukaemia and is convinced the MMR played a part in making her child more susceptible to it. There is also research at the moment that suggests measles can actually kill cancer cells but I think it still has some way to go. There is also debate around this as if you have the MMR it would be unlikely this treatment would work on you (if the tea search does develop to the stage it becomes a viable treatment option for cancer) as you would already have measles immunity.

claig · 19/04/2016 20:16

Just saw Andrew Wakefield interviewed on an American show about the movie Vaxxed.

Purplerainbow2 · 19/04/2016 20:18

You don't 'become' autistic

LittleMuffinBabyboy · 24/04/2016 14:38

Dear Mums,

I have been reading all your replies with interest as I have been very worried and anxious as I am facing the choice between a single measles vaccination that I have a booking for at a clinic this coming Wednesday and the MMR that can be done tomorrow at my gp surgery. My DS is now 16 months and given the experiences that some mums have described in reaction to the MMR, not just autistic symptoms but also the irritation/upset of their children lasting several weeks I have just felt I was not ready to go for it at the time hence postponed the choice.
I know that this is a hot topic and the vaccine is most likely safe in most occasions so am not trying to rekindle any old debate. I just feel so down and in pain as feel under pressure to make a choice also because we are travelling to see our families next Saturday and felt we do not want to leave our child unprotected.
Is there any of you who has felt in a similar way and how have you decided between the two, the single injection and the MMR if that was amongst your options?
Many thanks xxx

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