What's interesting is that this (Japanese) research finds no difference at all in autism rates where single vaccines have been given, i.e. single vaccines don't seem to be any safer or less safe than MMR.
Even though I offended people last time with a 'hard-line' stance in favour of MMR, I really was influenced by the argument - both ways.
As a consequence I asked someone I know who makes high-quality documentary programmes on contraversial issues whether he'd ever considered doing one about MMR. It turns out he did a ton of research about the subject but wasn't able to get a commission at the time because it had been done over and over again. He's since moved on to other issues of course.
He doesn't have any kind of agenda so I was interested in his opinion. What he told me was very interesting. I don't know whether or not it's true so please feel free to contradict what he said if you know better.
He basically referred to a Danish study. He said that in the UK MMR is stored in a specific kind of mercury. I assume its the same product which the DTP vaccines were stored in until last year. What he found in his research was that, in a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of children who already had a genetic tendancy towards autism, this minute amount of mercury changed the absorption of the measles vaccine and made those particular children more vulnerable to autism.
So my next question to him was, if we're the only country who still uses this type of mercury, then why isn't that changed?
To which he responded that this was the question he wanted to ask in the documentary which was never made.
He said if he had to vaccinate his kids now, he'd take them to Europe to do it (but still give the MMR rather than single vaccine)
Now I'm more confused than ever (and considering a holiday in Paris )