THE World Health Organization said a new review of global studies has reaffirmed that vaccines do not cause autism, countering claims circulating in the United States.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the agency’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety examined data from 31 studies conducted across several countries over the past 15 years.
The review focused on vaccines containing aluminium adjuvants and thiomersal, a preservative used to prevent contamination in multidose vials.
Tedros said the evidence showed no link between vaccines and autism. He noted that this was the fourth such review, following assessments in 2002, 2004 and 2012, all of which reached the same conclusion.
The statement comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently altered language on its website in a way that cast doubt on its previous position based on scientific consensus.
The shift has fuelled discussion amid longstanding claims by US health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly pushed inaccurate theories linking vaccines to autism.
WHO said vaccines, like other medical products, can cause side effects, but autism is not among them.
