EBD Blog

Nancy J. Minshew, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Excellence in Autism Research, told Mark Roth of the Pittsburgh (PA, US) Post-Gazette that she considers the debate about a connection between mercury and autism to be closed: Vaccinations do not cause Autism. Dr. Minshew told Mr. Roth, “The weight of the evidence is so great that I don’t think there is any room for dispute. I think the issue is done.”

As Mr. Roth noted, Dr. Minshew’s statements occur just at the time when the topic has gained substantially greater visibility, especially because of the flap over an episode of the Eli Stone television show. Mr. Roth reported that, after previewing the show, Dr. Minshew had many comments. Among them were these:

One reason that the vaccine theory won’t go away, she said, is the painful coincidence that most symptoms of autism show up in the second year of life, at 18 months on average, and that corresponds with the time many vaccinations are given.

When that happens, she said, “you want to blame something. Something horrible has happened to your child, and it did seem to start around that time, so for some people who aren’t logical and who are affected, it’s understandable that they would blame vaccinations.

“But when it gets to the point that people are seeing conspiracies at the Centers for Disease Control and they’re accusing all these scientists and experts of conspiracy … that’s wrong.”

Read earlier EBD Blog posts about Eric Frombonne’s statements about thimerosal (or mercuritol, as it’s called in the TV show) here and here and an earlier post covering the concern about the Eli Stone TV show. Also, see Liz Ditz’ post on the Eli Stone flap for more links.