The US government won鈥檛 dole out cash to parents who claim that a preservative in vaccines triggered autism in their children.
Several large-scale studies have failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. But that didn鈥檛 stop parents from 5000 families who believe there is a link from seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, created to help the small number of children who have severe allergic reactions to vaccines.
On 12 March, the judges overseeing the scheme declared there was no proof that the children鈥檚 autism was caused by thimerosal (thiomersal outside the US), a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines. The same court had already thrown out claims that thimerosal plus the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism. 鈥淭he ruling supported the science,鈥� says of the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. The families can appeal the decision, but it is unlikely to be reversed.
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This may not be the end of the anti-vaccine campaign, however. Campaigners have already started blaming the sheer number of vaccines a child receives, rather than a particular one or combination, for autism. 鈥淭hey keep moving the goalposts,鈥� says Offit. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the hallmark of pseudoscience.鈥�
