· Does the MMR vaccine cause autism?

Autism is a childhood disorder that affects a child’s development, speech and social skills. It becomes more manifest around 15-18 months of age, when children are developing speech and behavior patterns. This is the same time when MMR vaccine is given. In 1998, a British physician published a report of about 12 cases that he thought might have been caused by the MMR vaccine. But follow-up investigations in the United States, England and Finland showed that autism does not occur more commonly after the MMR vaccine is given.

· Do vaccines cause SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)?

Anti-vaccine groups claimed that whole-cell DTP vaccine may cause SIDS, but large studies have shown this not to be the case.

· Does the Hepatitis B vaccine cause multiple sclerosis?

A few years ago, the Hepatitis B vaccine was suspended in France following isolated reports that tied the vaccine to multiple sclerosis. Follow-up investigations failed to show any link between the two.

· Can vaccines cause my child’s immune system to weaken?

Some parents worry about giving too many vaccines at the same time. Most vaccines are made of purified antigens (proteins that scientists isolate from the germ). Most vaccines contain only one such antigen. However, in day to day life, a child gets exposed to thousands of antigens everyday from common colds and other infections.

· Do vaccines produce allergic diseases?

There is a hypothesis which claims that by protecting children from these illnesses, we deprive their immune system from “education” it needs to prevent allergic diseases. However, this theory has not been proven yet. There may be some truth to this “too clean” hypothesis, but the vaccines protect against only eleven major childhood diseases that cause death and disability. There are hundreds of common day-to-day viruses that kids contract everyday.