Dec 20, 2025
3 min read
Over the past 5 years, major vaccines against 14 diseases have saved at least 154 million lives, demonstrating the best return on investment in health beyond safety.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Expert Committee on Vaccine Safety has concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) based on the available evidence, once again providing a solid rebuttal to those who notoriously and without evidence claim that vaccines cause autism.
Of course, anti-vaccine groups will again question the conclusions reached by this panel of experts, arguing that their members serve economic interests, an assumption that, like the claim that vaccines cause autism, has no support for them.
The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety was established in 1999, bringing together international experts who provide WHO with independent scientific advice on global priorities related to vaccine safety in an ethical manner.
To reach this conclusion, the advisors analyzed data provided by several countries, from 31 basic research studies, published between January 2010 and August 2025, which allowed them to state that:
- There is no link between vaccines containing thiomersal (an organomercuric compound used as an antiseptic and preservative in various medical and pharmaceutical products) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
- The safety profile of vaccines administered during childhood and pregnancy shows no causal relationship between vaccines and ASD.
- Vaccines made with aluminum do not represent a health risk because there is no connection between the amount of aluminum used in some vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Some interesting facts about autism
- Autism - also known as autism spectrum disorder - brings together a number of different conditions related to brain development, and although characteristics can be detected in early childhood, they are often not diagnosed until much later in life.
- Autism is characterized by certain difficulties in social interaction and communication.Other signs are atypical activity and behavior patterns;for example, difficulty moving from one activity to another, high attention to detail, and unusual reactions to feelings.
- About 62 million people worldwide have an autism spectrum disorder.
- The average prevalence shows that 1 in every 127 people is autistic.
- The level of intellectual functioning among people with autism is very different, and can range from severe disability to functional ability.It is estimated that about 50% of people with autism have an intellectual disability.
- It is not easy to detect autism before the age of two.
- Characteristics of the disorder include delays or regression in the development of language and social skills and repetitive behavior patterns.
- Scientific studies suggest that autism can be caused by: exposure to certain environmental factors, family history of autism, advanced parental age, maternal diabetes during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to air pollutants or certain heavy metals, premature birth, serious complications during birth and low birth weight.
- Autism is not a result of parenting or vaccinations and vaccine partials, it is not acquired in food.It is not contagious and cannot be transferred to others.
autism in our country
We do not have a precise number of people living with autism spectrum disorders in Mexico, because there is no national registry that includes all ages, nor have formal studies been carried out to determine their prevalence.On the other hand, the number of those who receive care for this reason is so low that it does not reflect reality.
The vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus infection is also under attack
It is worth remembering that, despite its undeniable value in preventing cervical cancer, the human papilloma vaccine has also been one of the favorite targets of anti-vaccine movements, despite the fact that this malignant neoplasm is the fourth most common in women worldwide, and in most cases it can be prevented by vaccination.
How do we judge whether the news is fake?
Fake news against vaccines will continue, so it is necessary to verify the authenticity of dubious news according to the following five basic recommendations:
- Be aware that fake news often have scary, exaggerated, scary headlines without explanation.
- Validate information in authoritative sources such as national and international public health organizations, scientific societies, and proven quality, rigor and ethics.
- Check the context of the content (text and images) because fake news producers, in addition to inventing the content, use images from other stories unrelated to what they are publishing.
- When you click on an image published online, the option "search image on Google" will appear.This allows us to verify its origin and check if it has already been used and where.
- We encourage you to verify your posts using the FactCheck.org website or any other organization's tools where you can verify their authenticity or falsity.
It is important not to automatically copy any alarmist, exaggerated and obviously false news - considering that some of them are created with great care, apparent seriousness and the best resources to deceive us - without first verifying its authenticity, if we do, we will become part of the chain of corruption, innocently collaborating with the criminal group.
Author: Manuel Garrod, member of the codeF editorial board
World Health Organization (11 December 2025).
A new analysis by WHO experts confirms that there is no link between vaccines and autism.
World Health Organization.(s.f.).
Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety.
World Health Organization.(September 17, 2025).
World Defense Organization.(September 24, 2025).
WHO information on autism-related issues.
codeF.(November 27, 2025).
We eliminate cervical cancer.
codeF.(6 January 2025).
Who is behind the fake news... and why?
