The World Health Organisation on Tuesday clarified that neither painkiller Tylenol , its primary ingredient paracetamol , nor vaccines cause autism , after US President Donald Trump claim.
On Monday, Trump claimed that pregnant women should "tough it out" and avoid Tylenol due to an unproven link to autism, and also urged major changes to the standard vaccines administered to babies, AFP reported.
In response to fears over childhood vaccines, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said: " Vaccines do not cause autism ." He added, "The childhood immunisation schedule, carefully guided by WHO, has been adopted by all countries and has saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years."
"These schedules have continually evolved with science and now safeguard children, adolescents and adults against 30 infectious diseases," he said.
He warned, however, that "when immunisation schedules are delayed or disrupted, or altered without evidence review, there is a sharp increase in the risk of infection not only for the child but also for the wider community".
"Each missed dose increases the chances of contracting a life-threatening infectious disease."
Addressing specific concerns, Jasarevic acknowledged that there had been some "observational studies that have suggested a possible association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen or paracetamol and autism." However, he told reporters in Geneva, "the evidence remains inconsistent."
He pointed out that a number of studies conducted since the observational studies had "found no such relationship." "If the link between acetaminophen and autism were strong, it would likely have been consistently observed across multiple studies," he said, warning against "drawing casual conclusions about the role of acetaminophen in autism."
During a press conference on Monday, President Trump reiterated anti-vax movement talking points, sowing doubt over standard vaccines including the MMR shot—which covers measles, mumps and rubella—and implied he would end the common use of alumium in vaccines, the safety of which has been widely studied. Identifying the root of autism—a complex condition connected to brain development that many experts believe occurs for predominantly genetic reasons—has been a persistent focus of Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for decades spread claims that vaccines cause autism.
Jasarevic concluded by warning that "each missed dose increases the chances of contracting a life-threatening infectious disease."
On Monday, Trump claimed that pregnant women should "tough it out" and avoid Tylenol due to an unproven link to autism, and also urged major changes to the standard vaccines administered to babies, AFP reported.
In response to fears over childhood vaccines, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said: " Vaccines do not cause autism ." He added, "The childhood immunisation schedule, carefully guided by WHO, has been adopted by all countries and has saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years."
"These schedules have continually evolved with science and now safeguard children, adolescents and adults against 30 infectious diseases," he said.
He warned, however, that "when immunisation schedules are delayed or disrupted, or altered without evidence review, there is a sharp increase in the risk of infection not only for the child but also for the wider community".
"Each missed dose increases the chances of contracting a life-threatening infectious disease."
Addressing specific concerns, Jasarevic acknowledged that there had been some "observational studies that have suggested a possible association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen or paracetamol and autism." However, he told reporters in Geneva, "the evidence remains inconsistent."
He pointed out that a number of studies conducted since the observational studies had "found no such relationship." "If the link between acetaminophen and autism were strong, it would likely have been consistently observed across multiple studies," he said, warning against "drawing casual conclusions about the role of acetaminophen in autism."
During a press conference on Monday, President Trump reiterated anti-vax movement talking points, sowing doubt over standard vaccines including the MMR shot—which covers measles, mumps and rubella—and implied he would end the common use of alumium in vaccines, the safety of which has been widely studied. Identifying the root of autism—a complex condition connected to brain development that many experts believe occurs for predominantly genetic reasons—has been a persistent focus of Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for decades spread claims that vaccines cause autism.
Jasarevic concluded by warning that "each missed dose increases the chances of contracting a life-threatening infectious disease."
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