No. Large studies find no link.

Decades of research in many countries, using different designs, have found no causal link between vaccines and autism. Studies have compared vaccinated and unvaccinated children, siblings, and children at higher genetic risk. Thimerosal was removed from nearly all childhood vaccines in the US around 2001, and autism diagnoses kept rising, so thimerosal does not explain the rise. Rising diagnosis rates are better explained by broader diagnostic criteria and greater awareness. Some government officials have recently questioned the consensus, but the worldwide scientific record has not changed.

• A Danish cohort study of about 650,000 children (2019) found no increased autism risk after MMR vaccination.
• A 2014 meta-analysis of studies covering over 1.2 million children found no link between vaccines and autism.
• The 1998 Wakefield paper that suggested a link was retracted in 2010, and Wakefield lost his medical licence for misconduct.
• Autism signs often appear around the age when children get routine vaccines, which creates a coincidental timing.
• Autism is strongly influenced by genetics and prenatal development, with heritability estimated at roughly 80%.

The conclusion rests on large population studies and systematic reviews, not simply on one agency’s position. These studies consistently find no increased autism risk following vaccination; an autism diagnosis occurring after vaccination does not establish that vaccination caused it.

• A 2019 study of 657,461 children found that MMR vaccination did not increase autism risk, including among children at higher risk of autism.
• A WHO review covering research published from 2010 through August 2025 reaffirmed that vaccines do not cause autism.
• The 1998 paper that popularized the MMR–autism claim was fraudulent and was retracted in 2010.

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The claim that vaccines cause autism originated primarily from a small 1998 study led by Andrew Wakefield. That paper was later found to have involved falsified records and undisclosed financial conflicts of interest, leading to its full retraction and the revocation of Wakefield's medical license. Since then, dozens of comprehensive epidemiological studies analyzing millions of children worldwide have tested this hypothesis and found no causal connection between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, other childhood vaccines, or vaccine preservatives and the development of autism.

• A 1998 paper suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and autism was fully retracted by The Lancet due to fraudulent data and ethical misconduct.
• Subsequent large-scale studies involving millions of children across multiple countries found no difference in autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
• Studies specifically examining vaccine components, such as the preservative thimerosal, found no association with autism.
• Autism diagnoses continued to rise at the same rate even after thimerosal was removed from routine childhood vaccines in the early 2000s.
• Major scientific and public health organizations worldwide agree that vaccines do not cause autism.

The vaccine-autism hypothesis was raised in 1998 and has been tested extensively since. Multiple large cohort and case-control studies, meta-analyses, and independent reviews across many countries found no association between vaccines (including MMR and thimerosal-containing formulations) and autism, and autism rates did not fall when thimerosal was removed. The scientific consensus is settled: vaccines do not cause autism. The apparent rise in autism diagnoses is best explained by broadened diagnostic criteria, increased awareness and screening, and diagnostic substitution, not by immunization.

• A 2019 Danish nationwide study of 657,461 children (Hviid et al., Annals of Internal Medicine) found no increased risk of autism in MMR-vaccinated children, including in high-risk subgroups.
• The 1998 claim linking MMR to autism came from a paper by Andrew Wakefield that was retracted by The Lancet in 2010; Wakefield was struck off the UK medical register in 2010 after findings of dishonesty and ethical violations.
• Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, was removed from US childhood vaccines by 2001 (it remains in some multi-dose flu vials), and autism diagnosis rates continued to rise unchanged afterward.
• Autism has been recognized as a developmental condition with onset in early brain development, often before the age at which vaccines are given; twin and family studies show very high heritability.
• Reviews by the WHO, the US Institute of Medicine/National Academies, the CDC, and the Cochrane Collaboration have all concluded there is no causal link between vaccines and autism.

The claim that vaccines cause autism originated from a fraudulent 1998 study, which was later retracted and its lead author stripped of his medical license. Since then, extensive research involving millions of children across multiple countries has consistently shown no link between vaccines and autism. Major health organizations worldwide, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have repeatedly confirmed that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism. The scientific consensus on this issue is overwhelming and considered settled.

• The original 1998 study claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism was retracted and discredited.
• Over 100 studies involving millions of children have found no link between vaccines and autism.
• The World Health Organization, CDC, and other major health organizations confirm vaccines do not cause autism.
• Autism spectrum disorder is believed to have genetic and environmental factors, but vaccines are not among them.
• Vaccines undergo rigorous testing for safety and efficacy before approval.