‘Jaw-dropping’ Study Finds Vaccinated Children Have 170% Higher Risk of Autism

The peer-reviewed study also found that vaccinated children had a 212% greater likelihood of developing other neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD, epilepsy/seizures, brain inflammation and tic and learning disorders.

by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

JANUARY 27, 2025

Vaccinated children have a 170% higher chance of being diagnosed with autism compared to unvaccinated children, according to a new peer-reviewed study.

The study also found that vaccinated children had a 212% greater likelihood of developing a range of other neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy/seizures, brain inflammation and tic and learning disorders.

According to the study, the childhood vaccination schedule is likely a significant contributor to the higher rate of autism and neurodevelopmental conditions in vaccinated children.

The study of 47,155 9-year-old children enrolled in the Florida Medicaid program since birth was published on Jan. 23 in Science, Public Health Policy and the Law.

Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist for Children’s Health Defense, said the paper “is unignorable simply by the soundness of its methods.”

“The sheer hazards associated with severe childhood diseases is jaw-dropping,” Jablonowski said.

The paper’s authors — Anthony R. Mawson and Binu Jacob of the Mississippi-based Chalfont Research Institute — hypothesized that:

• Childhood vaccination is associated with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Increasing numbers of vaccinations lead to a higher risk of autism.
• Vaccinated preterm babies are at greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders than unvaccinated babies.

The study’s findings confirmed the authors’ hypotheses. Experts said the results of the study cast doubt on government claims that vaccines are not linked to autism.

“The vaccine propaganda campaigns operated by our regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and legacy media continue to claim that the link between vaccines and autism has been ‘debunked,’” said epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher. He said the findings of this study “completely dismantle” this narrative.

Jablonowski noted that the study was based solely on government data. He said:

“The government has had this data for decades, professing safety while simultaneously refusing to study safety. The facade of U.S. government public health is crumbling, revealing a culprit in chronic disease in this country: willful ignorance.”

The authors of the study noted that government-sponsored studies have not compared health outcomes in vaccinated versus completely unvaccinated children. Mawson and Jacob told The Defender they hope the government will initiate such studies.

Childhood vaccination schedule likely factor in increased autism diagnoses

The study found that, across all metrics, vaccinated children had a higher rate of neurodevelopmental disorders compared to those who remained unvaccinated. According to the findings:

• The relative risk of developing a neurodevelopmental disorder grew as the number of doctor’s visits that included vaccinations increased. Children with just one vaccination visit were 1.7 times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism compared to those who were unvaccinated.
• Children with 11 or more vaccination visits were 340% more likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to unvaccinated children and 89% more likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to children with one vaccination visit.
• Vaccinated children who were born preterm were 258% more likely to be diagnosed with at least one neurodevelopmental disorder, compared to children born preterm who remained unvaccinated. Nearly 40% of vaccinated preterm children were diagnosed with such a disorder, compared to 15.7% of those who were unvaccinated.
• Vaccinated children were 419% more likely to be diagnosed with encephalopathy (brain inflammation), 525% more likely to develop tic disorders and 581% times more likely to have a learning disability, compared to unvaccinated children.
• Among children born preterm who were subsequently vaccinated, the risk of brain inflammation and learning disabilities grew by 612% and 884%, respectively.

“While the connection between receipt of vaccines and autism has been of grave concern to many parents, this study makes it clear that even in the absence of an autism diagnosis, children’s brains are being damaged,” said biologist Christina Parks, Ph.D.

Autism prevalence has grown from 1 in 1,000 children in the 1990s to 1 in 36, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study’s authors noted this increase is commonly attributed to greater awareness of autism-related symptoms and higher exposure to toxic chemicals.

However, the authors said their results suggest the childhood vaccination schedule may also be a key factor behind the sharp increase in autism diagnoses.

“The geographically widespread increases in ASD [autism spectrum disorder] and ADHD suggests a role for an environmental factor to which virtually all children are exposed. One such factor is routine childhood vaccinations,” the study noted.

The authors cited figures showing that the number of vaccines included in the CDC’s latest U.S. childhood schedule increased nearly threefold compared to the 1983 vaccination schedule.

“Although vaccination is said to be safe and effective for the great majority of children, a legitimate question is whether the expanded schedule could be contributing in some way to rising rates of NDDs [neurodevelopmental disorders],” the study stated.

“Any planned additions to the childhood vaccination schedule should be delayed until research to determine the safety of its impact on children’s overall health is completed,” Mawson and Jacob said.

Results indicate childhood vaccination schedule ‘needs a complete overhaul’

According to the study, the impact of vaccination on children born preterm has not been sufficiently examined.

“The possibility of adverse effects of vaccination on preterm infants may have been obscured by the primary importance placed on vaccinations for preventing neonatal infections,” the study said.

A peer-reviewed study published earlier this month found that preterm infants who received their routine 2-month vaccinations had a 170% higher incidence of apnea compared to unvaccinated babies.

The study also noted that while studies have often attempted to connect rising autism rates to specific vaccines, there has been less research exploring a possible link between the cumulative childhood vaccination schedule and autism.

“A link between vaccination and ASD could be due to the cumulative impact of all preceding vaccinations rather than to a specific vaccine alone,” the study said. “ASD and other NDDs could be triggered by the last vaccination administered or by one or more of a series of vaccinations.”

“There is an urgent need for research to identify biological mechanisms and potential causal relationships between individual vaccines, combinations of vaccines, and other potential factors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders,” Mawson and Jacob said.

Hulscher said the study suggests that the current “CDC hyper-vaccination schedule needs a complete overhaul.” He added, “Not only is it likely contributing to the autism and chronic disease epidemics, but almost all of the vaccines were licensed without proper long-term, placebo-controlled trials.”

Parks said the study’s results reinforce the importance of parental choice.

“However, there were some findings that parents may find comforting,” Parks said. “While preterm infants are extremely vulnerable to encephalopathy and seizures, if parents chose not to vaccinate them, they were statistically no more likely to develop neurodevelopmental disorders than normal-term infants.”

According to a September 2024 CDC report, vaccination rates among children born in 2020 and 2021 were lower than those for children born in 2018 and 2019. Hulscher said that an increasing number of Americans are becoming aware of the risks of childhood vaccination.

“The American public is becoming increasingly aware of the real risks of vaccines,” Hulscher said. He attributed the growing mistrust to “the COVID-19 mRNA injection debacle that killed, injured, or permanently disabled millions of people.”

Hulscher said the study’s results “warrant further study by the new U.S. administration.”

Related articles in The Defender

• ‘Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism’ Claim Built on ‘House of Cards,’ Authors of New Review Say
• Parents With High Chemical Intolerance 6 Times More Likely to Have Child With Autism
• What Most Autism Research Gets Wrong — and Why That Might Change
• 1 in 33 Kids Ages 5 to 8 — More Than Previously Thought — Has Autism
• 5 Scientific Findings Explain Link Between Vaccines and Autism — Why Do Health Agencies Ignore Them?