Many are not happy with Donald Trump's statement linking vaccines responsible for autism. The statement that the Republican presidential frontrunner spilled during the GOP debate stirred several unfavorable reactions towards him.
On Wednesday, Trump said: "People that work for me, just the other day, two years old, beautiful child went to have the vaccine and came back and a week later, got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic," The Guardian has learned.
In April 2012, Trump shared the same story to Fox News, where he admitted that it was very controversial to say but he couldn't care less after seeing a healthy child becoming unhealthy a month later after taking vaccinations, according to RawStory.
Now, many are wondering if Trump is referring to two different cases or was just recycling the same story he shared three years ago and just freshen it up by saying "just the other day." Whether he was referring to two different stories or not, many are not pleased with what they heard.
"What Trump said is not just wrong, it's dangerous because if people take him seriously and delay vaccines for their children the children could get sick," said Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College and author of "The Politics of Autism: Navigating the Contested Spectrum."
"A lot of what Trump says is annoying but this is serious. Vaccines are just about the only cause of autism that scientists have ruled out."
According to ABC News, Dr. Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon refuted Trump's claim associating autism and vaccines citing it was not proven in studies. However, he said that the current recommended vaccine schedule for children could be spaced out.
"We have extremely well-documented proof that there is no autism associated with vaccinations, but it is true that we're giving way too many in way too short a time and a lot of pediatricians recognize that," said Carson.
Medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics reacted, calling Trump and Carson's claims "dangerous to public health."
"Claims that vaccines are linked to autism, or are unsafe when administered according to the recommended schedule, have been disproven by a robust body of medical literature," said AAP Executive Director Dr. Karen Remley. Remley stressed that delaying vaccines increases the risk of disease for a child.
In a statement, Alison Singer, president and co-founder of the Autism Science Foundation said, "The facts are clear. Vaccines do not cause autism. Some people may not like the facts, but they don't get to change them, even if they are running for President of the United States."
