The World Health Organization issued an emphatic statement this Monday reiterating the safety of childhood vaccination. WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus highlighted in a video that vaccines are trustworthy and are not associated with autism, a myth that persists among some communities.
Ghebreyesus's statement came right after a significant reformulation of childhood immunization guidelines in the United States, which sparked alarm among health experts worldwide. The new guidelines from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced from 18 to 11 the number of diseases for which vaccines are recommended, including the proposal to separate the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.
WHO expressed grave concern about this change, stating that the new policies are not in conformity with the best available scientific evidence. Ghebreyesus emphasized that decades of research demonstrate the importance of vaccination at critical moments for children's health, and reiterated that there is no evidence connecting vaccines to conditions such as autism.
The international body made an appeal to world leaders for immunization policies to be based on rigorous and unbiased scientific analysis, rather than being influenced by political pressures, warning that modifying well-established vaccination schedules without adequate technical support may put children at unnecessary risk.
