Vaccines and autism
Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism[1] has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise,[1][2][3] and that vaccine ingredients do not cause autism.[4] Vaccinologist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim and concluded that its spread originated with Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 paper, with no prior paper supporting a link.[5]
Despite the scientific consensus for the absence of a relationship[1][2] and the retracted paper, the anti-vaccination movement at large continues to promote theories linking the two.[6] A developing tactic appears to be the "promotion of irrelevant research [as] an active aggregation of several questionable or peripherally related research studies in an attempt to justify the science underlying a questionable claim."[7]
Public opinion
In December 2020, a poll of 1,115 U.S. adults found 12% of respondents believed there is evidence vaccinations cause autism; 51% believed there is no evidence; and 37% did not know.[49]