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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Institute of Medicine
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Immunization Safety Review Committee

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Congressional Briefings
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
2318 Rayburn House Office Bldg. -- 10:00 a.m.
and
225 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. -- 11:00 a.m.

on

Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism

The Institute of Medicine's Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism examines the hypothesis that vaccines, specifically the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) and thimerosal-containing vaccines, are causally related with autism and concludes that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of such a relationship for both MMR vaccine and for thimerosal-containing vaccines. The report does not recommend a policy review of the current schedule and recommendations for the administration of either MMR or thimerosal-containing vaccines, but does recommend a public health response that fully supports an array of vaccine safety activities.

This series of briefings was for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on May 18, 2004 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.