'Science is still out' on autism, vaccine link, new Milwaukee health official says

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee's newly picked top health official told a radio audience that "the science is still out" on whether there's a link between some vaccines and autism.

Patricia McManus, who was chosen by the Common Council this week to lead the troubled Milwaukee Health Department, was asked during a radio show Wednesday about whether the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could cause autism in children.

“I don’t think the answer is yet there. I mean, there’s still people who believe it," McManus said on The Forum talk show. "And so I don’t know. I think the science is still out. I think that’s a decision that these families are going to have to make on their own at this point.”

Her comments drew sharp criticism from several experts in the field, who cited research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.

"Unfortunately, she couldn't be more incorrect," said James H. Conway, a pediatrics professor at University of Wisconsin-School of Medicine and Public Health. "The science is clear and has been reviewed over and over not just by the CDC, but by NIH and numerous studies. The information is clear that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine does not cause autism."

More: Autistic boy's drowning is now a lesson for first responders

More: Companies adapting to let employees with autism shine

Maureen S. Durkin, a professor of public health and chairman of the department of population health sciences at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, said, "The scientific evidence is very clear at this point in showing no association between childhood vaccines and the risk of autism."

And officials at the National Institutes of Health referred to a statement on the institute's web page: "No link between autism and vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based compound, have been found."

In a Friday interview with the Journal Sentinel, McManus insisted that she doesn't personally believe vaccines cause autism.

"I wasn't questioning the science," she said. "I think clearly most public health people, and most doctors in general, believe that even if you have issues with it, the best thing to do is to still get the immunization."

McManus added that she "is not going anywhere telling people not to get immunized." The city Health Department plays a leading role in promoting immunizations and investigates outbreaks of infectious diseases.

"I would like to have more research done on the whole issue in the first place, rather than just tying it to one thing, because I'm not sure that's it," she said. "It usually isn't. And I think that's what happens when you try to nail it directly to one thing, such as the vaccine."

McManus, a registered nurse with a doctorate in urban studies, said she has learned from decades as a health professional that "you give people information, but you don't just drill it in, and just tell them that you're wrong, and this is what you have to do."

"I just don't tell people what they have to do because they're going to make those decisions anyway," she said.

More: Michigan mom jailed over vaccine refusal: Don't give my son more shots

Most doctors strongly promote vaccinations, saying the research is clear.

"Public health officials play a key role in protecting the communities they serve, and promoting vaccine coverage is one of the most effective things they can do to achieve this," Durkin said.

"Concerns raised in the past about a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine have been discredited and are unfounded," Durkin continued. "To the contrary, the MMR vaccine is very effective in protecting children and the population overall from serious consequences that can result from measles and rubella, including disability and death."

In a 2009 paper in the journal Vaccines, two of the nation's leading authorities on vaccines, Jeffrey S. Gerber and Paul A. Offit, concluded:

"Twenty epidemiologic studies have shown that neither thimerosal nor MMR vaccine causes autis … These studies in concert with the biological implausibility that vaccines overwhelm a child's immune system, have effectively dismissed the notion that vaccines cause autism."

Thimerosal is a preservative that was once used in many vaccines, but has largely been removed. It was never used in the MMR vaccine.

The CDC also insists that vaccines don't cause autism.

"Credible scientific studies show that vaccines are very safe and do not cause autism spectrum disorders." a CDC spokesperson said. "While thimerosal was eliminated from almost all childhood vaccines over 15 years ago, the rate of autism continued to rise."

McManus, the president of the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, was picked by aldermen to serve as interim health commissioner on Tuesday on a 13-1 vote.

Her appointment came one month after Bevan Baker resigned from the job after news broke that the department failed to provide follow-up services to the families of thousands of children who had tested positive for lead — or at least failed to document its efforts.

Mayor Tom Barrett had initially selected former Health Commissioner Paul Nannis to serve as a temporary replacement for Baker. But the mayor withdrew Nannis' nomination after it became clear that he didn't have the votes to be confirmed by the full council.

Barrett has not yet signed off on McManus' appointment. But even if the mayor rejects her selection — he has been noncommittal on it so far — the council has more than the 12 votes needed to override a veto.