Correlation Between Increases in Autism Prevalence and Introduction of New Vaccines
Safeminds.org
Autism prevalence increased rapidly in the late 1980s. The epidemic increased simultaneously in states across the United States, indicating that U.S. children were exposed to toxins in a consistent manner across the entire country. Due to the high adherence amongst the states to the CDC-recommended vaccination schedule, vaccines typically introduce a new exposure to children simultaneously throughout the country.
The phased introduction of the Hib vaccine in 1985-1990 and the universal introduction of the HepB vaccine in 1991 correspond closely with the epidemic increase in autism prevalence. A history of the issue with thimerosal-containing vaccines can be found here.
The graph below shows a correlation between introduction of these mercury-containing vaccines (thimerosal is the name for the ethylmercury preservative in vaccines) and the rise in autism prevalence.