Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails

by Sharyl Attkisson

“Autism” Listed on Vaccine Warning Label: The DTaP shot, or diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine known as Tripedia, listed “autism” as a reported adverse event on its package insert. It was right there, plain and simple, in black and white, on the label, at the very time when vaccine interests were insisting that it was a “debunked conspiracy theory.” When vaccine safety advocates discovered the autism mention and began publicizing it, the Internet began to fill with “fact checks” to undermine it. Some of the fact checkers falsely claimed “autism” simply wasn’t on any vaccine labels. Others said the listing of “autism” under adverse events should be disregarded as a big mistake—that it was included in error only because some misguided parents reported it. If you understand even a little about the review process drugmakers go through to add a single word to their warnings, you’d know how silly that claim is. Interestingly, the Tripedia shot was discontinued in 2013. Not long ago, you could still easily find the Tripedia package insert and the “autism” mention on the FDA’s website, but it now seems to have been wiped. You can find it archived at the link below.