The Children's Medical Safety Research Institute (CMSRI) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

based

anti-vaccination Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

group which funded a number of

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

studies, notably by Christopher Shaw of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, and his collaborator Lucija Tomljenovic, and by Christopher Exley of

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

, which purport to link aluminium in vaccines to autism. The studies have been rejected by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and some have been retracted. A claimed "vaccinated vs. unvaccinated" cohort study has also been debunked. The claimed link between

vaccines and autism Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise, and that the vaccine ingredients do not cause it. Vaccinologist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim a ...

has been extensively investigated and shown to be false. The

scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confe ...

is that there is no relationship, causal or otherwise, between vaccines and incidence of autism, and vaccine ingredients do not cause autism.

History

The group was founded by Claire Dwoskin and funded by her and her husband Albert via their Dwoskin Family Foundation. It was wound up in 2018 citing the Dwoskins' divorce. Albert Dwoskin repudiated the group's activities, saying: "After seeing a great deal of evidence, I have concluded that concerns about the safety of vaccination are unfounded ..The best way to protect children is to make sure they have all their vaccinations as recommended by scientists, doctors and other healthcare professionals." Exley initially declared no conflict of interest despite being funded by CSMRI, but a formal correction was issued in November 2019. Following the winding up of CSMRI, Exley also lost funding from the UK's research councils, and was blocked from raising funds via

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citing a policy against use of the platform for anti-vaccination activism. Controversial Israeli immunologist

Yehuda Shoenfeld Yehuda Shoenfeld (born February 14, 1948) is an Israeli physician and autoimmunity researcher. Biography Yehuda Shoenfeld works at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University. He studied at th ...

, originator of the disproven Autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants hypothesis, served on the scientific review board.

References

{{reflist Anti-vaccination in the United States Anti-vaccination organizations