The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District on Tuesday released a statement regarding vaccines and their association with autism.
Metro Health said thimerosal is not a toxin in vaccines, but that it is a preservative that prevents contaminating. The health agency said the preservative has been used in vaccines for decades.
Recommended Videos
The statement said the fact that thimerosal is no longer used in vaccines and the increasing rate of autism supports evidence that the preservative is not the causative agent of autism.
Metro Health said that not all the causes of autism are known, but there are likely multiple factors involved, including environmental, biologic and genetic factors.
The agency’s statement comes after Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood claimed vaccines cause autism in children, although the agency doesn't mention LaHood in the statement. (Click here to view the story.)
For more information on the Metro Health statement, view the full statement here.