Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy lead ?Green Our Vaccines? rally

At a protest rally in Washington DC, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey spoke yesterday on behalf of "Green Our Vaccines" a group that has called into question the vaccination program for infants and toddlers recommended by the government. The two celebrities articulated the group's position, that childhood vaccines are likely a contributing factor to a rise in childhood autism and possibly other diseases as well.

McCarthy, whose own son has been diagnosed with autism, has been especially outspoken on the subject. According to CBS News, the actress and "Green our Vaccines" are most concerned with the schedule of childhood vaccines and preservatives added to the vaccines. Green our Vaccines attributes a rise in childhood autism to an increase in the number of vaccines, coupled with chemicals used in the vaccines that may cause severe neurological problems to a small minority.

Critics of the group, including the Center for Disease Control, point to a lack of evidence that links vaccinations directly to Autism. CDC also points out the thousands of lives saved from vaccinations against smallpox, polio, measles, and whooping cough. Other critics point out that more awareness of autism and new ways to identify autism has led to more reported cases of the disease, which has led to an appearance that more children are developing the disease. Finally critics point to recent studies that failed to prove any causal connection between Autism and childhood vaccinations.

However, the Allegheny Times reports that since the 1980's the number of vaccinations required for children has tripled. The times quotes one critic of the CDC's mandatory vaccination schedule:

In the early 1980s, children were receiving only 10 vaccinations. At that time, the rate of autism diagnoses was one in 10,000. Now, children receive 36 vaccines, and the number of autistic children, according to federal agencies, is one in 150.

[From TimeOnline.com]

Both sides agree that vaccinations are necessary to prevent many childhood diseases. But despite the CDC's claim that vaccinations are safe, it will take more than studies funded by the pharmaceutical companies to convince the skeptics like Green Our Vaccines.