Are autism rates in Australia surging due to COVID-19 vaccines?!

Are autism rates in Australia surging due to COVID-19 vaccines?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Autism Rates In Australia Are Surging Due To COVID-19 Vaccines!

People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claimed or suggested that autism rates in Australia are surging due to COVID-19 vaccines!

Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Autism Rates Surging in Fully Vaccinated Australia, 25% of Children Now Officially ‘Disabled’

Autism and disability rates have exploded in Australia in recent years, with an astonishing 25% of young children now officially registered as “disabled,” according to government statistics.

Recommended : Ryan’s Autism Journey – How To Be The Miracle!

 

Truth : Autism Rates In Australia Are Not Surging Due To COVID-19 Vaccines!

This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Guardian Article Did Not Claim Vaccines Cause Rise In Autism!

Let me start by quickly pointing out that the Guardian article called “How the risk of autism and ADHD fractured Australia’s schools” did not claim that COVID-19 vaccines, or any vaccine for the fact, caused the rise in autism in Australia.

In fact, the article pointed out that the national disability insurance scheme was a key driver of the growth [of students with disabilities], as well as changes to how schools assess disability for reporting purposes.

Nowhere in the article was it ever suggested that doctors are baffled about the growth of students with autism and disabilities in Australia. Neither did it even suggest that vaccines might be the cause!

Perhaps that’s why The People’s Voice article did not provide a link to the article? After all, anyone who reads the article will realise vaccines were never mentioned in the entire article, much less blamed for the rise in disabilities or autism in Australia!

Fact #2 : Australia Autism Rates Have Been Rising Before COVID-19 Vaccines

More importantly, the rate of autism in Australia has been steadily increasing year-on-year since 2004 – more than 16 years before the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved!

Obviously, the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 could not have possibly caused the yearly increase in autism diagnoses in Australia… unless they have a time machine???

The truth is – the increase in autism diagnoses in Australia has nothing to do with COVID-19 vaccines.

Recommended : Pfizer Vaccine Causes Autism? Rats Are Not Mini Humans!

Fact #3 : Only 4% Of Young Students Have Autism

Just in case you misread the clickbait title and thought that 25% of children in Australia have autism, that’s not true.

The Guardian article pointed out about 4% of young students (7 to 14 year olds) have a primary diagnosis of autism, while 6%-10% of children have ADHD.

Even if you combine both disabilities together, they only make up less than 15%. Nowhere close to 25% for sure!

Fact #4 : Autism Rates Have Been Going Up For Decades

The rise in autism diagnoses isn’t exclusive to Australia either. Thanks to greater awareness and screening, a change in diagnostic criteria, as well as greater access to healthcare services, more children with autism are being diagnosed all across the world.

This increase in autism diagnoses is also not related to COVID-19 vaccines, as they have been increasing since 2000, as this chart shows. It is simply not possible for COVID-19 vaccines, which were only approved at the end of 2020 or early 2021, to go back in time and cause autism…

Recommended : Did New Study Show Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Causes Autism?!

Fact #5 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News

The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.

Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice.  Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | HealthTech ARP

 

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Leave a ReplyCancel reply