evidence: Viral image perpetuates misconception that vaccines cause autism [...] To vet this claim of causality between vaccines and autism, we consulted Dennis Cunningham, an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Ohio State University. He is on the physician team on infectious diseases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. [...] The problem with this claim, however, is putting the two numbers together to lead people to believe that vaccines are causing the increase in autism rates. A pediatrician and specialist in infectious diseases said that any connection between vaccines (with or without thimerosal) and autism has been thoroughly dismissed through more than two dozen peer-reviewed studies.