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Why would you not get vaccinated?

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There have been a lot of questions about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, especially now that it is being offered to everyone 12 and up. At first it was restricted to the elderly, now other groups are eligible. But not everyone wants the vaccine and in fact about 30% of Americans either refuse or have serious questions about it. On this week’s ASF podcast, we interview Dr. Pam Feliciano of SPARK to find out what families affected with ASD think of the vaccine, and answer other questions around the safety of the vaccine vs. the risks of getting COVID. Below is a new article about mortality of COVID in people with ASD.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-021-05100-x.pdf

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That new study on mortality in people with autism…..

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…..may be overestimating the risk of drowning and suffocation in those with ASD.  The study claims a higher rate of drowning and other accidental deaths in people with autism, which is true, but the magnitude of the effect they found was astronomical and misleading given the methodology.  They counted people with autism off of information on their death certificate.  Not everyone with autism has this code listed on their death certificate – so likely this number is underestimated and the risk of drowning overestimated.  The shocking results call for things like swimming lessons in those with autism and other drastic safety measures.  People with autism ARE at a higher risk of drowning and we should all pay attention.   Ways to prevent accidental death in people with autism are needed and the overall message should be the same.  But the numbers themselves are probably a little off.