Donald Trump linked autism to the use of the popular US painkiller Tylenol during pregnancy. The connection, according to health authorities, was made arbitrarily and is not based on scientific evidence. A World Health Organization spokesperson stated that evidence does not point to a connection between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, and that the value of life-saving vaccines should not be questioned.
Read more: What is Tylenol and how is it connected to autism
“The evidence does not point to” a connection, Tarik Jasarevic specifically stated during a press conference in Geneva. “We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I have said, save countless lives. This is something that science has proven and these issues should not be questioned,” he added.
European Medicines Agency: acetaminophen use during pregnancy is safe
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also announced that available evidence does not identify a connection between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism.
The Agency emphasizes that there is no new evidence that would dictate changes to the current European Union recommendations regarding acetaminophen use.
The EMA reiterates that acetaminophen can be used during pregnancy at the lowest effective dose, for the shortest possible duration, and with the lowest possible frequency.
It should be noted that the US president claimed that taking acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, also known in the US as acetaminophen, “is not good” and that pregnant women should only take it in cases of serious fever.
