Mawson and Jacob report vaccinated Florida Medicaid children had higher neurodevelopmental diagnoses
Why it matters
Authored by Foundation advisory-board epidemiologist Anthony Mawson, this Florida-specific analysis is one of the studies most often cited in the state’s reform debate, and one of the most contested.
In January 2025, Anthony R. Mawson and Binu Jacob published a study in Science, Public Health Policy and the Law analyzing Florida Medicaid records from 1999 to 2011.
The authors reported that vaccinated children were significantly more likely than unvaccinated children to be diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, and described a dose-response relationship between the number of vaccination-related visits and ASD risk.
Critics identified methodological concerns, arguing the analysis relies on billing codes that may misclassify vaccination status and does not fully account for differences in healthcare utilization. Dr. Mawson serves on the Foundation’s Scientific & Medical Advisory Board.
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