Still trying to come up with some readily available raw data (Based in the philosophy that there are at least three sides to every coin, not just two and that our government has a responsibility to disseminate impartial information rather than just "sell" a point of view to the public.)  Personally, as I have said, I am on the fence regarding vaccines and autism.  Because I am still unable to glean any similar stats from the CDC or Fed Stat website, I am using data from the Public Health Agency of Canada website; however, there is still a detectable bias in how the data are selected and presented (i.e. promoting the efficacy of vaccines).  Completely objective data (so that I could form my own logical and informed conclusion) have, so far, remained elusive.

Diphtheria:  "Routine immunization against diphtheria in infancy and childhood has been widely practised in Canada since 1930. In 1924, there were 9,000 cases reported, the highest annual number ever recorded in Canada... At the same time diphtheria was one of the most common causes of death in children from 1 to 5 years of age. By the mid-1950s, routine immunization had resulted in a remarkable decline in the morbidity and mortality of the disease. Toxigenic strains of diphtheria bacilli are detected each year, although classic diphtheria is rare. In Canada, there are 0 to 5 isolates reported each year."  (source URL:  http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vpd-mev/diphtheria-eng.php)

Pertussis:   "Since the introduction of pertussis vaccination, the number of reported cases has dropped dramatically, from 160 cases per 100,000 just before the introduction of the vaccine to < 20 cases per 100,000 in the 1980s."  (source URL:  http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vpd-mev/pertussis-eng.php)

Tetanus:  "Tetanus is rare in Canada. During the 1920s and 1930s, 40 to 50 deaths from tetanus were reported annually. With the introduction of tetanus toxoid in Canada in 1940, morbidity and mortality rapidly declined (see Figure 15). Between 1980 and 2004, the number of cases reported annually ranged from 1 to 10, with an average of 4 per year." (source URL: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vpd-mev/tetanus-eng.php)

It seems to me that the current vaccination regime is based more on the government's ability to make the public fearful than on sound scientific principles and respect for the rights of people to give their "informed consent."  Whether or not I believe my son's reactions to his 2nd DPT shot and the subsequent reaction to his 2nd MMR shot caused or worsened his autism is actually irrelevant to the vaccine battle that is looming in some states (e.g. New Jersey, where there is a desire to forcibly legislate a number of vaccines and take away the rights of parent to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children).  I do not believe such legislation is in the best interests of public health.  Why?  I opted to give an infant (who was in limited contact with the general public) shots to "perhaps' protect him from a 160/100,000 chance of getting pertussis (along with a 5 in 30 million chance of getting diphtheria and a 40 or 50 chance in about 18 million of dying from tetanus).  Delaying his shots by a few months to allow his system to develop would have probably not increased his risk of contracting these diseases appreciably.  My son's reaction to the second DPT shot (at 4 months), now precludes him from ever receiving the pertussis shot ever again.  More recently, pertussis rates have been on the increase in our area - and NOW (when he may need it most) he can do nothing to protect himself.  Also, he may now wish to travel to other parts of the world where the incidences of these diseases is even higher.

Furthermore, he also reacted (with seizures) the the MMR booster, so his pattern seems to be not to react to the first exposure, but (like in several other forms of allergies) to react to the second one.  As an adult, he now decides for himself what shots he get and did get his first flu shot this past winter.  You bet I'm going to be nervous if he decides to get a 2nd flu shot this next winter).

While there may be no significant data that proves vaccines contribute to autism, I have yet to see any significant scientific proof to show that the current vaccine schedule is the "best" method of protecting the public or to show that spacing out vaccines, titering for existing immunities in children before administering vaccines, and performing more regionalized regional risk assessments for numerous contagious diseases would harm public health.  More research needs to be done and more unbiased data need to be made readily available to the public.

I admit, I myself have some autistic tendencies (some of you may have been detecting this in my posting behaviors).  My son's way of being might not have been caused by vaccines but may have indeed been inherited from me; however, I am NOT psychotic, stupid, or blind and NEITHER IS HE.  I am capable of making logical, scientifially-based decisions in the best interests of my family's health and now SO IS HE.  We all need to preserve our rights to make such decisions and to compel the government to ensure that we can readily access good data in order to make these decisions on a well-informed basis.  For more information on the issue in New Jersey, one website is the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (http://njvaccinationchoice.org/).