Conor McGregor has sparked widespread discussion with his latest remarks on social media that delve into the controversial link between autism and vaccines.
On Wednesday, McGregor tweeted about a talk he had during a trip to the US with Robert F Kennedy Jr, a notable figure in the anti-vaccine movement, concerning this contentious issue, reports the Irish Mirror.
"I had lengthy meetings with @RobertKennedyJr on autism and vaccines while in the USA and it was shocking to say the least. 1 in 20 of our children in Ireland are affected with Autism. 1 in 20! Staggering!
"That is over 30,000 families affected, not including extended family and friends who play their role in supporting daily.
"RFK is on this case heavily and is only warming up! I am in firm support of him in uncovering the full truth on autism and its root cause.
"There will be major repercussions for what has been done to families across the world, and it will be in our lifetime! You will not mess with parents and their children and get away with it! That is point blank! God knows!"
Later, he posed a question to his followers, suggesting further speculation on the matter: "I wonder is there a person in the world with autism, who was not vaccinated whatsoever, nor their mother vaccinated during the pregnancy term etc."
McGregor added to his query by invoking the name of Kennedy Jr: "I wonder if there is one such case to disprove the vaccine connection to autism theory?" he penned, tagging Kennedy once more in his profound post.
US Health Secretary RFK Jr. is known for his vaccine scepticism. He has raised questions about vaccines' validity, effectiveness, and safety over many years.
The controversy around the autism-vaccine link gained traction in the late 90s following a study by British physician Andrew Wakefield, which suggested a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Subsequent research exposed the data from Wakefield's study as fraudulent, leading to his removal from the UK medical register.
Despite thorough research debunking the initial discredited study, misconceptions about vaccines and autism remain widespread.
President Trump last month drew attention to the growing prevalence of autism among children, instructing Kennedy during a congressional address to investigate the matter.
"Not long ago, you can't even believe these numbers – one in 10,000 children had autism," mentioned Trump.
"Now it's one in 36. There's something wrong. One in 36 think of that. So we're going to find out what it is. And there's nobody better than Bobby.
"Good luck. It's a very important job."
However, while a 2020 study did indicate an autism rate of 1 in 36, President Trump inaccurately cited the historical figure, which was actually 1 in 150, not 1 in 10,000.
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English (United States) ·