Are unvaccinated kids inconveniently healthier?

A newer study looked at the data from the so-called “Inconvenient Study” talked about in a September 2025 Senate hearing. The study says that vaccines, especially the full childhood schedule, can cause more illness, brain and behavior problems, and long-term health issues, and that they may not be as safe as people are told.

Dan Wilson, in a Debunk the Funk video, explains that the “inconvenient study” and film made about it are misleading. The study was never published due to serious flaws. It compared vaccinated and unvaccinated children, but the vaccinated kids were seen by doctors more often and followed longer. The vaccinated children were more likely to be diagnosed with conditions, even if they were not actually sicker.

The new study does not prove that vaccines cause chronic disease. Because it uses the same dataset from the original study. But in science, this kind of comparison only works if the groups are truly similar. In this case, they were not. The children differed in important ways, like birth conditions and early health, which can affect chronic conditions.

Another major problem is how the study counts illness. Conditions like ADHD, asthma, and allergies are not automatically detected. Children need to see a provider and be evaluated to be diagnosed. If one group of children sees doctors more often, they are more likely to be diagnosed, even if they are not actually sicker.

When we compare this study to much stronger research, the claims fall apart. For example, a long-term population study reviewed by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found “no association… with asthma… food allergies or hay fever.” This directly contradicts the idea that vaccines cause asthma or allergies. In addition, a major medical review published in Pediatrics concluded that “large well-controlled epidemiologic studies do not support” the idea that vaccines cause allergic or autoimmune diseases. This conclusion includes diseases like diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition.

The study’s claims about vaccine ingredients also do not match high-quality evidence. A large study looking at aluminum in vaccines found “no associated health risks” for autoimmune, allergic, or neurological conditions. Anti-vaxxers suggest that vaccine ingredients are harmful, but strong evidence shows they are not linked to these diseases.

The autism claim is especially weak because it has already been tested many times. Studies show that autism is mostly caused by genetics and starts very early, even before a baby is born. The brain differences seen in people with autism begin during early development in the womb, not because of vaccines or anything that happens later.