Go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and say boldly vaccines do not cause autism. However, a staggering 24 percent of US adults have negative thoughts about the MMR (measles, rubella, and rubella) vaccine. Another 3 percent are inaccurate.
The statistics are based on a survey of 1,522 people conducted last April by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania and confirm that this false belief will lead to fewer vaccinations and a greater proportion of the population. risk of preventable disease.
It has been more than a quarter of a century since former doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published false research linking autism spectrum disorder and the MMR vaccine. Although the paper has since been withdrawn, the APPC panel indicated that the noise from the subsequent debates would continue to cause confusion.
“The false belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism continues to be a problem, especially because of the increased incidence of measles,” said Kathleen Hall Jameson, director of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy.
Misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t help either.
Study after study has shown that vaccines and vaccine components are not associated with autism. We have evidence that vaccines have been responsible for saving hundreds of millions of lives over the past few decades.
Vaccines are responsible for eliminating diseases such as smallpox, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, and smallpox. Smallpox has also been eradicated until recent outbreaks. Far from fever, the measles virus causes fever-like symptoms that can lead to complications such as blindness and brain damage. In the worst cases, it can lead to death.
“Our vaccination study shows that the belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism is not only associated with reluctance to take the measles vaccine but with vaccine hesitancy in general,” he said.
Almost 6 in 10 respondents know that measles can spread through coughing, sneezing, and contaminated surfaces. However, more than half do not know that the incubation period of smallpox (when a person is infected, before shedding begins) can last up to four days.
The only scenario where health experts advise against the MMR vaccine is for pregnant women. Because the vaccine contains a weaker form of the measles virus, it could theoretically harm babies. There is no risk to the unborn babies of mothers who received the MMR vaccine at least one month before conception.
Measles cases are on the rise in the United States and around the world, with most infections occurring in unvaccinated children or whose vaccine status is unknown. The US has seen 146 cases in 2024 up to and including May, compared to 58 in all of 2023.
Health professionals and workers continue to work on vaccination education and overcome vaccine hesitancy, but the reality is alarming: mistrust of vaccines can lead to preventable diseases and deaths. You can read a summary of the survey results here.
