You may remember last month that the medical journal, the Lancet, retracted the 1998 paper written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield that linked autism to the MMR vaccine – it was retracted was because it was determined that Dr. Wakefield had provided false information. (I wrote about it here).

That paper by Dr. Wakefield shaped and/or altered the way many people view vaccines, particularly their connection to autism. To this day—and even with the retraction—there are parents that believe vaccines caused their children’s autism. It has also prevented some parents from even getting their children vaccinated in the first place.

In fact, the New York Times just covered a study that showed one in four parents think some vaccines cause autism in healthy children…and nearly one in eight have refused at least one recommended vaccine.

It seems that the more we’re learning about autism, the more the link to vaccines seems to be breaking. That retraction from the Lancet was a major step in making that break. However, is it really changing what people think? The fact that one in eight parents have refused at least one vaccine is surprising. I don’t know that there’s a pediatrician out there that would recommend skipping on a vaccine, since they were created to save lives. But it comes down to personal choice…and feeling like you are making truly informed decisions.

Wondering…are you surprised by the above survey findings? Let me know in the comments section below.

What does autism mean to us today? It means changed perceptions. What about you?

Best,
Jenifer