A recent survey appearing in the April issue of Pediatrics shows that the majority of parents agree that vaccines are important when it comes to protecting their kids from disease. Most follow doctor recommendations about vaccines, too.
But more than half of those parents who participated in the survey say they are concerned about serious, adverse effects from vaccines.
Overall, 12% of parents said they’d refused at least one vaccine that their doctor had recommended for their children. Newer vaccines like varicella, meningococcal conjugate and HPV were more likely to be refused than older vaccines like MMR.
The authors of the study, conducted at the University of Michigan say the results show that a high number of parents – 1 in 4 – believe that some vaccines cause autism in healthy children.
This is despite scientific research to the contrary. For up-to-date information on individual vaccines, check out the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University Institute for Vaccine Safety.
Study authors suggest public health officials must develop more effective and targeted education campaigns that focus directly on this issue.
Do you hesitate when the doctor recommends a vaccine for your child? Let us know what you think.
