Vaccine fears still plague parents, U.S. survey finds

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Vaccine fears still plague parents, U.S. survey finds

Children over the age of 5 became eligible Monday for the H1N1 vaccine. The general public still has to wait another three weeks. Nov. 16, 2009. (CTV)

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Monday Mar. 1, 2010 10:04 PM ET

Though plenty of studies continue to debunk the theory that childhood vaccines cause autism, one in four U.S. parents still believe that vaccines might be dangerous, new research reveals.

According to a survey of 1,552 U.S. parents, released online in the journal Pediatrics, many parents are still anxious about vaccines.

The survey found 90 per cent agree that vaccines are a good way to protect children from disease. But 54 per cent say they are concerned about bad side effects.

Twenty-five per cent of the parents said they agreed that "some vaccines cause autism in healthy children." In all, 29 per cent of mothers agreed with that statement, while 17 per cent of fathers did as well.

The survey also found that 12 per cent said they had refused at least one vaccine that the doctor had recommended for their child. Of those, 32 per cent refused the vaccines against meningococcal disease, chickenpox (32 per cent) and measles-mumps-rubella (18 per cent).

Parents tended to be more skeptical of newer vaccines, such as the HPV vaccine that can protect against cervical cancer. Older vaccines, such as measles-mumps-rubella shot were better received.

Health promotion experts have long advocated the use of childhood vaccines, noting that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children risk not only their children's health, but the health of the entire community.

A number of rare disease outbreaks have occurred over the years among children who had not been vaccinated.

In 2008, unvaccinated school-age children contributed to measles outbreaks in California, Illinois, Washington, Arizona and New York that affected 140 people, said Dr. Melinda Wharton of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While vaccine fears have existed for decades, the anti-vaccine movement really exploded after a highly flawed study appeared in The Lancet medical journal in 1998. That study was recently fully retracted by the journal. The council that regulates Britain's doctors also ruled the study's lead researcher had acted dishonestly and unethically.

Comments are now closed for this story

Mark
said

Just ask any of our grand or great-grandparents who lived through the days of losing loved ones to diseases such as polio if they think vaccines are important. Yes, i agree that sometimes big business, profiteering and politics can cloud the issue and raise suspicions. There is definately a large component of that.......but there is a bottom line that vaccines do work.

Concerned Mother
said

The anti-vaccine crazies are killing our children. Vaccination is the greatest advance in child-rearing, ever. Our children no longer have to suffer and die from diseases that have killed millions for countless generations. The arguments against vaccines are groundless. There is simply no connection between vaccines and anything other than a healthy childhood. A mob of confused parents, led by publicity-hungry celebrities, quoting the findings of an erroneous study, are not reasons to condemn your child to pain, suffering and deformity.People who hate vaccines probably buy all sorts of herbs that are supposed to "boost the body's immune system", and never ask if their suppliers are "just in it for the money". A vaccine directly activates the body's immune system, and the folks who sell them are under strict government oversight. The mercury preservative that people fear was only used in one vaccine, it was harmlessly minute, and it was taken out, even though it did no harm.

John - ON
said

It is a smoke screen to the bigger picture people! Pharmaceutical companies for years have being lobbying against the development of vaccines (a cure). It is all about profit margins for these companies, and a vaccine would eat in to their share of it. If people aren�t buying the drugs, then the pharmaceutical companies aren�t making the money. Only until now some people are starting to realize the profitability of a cure, due to the millions of people infected with diseases such as HSV 1 and 2 and HIV. More and more vaccines are on the way, like the HPV vaccine for women and now men. Surveys of this kind are unjust as it is a pop quiz. No parent has the time to read about the questions being asked and then in turn the media hypes up the fear. Case in point, people are more skeptical of the newer such as HPV vaccines, but are ok with the older vaccines. That�s the like asking yourself if you prefer to have a surgical operation done by a 1920�s surgeon over a 2010 surgeon. Cure's are on the way!!!

Winnipeg Mom
said

Hmmmm to vaccinate or not to vaccinate.Do I vaccinate my children against potentially fatal diseases knowing that some crackpots insist they cause autism based on fudged up research? hmmm tough one there. For the record, both my kids have had all their immunizations and I will continue protecting them, not feeding them crackpot conspiracy theories.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

@ Michael - Montreal: While I don't know what the ultimate truth is, I do know that those pointing to an "obvious" link have NEVER been able to cite a credible and broadly-accepted (read: definitive) study. Their position is based largely upon their OPINION; not scientific or medical FACT. There's a difference. Conspiracy theories aren't the answer.

Mike on PEI
said

There is more than one type of mercury, just like there is more than one type of sugar. The ethyl mercury byproduct of the thiomersal used as a preservative in *some* vaccines does not bioaccumulate.One can of tuna contains more bioaccumulative methyl mercury than all the vaccine shots you will get in your life.Thiomersal was retired from single dose children's vaccines in the US in 2001. The incidents of autism did not drop.The last time I checked there were 23 studies published after Wakefield which ran counter to his study, which contained a small sample set and had fudged data. We may not know what causes autism at this time, but there is significant evidence for what does *not* cause it. People need to stop taking medical advice from Jenny McCarthy and look up research links on PubMed, ScienceBlogs, etc. People are putting the lives of their children at risk to diseases like polio and measles, where the odds of fatality or long term injury is dozens or hundreds of times higher than the risk presented by a vaccine reaction. If you haven't seen the effects of polio first hand, look up the mortality rates on Wikipedia. The anti-vaccination movement is like a group of people so busy watching the sky for falling asteroids, they run into the middle of a highway.

Michael - Montreal
said

Why would anyone believe that injecting mercury directly into your bloodstream in safe at any level ? Ludicrous ! Mercury is one the most toxic substances on earth. The ONLY reason it's even in vaccines in the first place is to increase the bottom line profitability of big pharma in the making and selling of vaccines. What about people like the former chair of chemistry department at university of Kentucky who literally put his career and reputation on the line to expose the truth about vaccines and the making of them. Most GP's who will tell you that vaccines are safe have no clue as to how vaccines are actually made and what makes them dangerous. They are just repeating what big pharma tells them to say. Do your own research - make an informed and intelligent decision instead of taking the bait hook line and sinker. Google for the site "Fair Autism media " and watch some clips there made by prominent PHD's MD's ND's and Neurosurgeons. These are well educated people folks with no agenda other than to reveal the truth about the link between Autism and Vaccines as they understand it.Destiny is for those who listen and fate is for the rest.

Sass
said

and how many were asked if finacial reasons has anything at all to do with refusing vaccines... for them, if they have the slightest doubt it just give that extra boast to convince themselves thier children don't really need that expensive trip to the dr. for a shot

Rena
said

Hey everyone, I think that these drug companies are just upset that people are finally waking up to how dangerous these vaccinations are. Good job to all those parents out there who did there research before injecting these very harmful drugs into their children. I am a health care professional are would never inject my child with these TOXINS!!!!

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Unfortunately, if you're a parent, you know that anecdotal "evidence" (from a friend of a friend, a friend of a cousin, the sister of a business colleague, etc.) still abounds, and given the timeline relationship the onset of autism shares with early childhood vaccinations, most parents still can't help wondering and worrying in the back of their mind. We still possess a healthy skepticism when it comes to the science and healthcare industries (doctors, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies). The findings of this study aren't surprising at all; and will continue to provide a platform for certain non-scientific celebrity advocates and hell-bent medical theorists.