CDC Updates Guidance on Debunked Autism-Vaccine Link, Pediatricians Report Rising Vaccine Hesitancy
WILMINGTON, N.C. - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently removed a page from its website titled “Vaccines and Autism,” a move pediatricians say underscores the settled science definitively debunking any link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder. While the page’s removal isn’t new – it was initially taken down in 2014 – its recent attention has coincided with doctors reporting increased vaccine hesitancy fueled by persistent misinformation.
For decades, rigorous studies have demonstrated no causal relationship between vaccines and autism. “We are as certain of this fact as we are of the fact that smoking causes lung cancer,” says Dr. Clay Hadland, a pediatrician. “Decades of rigorous studies, including research following millions of children, show that vaccines do not cause autism.”
Despite this overwhelming scientific consensus, some parents remain unconvinced, often citing facts found online. Doctors are increasingly finding they receive fewer questions about the link, but more outright refusals.
“Unfortunately, I don’t get a lot of questions about vaccines and autism,” says dr. Michael Fullmer, a pediatrician at Utah valley pediatrics in Saratoga Springs, Utah. “Instead, parents simply tell him they don’t want to vaccinate because they fear autism. They have already done their ‘research,’ and they have already made up their mind.” He notes this hesitancy is occurring even among patients he has long-standing relationships with.
Dr. Khadijia Tribié Reid, pediatric medical director at MedNorth Health Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, confirms a recent increase in vaccine hesitancy. She reports hearing statements like, “I don’t want to inject something into my baby’s little body,” “I don’t know what’s in the vaccine,” “When is the last time anyone has gotten polio?” and ”I didn’t have anything like (hepatitis B), so we don’t need that vaccine right now.”
Experts believe a key factor is the success of vaccines themselves. “Vaccines are a victim of their own success,” Dr. Reid explains, noting that many families have no direct experience with the diseases vaccines prevent.
Dr. Paul offit echoes this sentiment, stating, “we didn’t just eliminate measles from this country. We eliminated the memory of measles. … People forgot how sick or dead that virus could make you.”
Pediatricians are responding by emphasizing the risks associated with vaccine-preventable illnesses. “I explain the risks of the illnesses themselves,” says Dr.Gabriela Bracho-Sanchez. “I tell them that vaccines are,without a doubt,necessary if our goal is to protect children from these and other perilous illnesses.”
Dr. Hadland emphasizes the shared goal of all parents: ”Ultimately, all parents are just looking to do what’s right for their children,” he says, adding that vaccination aligns with that goal. “The science hasn’t changed. Vaccines are safe, effective and critical for keeping kids healthy.”
