MMR Vaccine – Should Parents Worry About It?
My son is getting closer to his 1-year-old birthday and I can’t believe how fast the time went! I am a proud dad and certainly want what is best for him.
Ever since my son was born, I have thought about the MMR immunization — a combined vaccine that aims to prevent measles, mumps and rubella – that has many parents, including myself, worried about this vaccine because of its “possible” links to autism. I am no expert on this topic, but as a concerned parent, I have heightened my awareness and been doing some research as well. Over the weekend a family member pointed out that there has been a small measles outbreak in Brooklyn. The NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene posted a July 2, 2009 press that includes this statement, “the Health Department has identified 11 cases of measles in Brooklyn during the past two months and is urging doctors to be vigilant and promptly report suspected cases to the agency. Nearly all the known cases have occurred in children who went unvaccinated, leaving them unprotected against the disease.”
Based on this “hot” topic of the MMR vaccine, I recently saw an article posted in our pediatrician’s office and wanted to share it with other parents: Debunking an Autism Theory, a NY Times editorial from September 9, 2008. Here is the key takeaway:
“The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the C.D.C., and the World Health Organization have found no evidence of a causal link between vaccines and autism. …
“Sadly, even after all of this, many parents of autistic children still blame the vaccine. The big losers in this debate are the children who are not being vaccinated because of parental fears and are at risk of contracting serious — sometimes fatal — diseases.”
Have other parents found recent articles or research related to the MMR vaccine and immunization that you could share?
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