MMR vaccine-autism link: 14 years after the Wakefield study was retracted, 24% of U.S. adults still believe in it
In 2010, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British physician whose controversial 1998 MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)-autism study was retracted from the medical journal Lancet after 12 years.
Despite the retraction and a number of studies showing there is no MMR vaccine-autism link, a new Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania survey shows 24% of U.S. adults do not accept that – they say it is somewhat or very inaccurate – and another 3% are not sure.
“The persistent false belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism continues to be problematic, especially in light of the recent increase in measles cases,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “Our studies on vaccination consistently show that the belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism is associated not simply with reluctance to take the measles vaccine but with vaccine hesitancy in general.”
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In a addition to the MMR vaccine-autism link, a majority of survey respondents know how measles can and cannot be spread. Nearly 6 in 10 correctly say that measles can be spread through coughing and sneezing (59%) and by touching a contaminated surface followed by touching one’s nose, mouth, or eyes (59%). Measles cannot be spread through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person, but over a fifth of those surveyed (22%) think this is a way to catch the virus.
Very few of those surveyed know how long a person infected with measles can spread the virus before developing the signature measles rash. Just over 1 in 10 (12%) correctly estimate that a person can spread the infection for four days before developing a rash, while 12% estimate that the period is one week. The majority of panelists (55%) report not being sure.
The survey asked respondents to select whether a series of possible complications were associated with having measles while pregnant. Less than 4 in 10 people correctly (in blue below) identified two complications associated with contracting measles while pregnant – delivering a low-birth-weight baby (38%) and early delivery (37%). A fairly small number of people incorrectly (in yellow below) indicate that diabetes (7%), blurred vision (11%), and death (12%) are more likely to occur if you have measles while pregnant. They are not.
Most people (57%) are not sure whether pregnant individuals should get vaccinated against measles if they have not already been vaccinated against it. Almost one-third (32%) incorrectly think that medical professionals recommend that pregnant people take the vaccine. Only 12% know that medical professionals do not recommend this vaccine for pregnant individuals. This is because the measles vaccine uses a live, weakened (i.e., attenuated) form of the virus. The CDC notes: “Even though MMR is a safe and effective vaccine, there is a theoretical risk to the baby. This is because it is a live vaccine, meaning it contains a weakened version of the living viruses.”
The CDC recommends the MMR vaccine be given a month or more before someone becomes pregnant, if that person was not vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella as a child.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends two doses of MMR vaccine for children, with the first dose at 12 to 15 months and the second dose at ages 4 to 6 years. It should also be given to women a month or more before they plan to become pregnant, if they weren't vaccinated as a child.