The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Institute of Medicine, World Health Organization, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American Academy of Pediatrics strongly endorse vaccines as a safe, effective, and critical preventive measure against diseases that can be serious, and even deadly.

While these experts and most physicians and parents are confident in the safety of vaccines, unsubstantiated claims that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and/or vaccines that contain the preservative thimerosal may cause Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have led some parents to decline vaccines for their children.

The decision not to vaccinate places their children at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases and increases the risk of disease outbreaks. Recent legal rulings and a formal retraction of the study that first posited a link between autism and vaccines add to a strong body of evidence that vaccines do not cause autism.

By taking the time to share these findings with parents, openly listen to their concerns, and dispel their misperceptions, physicians can build confidence in vaccines and help parents make well-informed decisions about them.

The March rulings by the federal vaccine court and retraction of the Wakefield study are the most recent in a series of findings that refute the claim that MMR or thimerosal-containing vaccines cause Autism Spectrum Disorders. While the causes of ASD are not yet known, health care providers can be confident in communicating to parents that MMR and thimerosal-containing vaccines do not cause autism and that vaccines remain the best way to protect against diseases that continue to pose a risk to children, families, and communities.