Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delays: A Cross-Sectional Study
This study examined vaccine refusal rates among 154 parents of children with ASD or other developmental delays, finding that reported vaccine refusal increased from 3.9% before diagnosis to 9.7% after diagnosis, primarily driven by the false belief that vaccines caused their child's condition. The research documents the real public health harm from vaccine-autism misinformation while providing no scientific support for any vaccine-autism connection.