Myth or fact: 6 things you need to know about vaccines
No, immunizations aren't linked to autism.
Slide 1
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in late 2019, childhood vaccination rates have slowly but steadily declined in the United States. About 95 percent of kindergarteners received the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) in the 2019-20 school year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 2021-22, it dropped to 93 percent. While that may seem like a small difference, it means about 250,000 school-aged kids are not protected from potentially serious infections like measles.
Some of the difference can be explained by disruptions in life and medical care caused by the pandemic. But another significant factor is vaccine exemptions, sometimes claimed by caregivers who are hesitant about vaccines. Approximately 2.6 percent of kindergarteners had exemptions from state-required shots in the CDC study.
Staying up to date with your child’s immunizations is an important part of keeping kids—and their peers—safe from life-threatening infectious diseases. Here's the truth behind six of the most common immunization myths.
Sources (17)
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