Now that the alleged link between the MMR Vaccine and autism related disorders has been debunked, experts are examining the possible harm that could have been caused by such a belief:
- For one, parents were scared into avoiding the MMR vaccine for their children in the mistaken belief that it would cause autism. Due to this, many children have remained vulnerable to diseases which could easily have been prevented.
- There is also one view that suggests that this anti vaccine movement could negatively have impacted the availability of the Swine flu vaccine.
The reason that so many parents bought into the autism link according to this report is the fact that many children were diagnosed with autism not long after the administration of the MMR shot which is about 18 months of age. Added to this, the fact that when the diagnosis of autism is made, it has a huge impact on the parents who try to seek reasons why this had to happen to them and their child; a vaccine may have seemed a plausible reason.
