"Little effect" of MMR scare on US parents

US parents are more likely to follow the advice of their child's pediatrician than to take notice of media claims about the alleged harm to children of the mumps, measles and rubella combination vaccine. Research published in 1998 in The Lancet, which has since been discredited, appeared to show a link between MMR immunization and the onset of autism (Marketletters passim). A new study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Louisville School of Medicines shows that spikes in immunization rates were more closely related to medical journal publication dates than mainstream media hits.