A claim that vaccines cause autism is spreading again, but most St. Louis adults surveyed (73%) say they haven’t heard the claim in the last week. Of those who heard it, most believed it was untrue, but 20% believed it was “definitely” true and 20% believed “it could be true.”
Who is hearing the claim that vaccines cause autism?
Exposure to the claim varied by state and ethnicity. Across 5 states, adults surveyed in Georgia were most likely to report hearing the claim in the last week (47% heard it), followed by adults in Mississippi (42%), North Carolina (35%), Nebraska (22%) and Missouri (20%). Hispanic adults in these states were more likely to hear the claim (48%) than Black or White (31% each) adults.
Who believes the claim?
Across all states, 52% of adults who heard the claim believed it was not true (36% “definitely not true,” 16% “seems like it’s not true”). However, 18% of those who heard the claim believed it was “definitely true” and 24% said it “seems like it could be true”. Parents of children under age 18 who heard the claim were more likely to believe it than adults who heard the claim but did not have kids under 18 (53% vs. 33%); African American adults who heard the claim were most likely to believe it (57%), followed by Hispanic (45%) and White (24%) adults who heard the claim.
Is the claim true? Here’s what research shows
Because autism tends to be diagnosed in early childhood when children also receive childhood vaccinations, some assume vaccines cause autism. In 1992, a small, flawed study of 12 children first suggested a link between autism and vaccines. But the study was a fraud. The lead scientist, Andrew Wakefield, altered study data to make it look like vaccines cause autism. His study was retracted by the journal that published it, and he was banned from practicing medicine. Since then, many large studies involving hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S., U.K., Denmark, and Japan have found no difference in autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Strong evidence disproves any link between autism and vaccines.
Help keep St. Louis informed
Please share the resources below to help St. Louisans understand vaccine safety. This week’s poll suggests parents of children <18, African Americans, and Hispanic adults are priority audiences.
About this week’s report
This week’s alert is based on a survey of 579 adult residents in St. Louis, MO (n = 201), Omaha, NE (n = 88), Atlanta, GA (n = 70), North Carolina (n=65), and Mississippi (n=155) conducted from May 17-19, 2025. Explore these data and more at iHeardSTL.
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Scientific research shows no link between vaccines and autism.
Want to learn more about vaccines? Look for information from experts like pediatricians or immunologists whose job it is to study vaccines. Scientists are constantly learning about vaccines, so check that what you’re reading on a website is up-to-date.
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