--- title: Childhood Vaccines Safe, Says Pediatric Experts description: The latest in-depth review of immunizations shows that they aren’t linked to higher risk of autism or cancer canonical: https://time.com/2942664/childhood-vaccines-are-safe-says-pediatrics-group/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-01T13:40:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:37.903Z article:section: Health og:title: Childhood Vaccines Safe, Says Pediatricians og:description: The latest in-depth review of immunizations shows that they aren’t linked to higher risk of autism or cancer og:url: https://time.com/2942664/childhood-vaccines-are-safe-says-pediatrics-group/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Childhood Vaccines Safe, Says Pediatricians twitter:description: The latest in-depth review of immunizations shows that they aren’t linked to higher risk of autism or cancer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Childhood Vaccines Are Safe, Says Pediatrics Group > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=daa6e41d-ed66-48ed-893f-cc1642b5ebf7&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Study Says Half Of Americans Believe Medical Conspiracy Theories [Watch (HLS stream): Study Says Half Of Americans Believe Medical Conspiracy Theories](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YCDaUI40.m3u8) (2:16)  _Published 2014-03-19. A new survey from University of Chicago shows half of Americans buy into medical conspiracy theories. Regardless of your thoughts on the theories, researchers say their existence have a very real effect._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2014 1:40 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2014 1:40 PM UTC It’s been three years since the [Institute of Medicine (IOM) came out with its comprehensive look at vaccine safety](http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/25/vaccine-safety-new-report-finds-few-adverse-events-linked-to-immunizations/). That’s enough time to generate dozens more studies investigating side effects and risk of conditions such as autism and cancer that keep some parents from vaccinating their children against potentially lethal diseases like mumps, measles and [pertussis](http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/30/parents-not-vaccinating-kids-contributed-to-whooping-cough-outbreaks/). Since 2011, when the IOM issued its report, 67 new studies that included proper follow up periods and control groups have emerged. So the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality requested an updated review of the data on vaccine safety, this time including data on previously unstudied immunizations against pneumococcus, rotavirus, Hib and inactivated polio virus vaccines in addition to the well-studied ones. **MORE:** [How Safe Are Vaccines?](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1808620,00.html) Overall, the researchers, led by Margaret Maglione at the RAND Corporation, report in the journal Pediatrics that most of the childhood immunizations are safe, with only a few associated with rare adverse effects. The group found that the MMR vaccine, which some parents believe raise the risk of autism, does not increase the risk of the developmental disorder. They did find moderate evidence that rotavirus vaccination can cause twisting of the bowels in a small number of children, but the condition can be treated. “We need to keep doing this,” says Dr. Carol Baker, executive director of the center for vaccine awareness and research at Texas Children’s Hospital, of the study updates. “We can’t just sit still and rest on prior information.” **MORE:** [4 Diseases Making a Comeback Thanks to Anti-Vaxxers](http://time.com/27308/4-diseases-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-anti-vaxxers/) Increasingly, she says, pediatricians are spending more time discussing vaccines and vaccine safety with confused or hesitant parents. That’s a different scenario from the days of the polio epidemic, when parents were lining their children up to get them vaccinated against the paralyzing disease. “The major reason the safety of vaccines has become more of an issue recently is that many of the diseases they prevent have pretty much disappeared,” says Baker, who also served as chair of the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations about which vaccines children should get, and when. “So this is a very needed report.” It’s especially helpful as more parents are either skeptical about vaccines, and need reassurance that getting their children is the safe, and responsible thing to do, or are adamantly convinced that vaccines do more harm than good. Many pediatricians have alerted their patients that they won’t see children whose parents won’t get them vaccinated since they could pose a risk of passing on disease to their other patients, including infants under six months old who can’t get vaccinated because their immune systems are still too undeveloped to respond properly to the shots, and children whose immune systems are compromised because of cancer or other conditions. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t advise that its members refuse patients, but some pediatricians believe it’s the only way to protect the children they see. “Pediatricians have to have a conversation about risks and benefits of vaccines,” says Baker. “So we need to keep looking at the studies and the data. Vaccines are good, and disease is bad, and the risk-benefit ratio is favorable for all vaccines. This new study gives reassurance that that’s true.” ## Transcript A new survey from University of Chicago shows half of Americans buy into medical conspiracy theories. So I had horrible allergies as a kid. Was it because I was vaccinated as an infant? I don't know. Maybe it was the mercury they drilled into my teeth. Good example, Bill. The study authors asked 1, 351 adults if they were aware of six common medical conspiracy theories and whether they believed in them. About half of the respondents believed at least one of the conspiracies presented to them, and more than half of the group already knew about three of the six theories. So in case you're curious, and of course you are, here are the six theories participants were asked about. 1, The FDA prevents people from receiving natural cancer cures. 2, Health officials know cell phones cause cancer. 3, Genetically modified food was purposefully designed to shrink the world's population. 4, The CIA deliberately infected many African- Americans with HIV. 5, Fluoride masks all the chemicals companies dump into our water supply. And finally, doctors know vaccines cause autism and other problems but don't care. The most well known and consequently, most believed of the conspiracies were that the FDA prevents natural cures, cell phones cause cancer, and vaccines cause autism. The most recognized theory though was about the link between vaccines and autism. 67 % knew about it, and 20 % believed it. In a LiveScience article study, author Eric Oliver noted the prevalence of conspiracy theories of all varieties in American culture. He said, an obsession with the unknown could be an evolutionarily driven trait, explaining, if you hear a noise in the bush, it's much more adaptive to believe that there's a predator there than not. But researchers say the theories have very real effects. Those who believed in conspiracy theories were more likely to avoid traditional medical practices, including visiting a dentist, using sunscreen, and getting flu shots. And actually, some of the theories don't seem that far fetched in light of several ethically corrupt moments in the U. S. 's history. The most famous of which could be the mid- century Tuskegee Syphilis Study, when several hundred impoverished men were unknowingly given syphilis and then not given treatment. 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