Moms Talk: Do You Immunize Your Kids?

Welcome to this week's installment of Moms Talk (the name notwithstanding, dads, grandparents, expecting parents and even people with no kids are welcome and encouraged to contribute).

We'll have a new topic each week, and feel free to share your thoughts on past Moms Talk topics.

If you have a question you want to add to the forum, e-mail it to luke.roney@patch.com with "Moms Talk" in the subject line. And we are still looking for plugged-in local moms for our .

Here's today's topic:

The link between childhood immunizations and autism has been debated for years, but the original study establishing that the two were linked has been found to be “an elaborate fraud,” according to recent reports.

In January, BMJ Journal ran a piece calling Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 study as a “deliberate fabrication,” citing inconsistencies in his research. Those inconsistencies revolved around the medical history of the children in the study, including one case where a child had symptoms of autism before getting immunizations, according to WebMD.

A BMJ Journal editor told WebMD that parents may continue believing the study is credible and feel that there’s a conspiracy against Wakefield, but “the rest of the scientific establishment is pretty clear that there is no sign of a link,” according to the article.

Have you chosen not to immunize your children out of concern that there is a link between the vaccines and autism, and does this news change your feelings?