According to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly all children who get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (more than 80%) will have no side effects.  Still, despite scientific evidence, there are a growing number of parents who opt not to get their children vaccinated because they fear the vaccinations could be linked to autism.

Last night PBS aired Frontline: the Vaccine War, an in-depth journalistic look at vaccinations, and why some parents choose not to vaccinate their children.

As in most vaccination reports, the idea that there is a correlation between the mumps, measles and rubella vaccination and cases of autism was at the forefront of the discussion. The show has generated a good deal of debate about social responsibility versus parental choice, and is creating a stir on both sides of the vaccine issue.

The Frontline program is similar to a Thrive post from April 14, which looked at two separate outbreaks of measles in North America and the cost they posed to the public-at-large. Children’s Hospital Boston’s Ronald Samuels, MD, MPH discussed the vaccination controversy and his views on the subject.