Medical organizations stress need to instill public trust in vaccines

CHICAGO More than 20 medical organizations have issued a joint statement saying that preventing the spread of disease depends on the public’s trust that vaccines are safe.

The 22 groups, which include the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, concern outbreaks of measles in a number of cities that have affected 131 children this year, nearly half of whom had parents who refused to have their children vaccinated.

A number of groups have tried to assert that vaccinations can lead to autism, which may be leading to parents declining to have children immunized, though almost 80 percent of small children have received their recommended shots, according to government data.