Five years after a scientific paper linking vaccines and autism was debunked and retracted, a poll has found widespread support for mandatory childhood immunizations in both B.C. and Alberta.
A full 78 per cent of British Columbians and 73 per cent of Albertans believe all kids should be vaccinated against diseases such as polio and measles, according to the Insights West survey.
Meanwhile, the idea that parents should be able to make the final call was supported by just 17 per cent in B.C. and 20 per cent in Alberta.
The remainder of respondents said they weren’t sure.
Pollster Mario Canseco said the strong show of support for immunization suggests most people find the supposed link between vaccines and autism dubious.
“While celebrities and politicians in the United States continue to get a significant amount of air time discussing this issue, most Western Canadians have moved on from this controversy and are highly supportive of mandatory immunizations for children,” Canseco said in a release.
The British research paper that sparked the controversy was published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet in 1998, but medical professionals have since denounced its methodology as highly flawed.
Some of the major problems include the study’s sample size of just 12 children, too few to assess statistical significance, and the fact that it excluded a control group.
Though Insights West found widespread support for childhood vaccinations in B.C. and Alberta, the company said the idea of mandatory vaccines for adults was far less popular.
Only 19 per cent of British Columbians and 21 per cent of Albertans support obligatory flu vaccinations, the survey found, while roughly three-quarters of people in both provinces said the decision should be up to each individual.
The Insights West poll was conducted online from May 7 to 9 among 814 adults in B.C. and from May 1 to May 3 among 801 adults in Alberta. Surveys of its size have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentages points.
With files from CTVNews.ca
