Yes, and generally people will believe what they read rather than explore and investigate or challenge. That said, there seems to have been little or no other research into the MMR vaccine apart from what Dr Wakefield had submitted (which was subsequently de-bunked by the medical institutions and press such as The Lancet) that parents could refer to in order to decide whether it was safe or not.
All they had to go on was the irresponsible press coverage, which entirely took Wakefield at his word.
Results from subsequent extensive research means that there should be no reason for the MMR vaccine to be withheld from children