Vaccines - I just want to know

To be quite honest, I do not know where I stand on vaccines so please NO ARGUMENTS.  I think we all need to be better educated about them.  I think children get TOO many vaccines early in life. I am not sure if vaccines caused Ava's autism.  I know she regressed shortly after her MMR vaccine.  I wish I knew the connection - for a peace of mind and a baseline for treatment. But, I ask this...in response to this article on the rate of vaccinations and the fact that NJ has the HIGHEST autism rate in the United States, what IS the connection?  Shouldn't we have the highest vaccination rate?  Or the lowest autism rate? I know parents of autistic children and adults usually fall into one camp or another -- but for those of us who are unsure, what is the connection?  Some people want to canonize Dr. Wakefield (the doctor who conducted a vaccine-autism link study) and some people think he is a quack who got his just desserts (his medical license was revoked and his study was proven flawed).  I fall into neither.  I just want to know.