The end of the autism/vaccine debate?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/07/p.autism.vaccine.debate/index.html
My husband recently emailed me this news article. I am not meaning to offend anyone, just stating some facts I have come to learn from being in the health care field.
-I was in a lecture given by our chief neurosurgeon of the hospital and he said vaccines are the best thing the government has given us. (The second is mandating the enrichment of food products, such as bread, with Folic Acid)
-I have seen multiple cases of Pertussis (yes, it is still around) and other preventable diseases in babies who were not vaccinated. I work in the Pediatric ICU, which is never a good place to see babies, they were very sick.
-I always wondered if Autism was blamed on vaccines because the symptoms of Autism do not begin appearing until around 4-6 months, which is after shots would have been given, since there would be no other explanation?
-Since there are people who do not vaccinate themselves, we need to protect ourselves and our children.
-I've heard a mom say, well, I skipped this vaccine because what are the chances my kid will be exposed to that? I just said, we don't know what our kids will be exposed to.
-My pediatrician told me the same number of children develop Autism who receive vaccines as do the children who are not vaccinated, and there is no correlation.
I don't mean to upset anyone or cause any arguments, but according to the article provided, the case regarding Autism and vaccines has been closed. If you find information otherwise, please share.