Should I think (more than) twice before having my children go in for vaccinations?

I’m reading a good deal about the risks of vaccination causing autism and what more else. What do you think about these claims & risks, are they factual? Would it be better for me to omit my child from our doctor’s list of impending shot appointments?
One acquaintance of mine says she hasn’t let her son get vaccinated at all (he’s over two years of age now), after having had drastic problems as a consequence of her first child’s vaccinations (All formally defined, I’m just putting it naïvely).

(Any professional medical opinion MUCH appreciated)