Andrew Wakefield

In 1998, Andrew Wakefield wrote an article claiming that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism and other health issues, and this article was published in Lancet. The article was later retracted, but not before it caused parents everywhere to be suspicious of vaccinating their children. An article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal analyzed Wakefield’s study and pointed out some of its flaws. To begin, Wakefield’s study consisted of 12 children who were referred to the Royal Free Hospital. All of these children experienced chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder. The onset of these children’s symptoms supposedly began shortly after they received the MMR vaccine. Upon later investigation, Britain’s General Medical Council determined that Wakefield carefully selected the children in his study, compromising the study’s scientific integrity.

               Not only did an investigation into Wakefield’s study determine that he carefully chose the subjects, but it also revealed a possible ulterior motive that could influence his results. Lawyers who worked for parents who were in the process of suing vaccine manufacturers funded some of Wakefield’s research. Clearly, if Wakefield’s study strongly implied that vaccines were linked to developmental disorders, the parents and lawyers would win their cases and receive a large monetary sum from vaccine manufacturers. The temptation of money likely interfered with Wakefield’s ability to conduct an unbiased study. Another article emphasizes how numerous studies have been unable to replicate the results from Wakefield’s study, further suggesting that the data were falsified. Even if these concerns were ignored, the study still consisted of an unreliably small sample size, an uncontrolled design, and relied heavily on speculation.

               Despite the tremendous response of scientists debunking Wakefield’s study and the Lancet retracting the article, many parents still believe that the MMR vaccine may cause autism. An article published by Cureus explains how the Anti Vaccination movement has taken hold in the western world and how it is affecting people. Measles is a disease that should not exist in the US because it is easily prevented with a vaccine. However, multiple outbreaks of the measles have occurred around the US in recent years as more and more parents refuse to vaccinate their children. As vaccination rates decline, western societies are sacrificing their herd immunity, putting the lives of immunocompromised individuals at risk. The Internet also plays a large role in the spread of Anti Vaccination propaganda around the world.