On February 28, 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an article in the Lancet that lead readers to the conclusion that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism in children. Wakefield, who eventually lost his medical license, used only 12 children in his study “with a previous history of pervasive developmental disorders and intestinal syndromes” (Wakefield, 1998). And he further states that the onset of behavioral symptoms was diagnosed by their parents in relation to the MMR vaccine. Additionally, in an article published by Nature Medicine, Eugenie Samuel Reich states that there is substantial proof that Wakefield falsified the children’s biopsies, which the Royal Free pathology service clearly stated were in normal limits. It is also important to consider Wakefield’s potential motives like monetary gain and lawsuits stemming from his article. This being said, there are numerous fundamental problems with the study to diminish credibility right off the bat.
The first problem is that the study only used 12 children, which is too low to provide accurate results let alone to suggest correlation or causation. The second problem is that he chose 12 children who had already experienced the onset of developmental problems and gastrointestinal problems. This means that there could be a number of other causative agents operating over their lives to contribute to these developmental problems that cannot accurately be linked to a specific event (Wakefield, 1998). It is important to take genetics and the environment into consideration, which is almost impossible to do in order to pinpoint the causative source. Lastly, the third problem is that the parents of the children are making the claim that the onset of their children’s issues are linked to the MMR virus. Scientific proof can not rest on the claims of parents, who are not experts in the field. There is a long, thorough process by which many credible peer-reviewed studies have to be enacted in order for there to be correlation between two events like a vaccine and the onset of autism. In Wakefield’s case, no other peer was able to verify or replicate his results.
More recently, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases like MMR due to hesitancy about parents vaccinating their children based on falsified information by Andrew Wakefield. In fact, the National Institute of Health published an article titled “Decline in Measles Vaccination is causing a Preventable Global Resurgence of Disease” that details that many countries are experiencing concerning measles outbreaks. This preventable tragedy can be prevented through a proven safe and effective vaccine. Unfortunately, this is a consequence caused by the cascade of false information beginning with the falsified article by Andrew Wakefield that discouraged parents from vaccinating their children. This is why public health knowledge is so crucial for doctors to translate to parents. The dissemination of this information is not just applicable to this particular case, but across many common preventable diseases and public health practices.
