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United States Andrew Wakefield and the fabricated history of the alleged vaccine-autism link
The claim that vaccines cause autism is entirely false.
Extensive research has consistently shown no link between vaccines and autism. In reality, our current understanding of autism suggests that there is a strong genetic component and that autism may start developing in utero during fetal development.
The myth originated from a 1998 paper published in the Lancet by Andrew Wakefield, a former British gastroenterologist who is considered the “father of the anti-vaccine movement” and has done irreparable harm to public health.
Since this paper, he has lost his medical license due to rampant fraud and ethical violations, and has fled to the US to continue to propagate anti-vaccine myths in the form of books, speaking engagements, and aligning with prominent celebrities that have been convinced of these lies.
It is critically important that we continue to correct anyone who is spreading this myth, whether they are doing so unintentionally or not. These unfounded concerns about vaccines are causing vaccine-preventable illnesses to re-emerge at a concerning rate, including measles. Read more about measles here.
The vaccine-autism link was entirely fabricated by Andrew Wakefield
Wakefield’s study claimed to find a link between the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. It suggested that the vaccine caused a series of events leading to autism, including intestinal damage.
The methods were riddled with flaws: The study involved only 12 children, a very small sample size. More than that, these children were pre-selected and the data were based on stories from parents of the children. These methods should never have stood up to scrutiny.
The paper manipulated data: The ‘study’ included falsified data to support the claim, and purposefully excluded data that did not support his claims. Indeed, there was not a single data point that had not been manipulated in some way. In 2004, 10 of the 13 authors retracted the interpretation of the study, and the paper was subsequently retracted by the Lancet itself, but not until 2010.
The prestige of the The Lancet gave additional credibility to the claims made by Wakefield. As a result, this paper has caused irreparable damage to public health measures related to vaccination. Since the late 1990s, declines in vaccines, not just limited to MMR, have led to outbreaks of preventable illnesses. In addition, many prominent celebrities have propagated these myths, which have allowed them to continue to circulate and impact vaccination rates globally.
Andrew Wakefield had personal financial motivations
Like with most instances of fraud, there was personal motives. Like usual, it was about money. Andrew Wakefield stood to make millions of dollars if he eroded trust in the existed MMR vaccine. A vaccine, if you remember from my articles on measles, had led to plummeting measles cases and saves millions of lives.
His “‘study’ was funded by personal injury lawyers who were building a case against MMR vaccine manufacturers. Wakefield was paid €435,000 (the equivalent of over $527,000 USD) to help give credibility to the lawsuit.
He was in the process of developing his own vaccine, from which he would financially profit. His vaccine would have competed against the MMR vaccine, and thus, he wanted to create distrust in the existing MMR vaccine.
He also planned to develop a fake test-kit for consumers to diagnose autism-related enterocolitis (estimated at $44 million/year revenue).
All of these were substantial financial incentives for Wakefield to ‘find’ a link between MMR vaccines and autism.
The Lancet fully retracted the paper in 2010. Wakefield was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and lost his medical license. Investigative reporting by journalist Brian Deer really exposed the full scope of Wakefield’s fraud. In addition to the falsification and manipulation of data, Wakefield had performed unnecessary and invasive medical procedures on children, breaching ethical standards.
This perception of credibility and the delay in retracting the paper has led to long-term public health consequences.
Almost immediately following the publication of this paper, studies upon studies were released refuting the claims made by Wakefield. However, the horse was out of the barn by then. The study was seized upon by individuals like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Children’s Health Defense, exploiting the vulnerability of parents and scaring them out of vaccinating their children. This paper was the foundation for the ongoing erosion of confidence in vaccines, leading to declining vaccination rates and subsequent outbreaks of measles and other diseases. It also contributed to ongoing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
Copious data have been put forth since the Wakefield paper, and to date, there is ZERO evidence linking MMR (or any other vaccine) to autism. And that’s not for lack of trying. In 2002, Wakefield also tried to make claims related to the Varicella vaccine.
Key studies refuting the false claims:
1999 Epidemiological Study: An epidemiological analysis of 498 children with autism or autism-like disorder for individuals prior to MMR introduction and after in North Thames region of UK. The prevalence of autism was the same between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Age of diagnosis did not differ, and onset of symptoms of autism were not temporally linked to receipt of MMR vaccination.
2002 Population-Level Cohort Study: This retrospective cohort study included 537,303 children representing 2,129,864 person-years of study and spanned 1991 and 1998. 82% of the children had received MMR vaccination, and autism outcomes were compared among groups. The risk of autism in the group of vaccinated children was the same as that in unvaccinated children. Similar to the study above, there was no association between the age at the time of vaccination, the time since vaccination, or the date of vaccination and the development of autism.
2019 Population-Level Cohort Study: A large-scale population-wide cohort study involving over 650,000 children. A total of 657,461 children were included, born from 1999 to 2010 who were followed up between 2000 and 2013 to an average of 8.6 years of age. In Denmark, children receive dose 1 at 15 months, and dose 2 at age 4 (prior to 2008, age 12). Of the entire cohort, about 1% of the children were diagnosed with autism at 6-7 years of age. When comparing vaccinated vs unvaccinated, there was NO link between MMR and autism. There was a genetic link to autism, though.
2014 Systematic Review: A comprehensive systematic review of 338 studies, inclusive of millions of subjects. The review revealed no increased risk of autism following the MMR vaccine.
Subsequent studies and meta-analysis have corroborated these findings that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism.
Vaccines save lives, and Andrew Wakefield has caused irreparable harm to public health.
Vaccines are critical for public health, providing protection against countless diseases that we were previously vulnerable to. While these claims sound scary, remember that they are based entirely on lies. While celebrity voices continue to repeat these lies, it is not the reality. And indeed, autism existed well before vaccines did: we just didn’t have diagnostic criteria to adequately recognize it.
Please, stop listening to the likes of RFK Jr., Jenny McCarthy, Robert DeNiro, Joe Rogan, Jessica Biel, Jim Carrey, Rob Schneider, Kirstie Alley, and others. Notoriety is not expertise. We must rely on scientific consensus and expert recommendations when making healthcare decisions, not scary-sounded messages that you might hear from people online.
The harm of these fear-laden messages circulating online, propped up by other social media accounts is rearing its head. Measles cases are popping up everywhere. Since my last post on measles, there are new outbreaks in Chicago, California, Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana, and now even Canada. These outbreaks are a direct result of anti-vaccine rhetoric and reduced MMR vaccinations rates.
This doesn’t have to be the state of affairs in our society, especially when we declared measles eliminated 24 years ago. We all have parts to play here, and that includes making sure you and your loved ones protect themselves and their communities against communicable illnesses.
If you know someone who is hesitant or resistant to the MMR vaccine or vaccine in general, please send them my way; I’d be happy to address legitimate concerns.
Thank you for supporting evidence-based science communication. With outbreaks of preventable diseases, refusal of evidence-based medical interventions, roadblocks to scientific progress that improve food and crop sustainability, it’s needed now more than ever.
Your local immunologist,
Andrea
Dr. Andrea Love, a microbiologist and immunologist, is a public health consultant and science communicator. Follow her at ImmunoLogic and read her articles on Substack. Find Andrea on X @dr_andrealove
A version of this article was originally posted at Dr. Andrea Love’s blog ImmunoLogic and is reposted here with permission. Any reposting should credit both the GLP and the original article.
