How One Changed All

Andrew Wakefield, the man with the claim that scared hundreds of thousands. Through his study he linked the Measles Mumps and Rubellas (MMR) vaccine to the development of neuropsychiatric dysfunction as well as gastrointestinal disease in children. Now his claims sparked fear in many parents and led to the decrease in the distribution of the MMR vaccine.

There were many inconsistencies and issues with Wakefield’s study that led to Lancet’s retraction of the study in 1998. In this article published by the NIH it discusses the numerous issues with the creditability of Wakefield’s study. The cohort Wakefield studied had no control subjects. This led to the debate if the MMR disease was casual or coincidental. A control is an scientific experiment is one that does not receive the independent variable, the MMR vaccine, as is used as a comparison for the data. Without a control in this study, there is no concrete evidence in the linkage of autism and the MMR vaccine.

An Inconsistency

The Indian Journal of Psychiatry reports, Wakefield’s cohort was also extremely small with 12 children with 8 children showing signs of autism. The cohort was 11 boys and 1 girl. The mean age was 6 but ranged from 3-10. It is important in scientific studies to maintain as many constants as possible to ensure that is the independent variable that is actually the cause of the claim. The uneven distribution of gender in the study raises a flag to the accuracy of the findings. Reported by the National Autistic Society boys are more likely to become autistic than girls. By picking 11 boys for the study, Wakefield was further setting himself up for success in his study rather than being scientifically thorough and correct. The study took place in England, where there already was a high rate of autism. The vaccination is given at the same time when autism typically presents itself at ages 1-2 which can lead to a coincidental assumption.

The Red Flag

The large red flag with Wakefields study that the cohort was self referred. In the article by BMJ is quoted that Wakefield was looking for children who are showing symptoms of possible Crohn’s disease and symptoms of intestinal damage and the Royal Free clinic asked parents if they could be put in contact with Wakefield. This shows a bias in the study as not a random cohort of children were picked. Children with a possible predisposition to intestinal damage that could lead to Autism were picked. These children also had parents who believed it was the MMR vaccine that caused their child’s development. This defaces the scientific integrity of the study as he picked children that would most likely support his hypothesis rather than disprove it.

The Motive

The British Medical Journal published a series of articles exposing the fraudulent actions of Wakefield. Wakefield’s bias and selective choice of data was taken place to achieve financial gain. His greed got in the way of accuracy and scientific integrity and set the world back in terms of medical progress and immunity. His fraudulent actions set fear across the world and made detrimental blows to the medical and epidemiological advancements. As diseases that were almost extinct are now resurfacing because of decreased herd immunity.

The Debunking

The centering of the MMR vaccine on the cause of autism has failed to be proven true through numerous epidemiological and biological studies. In numerous studies published by the NIH, there was no direct correlation found to the connection of MMR vaccine in Autism. Wakefield’s claims were redacted by the Lancet. However his study had made major impacts on the vaccination world as we knew it. Wakefield’s study increased the research on the MMR vaccine and autism in hopes to rid of the belief in many parents that vaccine puts their child at risk for autism. However there is an increasing prevalence of the Anti-Vax movement and less parents are vaccinating their kids because of fear of psychological damage. The BMJ reports that in 2011 United kingdom was below the 95% vaccination level to ensure herd immunity of MMR. In 2008 the measles was considered endemic in England for the first time in 14 years. This is primarily because of the article Wakefield posted and the media frenzy that arose from it. This fear prevents the eradication of diseases because those not vaccinating are now spreading the disease in places where they were almost gone. Hundreds of thousands of children in the UK are unprotected due to the fear instilled in the parents. The CDC reports that in 2019 the United States has had the greatest case of measles reported since 1992. The CDC claims that measles is more likely to spread and cause outbreaks where groups of people are unvaccinated. Vaccinations are not just for personal protection but for the protection of all. It is important as a civilization to do all we can to protect ourselves and each other. It is especially important to protect those who cannot protect themselves such as the immunocompromised.

Correlation Does Not Mean Causation

This is the most important lesson to learn through Wakefield’s study. He correlated the development of autism to the reception of the MMR vaccine. However the vaccine has more benefits than it does disservices and it is crucial to the public health of the world. It is important as researchers in the health field to implement fair and unbiased research studies to provide concrete evidence for their claims. Because as seen with Wakefield’s study his incomplete and inconsistent data, sparked fear in parents all across the globe regardless of its falseness. So it is true what they say; all it takes is one.