The Covid19 pandemic has brought the discussion about vaccine safety back into the headlines. Although the media makes it seem like a controversial topic that has been debated for the last century, it is not. Doubts about vaccinations only started to surface about 25 years ago, started by scammers and unfortunately spread by misguided media.
Vaccines protect us from harmful infections before we are exposed to them. Vaccines help our natural defenses build up against them. They’ve also been around for over 100 years, so why the opposition?
There were opponents of vaccination as far back as the 19th century, well, when the smallpox vaccine succeeded in eradicating smallpox, their movement died down. For much of the 20th century, things were quiet until 1998, when a study linking autism and the MMR vaccine made waves around the world.
In 1998, British physician Andrew Wakefield published a small study in The Lancet linking the MMR vaccine to autism. His findings were later found to be fraudulent, but not before they led to widespread parental apprehension about vaccinations and contributed to a decline in vaccination rates for preventable diseases such as measles.
Upon close examination of his paper, it is clear that most of the claims are indirect. It also lacks any evidence from formal clinical testing. Even its conclusion said it proved no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Many doctors refuted his claims, and the names of those involved in his research were removed from the final documents. The Lancet even had to publish a prominent disclaimer that read (we interpreted): Please do not trust this other paper. It will cause public chaos and potential death.
But the damage has already been done. Wakefield called a press conference immediately after his study was published, and the media that hadn’t read the entire paper jumped in and broke the news. A lot of media supported him and gave him a lot of playing time. He kept telling parents that, despite his research, they should get their kids vaccinated — just not the three-in-one MMR vaccine, but the single-dose measles vaccine.
It took another 12 years before investigative reporters discovered that Wakefield had falsified much of his research and had developed a single-dose measles vaccine that he intended to sell globally. He just published a “study” that has parents panicking, rejecting the current MMR vaccine and using his new one.
As a result of this discovery, Wakefield lost his license to practice medicine and emigrated to the United States, where he fled England in shame. It’s also a preview of what’s happening today. The MMR vaccine fiasco in 1998 clearly shows how uncontrolled media can incite society to abandon science, as we are currently witnessing during the Covid19 pandemic (albeit this time on social media).
Today, 23 years later, even after that study was debunked, edited and exposed as a hoax, he still has many followers. Because of the fear it sows, lingering anti-vaccine sentiment threatens to undermine the medical profession’s efforts to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Directed by: Harris Michael Brewis
