Vaccines and Autism

Wankfields' deformed, troll like head

Origins

A pervasive myth, created by renowned cooker and disgraced former doctor, Andrew Wakefield.

This fabrication was first thrust forth into the public eye when, in 1998, a study was published in the medical journal "The Lancet", alleging a link between the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine and autism.

The journal did eventually retract the study, but unfortunately this happened many years too late, as it was used as the basis for much poor reporting in the news media, and most likely formed the opinions of many a cookers parent(s), on the subject of vaccine safety.

Subsequent studies conducted on *millions* of children have shown absolutely no causal links to autism whatsoever. No tenuous links, in fact, no links of any kind, at all. Ever. In fact, even more hilariously, the actual retracted study states:

We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described

— The Lancet, Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children

Interestingly, despite Wankfield being regarded as the father of the modern "anti-vax" movement, at the time he birthed said movement from his deformed loins, he wasn't actually "anti-vax". In fact, he was instead, trying to instill fear in the public over the combined MMR vaccine. He invented a condition he called ”autistic enterocolitis”, and claimed to have found a connection between this condition, and children with autism, beginning after the administration of the MMR vaccination.

He stood to profit massively from this in two ways, firstly, by starting a "testing clinic" for the illness, which, given that it didn't exist, would have been the only facility able to "detect it", and secondly, by means of a patent on a singular Measles vaccine, which was the whole key to the grift to begin with, presumably selling millions of units after his fraudulent study had discredited the combination vaccine according to his plan.

Timeline of events

• 1988

The MMR vaccine – which acts against measles, mumps and rubella – is introduced in the UK. It has been used in the US since 1971

• 1993 onwards

The gastroenterologist Dr Andrew Wakefield, then of London's Royal Free hospital, proposes measles jab causes Crohn's disease

• 1995

Uptake rate of MMR vaccine peaks at 92%

• February 1998

Wakefield suggests a link between the MMR vaccine and an increased risk of autism and bowel disorders. He says his team have found a "genuinely new syndrome" and suggest the combination might be overpowering the body's immune system.

• March 1998

The Medical Research Council says there is no evidence showing a link between the MMR jab and bowel disease or autism

• April 1998

Finnish scientists find no danger associated with the MMR vaccine, after a 14-year study

• 1999

Research published in the Lancet from the Royal Free Hospital, where Wakefield did his research, finds no evidence for MMR and autism link

• April 2000

Wakefield and the pathologist Prof John O'Leary, of Coombe Women's hospital in Dublin, present research to the US Congress. Their study shows that tests on 25 children with autism reveal 24 had traces of the measles virus in their gut. The Department of Health says the findings prove nothing.

• 2001

Andrew Wakefield resigns from the Royal Free and University College Medical School

• January 2001

The Daily Mail and other papers launch campaigns backing Wakefield

• December 2001

Then prime minster Tony Blair refuses to reveal whether his son Leo has been given the MMR vaccine. Seven years later, Cherie Blair reveals that Leo was given the vaccine

• February 2001

A study by the British Medical Journal finds that autism has continued to rise despite MMR administration being static

• December 2001

A review of previous research, conducted by the MRC, finds no link between the vaccine and autistic spectrum disorders

• February 2002

Wakefield and O'Leary publish a paper in the journal Molecular Pathology, that suggests a link between the measles virus and bowel disease in children with developmental disorders

• 2002-2004

A large number of scientific studies find no link between MMR and autism including research published in British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics and Lancet

• February 2004

An investigation by journalist Brian Deer for The Sunday Times exposes the flawed scientific basis for Wakefield's claims, and reveals conflicts of interest which suggest Wakefield could have profited financially by the scare

• March 2004

Ten co-authors on the 1998 Wakefield Lancet paper issue a retraction and editor of the Lancet says, with hindsight, they shouldn't have published the paper

• 2004-2005

Uptake of MMR vaccine falls to 81%

• March 2005

Japanese scientists say the MMR vaccination is unlikely to be linked to an increase in autism after they find a rise in the condition following the withdrawal of the MMR jab in that country in 1993

• 2005-2006

Uptake of MMR vaccine at 84%

• April 2006

A 13-year-old boy becomes the first person in the UK to die from measles in 14 years

• May 2006

US scientists report they have found the measles virus in the guts of autistic children with bowel disease. The research leader, Dr Stephen Walker, adds that the finding does not show that the MMR vaccine caused the condition.

• June 2006

Announced that Wakefield is to face the General Medical Council over charges of professional misconduct

• 2007

Uptake of MMR vaccine increases to 85%. Department of Health says it would like the vaccine uptake to rise to 95% – a level that would give "herd immunity".

• February 2008

A team from London's Guy's and St Thomas's hospitals study the immune responses from the MMR jab in 240 children, and find no evidence to link it to autism

• November 2008

The Health Protection Agency warns of a measles "epidemic" after cases of the disease exceed 1,000 for the first time in a decade. The agency reports 1,049 confirmed cases in England and Wales during the first 10 months of this year, the highest total since 1995. Dr Mary Ramsay, an immunisation expert at the agency, puts the problem down to "relatively low uptake" of the triple vaccine. She adds there is now a "real risk of a large measles epidemic".

• January 2010

The GMC rules that Wakefield "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant" and showed a "callous disregard" for the suffering of children involved in his research. It also found that he acted dishonestly.