Ever since vaccinations were invented, they have served to build up the body’s immune system and protect against deathly diseases. Vaccinations have effectively proved that they do indeed help prevent cases of disease. In fact, they have saved millions of lives! However, when Andrew Wakefield presented his case finding that there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, parents started to reconsider the idea of vaccinating their children. Even though Wakefield’s research was later disproved, his proposal has greatly affected our society today. He has created a vaccine scare among parents throughout the world and vaccination rates have gone down significantly ever since 1998.
Andrew Wakefield’s study was done on twelve children of whom were all previously selected. First of all, that small of a sample size does not determine a cause and effect relationship, and for an experiment to be effective, he cannot select his participants. The children were at his son’s birthday party, and he actually paid them for their blood samples. It was also revealed that his research was secretly being funded by lawyers engaged with parents to make a case against the MMR vaccine. Other independent scientists were not able to verify his research which led to his research being retracted in the Lancet twelve years later. Wakefield’s motives are proven in his unethical research. He presented false data with one goal in mind, money.
Andrew Wakefield’s case series unfortunately caused a nationwide commotion that I am almost certain will never go away. Thanks to Wakefield, parents are now afraid to vaccinate their children because they fear that they will develop autism. There has been a significant decline in the number of children receiving the MMR vaccine as a result, and therefore, there are still outbreaks of the mumps, measles, and varicella viruses around our world today. According to research, these diseases can be prevented with the effective vaccine. If Wakefield had not presented his research, we would be close to having these diseases gone. But, with this irrational fear, measles, mumps, and varicella viruses are reoccurring in those who are not vaccinated putting others at risk of disease.
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