Mr Vaccine And Autism Case Study

Andrew Wakefield is a former gastroenterologist and medical researcher who was discharged from his medical register in the UK, because of his dishonest research paper he released back in 1998, that analysed a possible link between measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the presence of autism and bowel disease (Godlee, F., et al, 2011). Wakefield's research generated a substantial scare for the MMR vaccine and MMR vaccination rates began to drop because parents were concerned about the risk of autism after vaccination (DeStefano, F., Chen, R.T., 1999). After the paper was published by the Lancet medical newspaper, other reviews were trying to repeat Wakefield's conclusions,

“Shut up, I’m crying.” I can hear her from across the cafeteria. This girl is the most annoying thing in the entire world. She literally only missed one point and she’s crying about it. Newsflash, it's not the end of the world. She does this all the time, it makes me want to strangle her! I can’t believe that someone hasn’t done it yet. She fits almost every stereotype at one time. Carrie is the perfect girl for the first five minutes of a horror movie. Little Miss Perfect Carrie, never got below a hundred until today.

In 1998, the British medical journal called The Lancet published a controversial research paper written by Andrew Wakefield. In the research paper “Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children, ” Andrew Wakefield et al. attempted to link MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) vaccinations and autism. Nevertheless, the paper seemed to successfully do that. However, this was not known was at the time was Wakefield had tampered with the findings. Furthermore, this was brought to light in 2004 by British journalist Brian Deer. In 2011, thirteen years after The Lancet published the paper, and seven years after Brian Deer exposed the paper. The Lancet finally retracted the article. A common theory

Andrew Wakefield and other 12 co-authors published a study in the Lancet in 1998 that suggested a relationship between measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and autism. In other words, Wakefield and associates suggested that the vaccine for MMR could predispose children to autism. The paper received massive publicity despite the researchers having used a sample size that was not representative (n=12), the research design was uncontrolled as well as conclusions being speculative (Sathyanarayana Rao & Andrade, 2011). Consequently, the vaccines for MMR plummeted since parents feared that vaccinating their children against MMR could predispose their children to autism.

Wakefield carelessly carried out aggressive test on the children under his care and had no concern for the children or how they would be affected. His study also spread panic and insecurity about the vaccine along with causing parents of children with autism to feel guiltiness and blamed their selves for their kids’ illness. Wakefield’s unethical researcher has affected people all around the world. Britain vaccination rates, along with United States, plummeted

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

Have you ever thought about how much a single lie could affect humanity for decades? That is exactly what was started in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield. He and a panel of a dozen other scientists conducted a study to test for a connection between the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine and a predisposition to behavioral regression and pervasive developmental disorders, including autism. Published on the 28th of February 1998 in The Lancet (Lancet1), their study showed there was a direct correlation between administration of the MMR vaccine and onset of symptoms of autism or regression of previously learned skills (NCBI).

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is an ominous tale, told in retrospect, of a man who visited an old friend, Roderick Usher, who was dying of a mental illness. This visit was quite different then how the narrator believed it would be. The narrator explained the “insufferable gloom” he felt when he saw the mansion, and this dreary feeling only grew stronger the longer he stayed (Poe 1265). The narrator endured the bleak time with his old friend whose condition only worsened. Roderick’s sister was ill as well and eventually died. They buried her in the basement only to have her crawl out alive days later. This shock scared Roderick to death while the sister’s illness finally took her life. The narrator ran out of the mansion completely unnerved as the House of Usher crumbled to the ground.

The MMR vaccine was thought to have to been linked to autism due to a false research article written by Andrew Wakefield in 1998. Not only did this fraudulent article cause vaccination rates to decrease, but it also caused the number of cases in measles, mumps, and rubella to increase which caused life-long injuries and death. After the article was published, many other researchers could not confirm any of Wakefield’s discoveries between the vaccine and autism. This was a major red flag, and an investigation was done showing unstable financial situations regarding Wakefield. As a result, many of his previous supporters (co-authors) of the article withdrew their support. Wakefield ended with three dozen charges against him

In fact, The BMJ, or the British Medical Journal, chimed in on Wakefield’s paper. “By the time the paper was finally retracted 12 years later, after forensic dissection at the General Medical Council’s (GMC) longest ever fitness to practise hearing, few people could deny that it was fatally flawed both scientifically and ethically” (Godlee, “Wakefield’s”). Furthermore, Wakefield’s license to practice medicine was stripped away by Britain’s General Medical Council because of misconduct, including the time Wakefield paid his son’s friends £5 each to take blood samples during his son’s birthday party (Burns, “British”). More recent studies also prove that the vaccine-autism link is nonexistent. One study, performed by the Journal of Pediatrics, found that, “ … of MCO members, increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines during the first 2 years of life was not related to the risk of developing an ASD” (Destefano, “Increasing”). In other words, having a young child exposed to the ingredients of vaccines does not result in the child developing autism (Destefano, “Increasing”).

I found the immunization study conducted by Andrew Wakefield and his twelve colleagues to be the most serious of the two studies we reviewed this week. The study suggested that vaccines may cause autism, consequently parents around the world began refusing measles, mumps, and rubella, (MMR), vaccines for their children. This is a difficult subject because many parents expect the right to refuse any medical treatment for their child which is not a life threatening case. The problem lies in the fact that measles is a highly contagious disease which can be transmitted before the tell tale rash appears (Mckenna, 2015). According to the Washington State Department of Health news release (2015/07/02), a young woman who was taking medication which suppressed her immune system died recently from pneumonia due to measles (p.1).

Wakefield published a study on the effects of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)-vaccine, specifically the “mercury” based and the vaccine instigating the onset of autism (Wakefield para 3). Wakefield’s study involved 12 individuals whose medical background was altered in order to support his study (Goodlee para 2). After 12 years of Wakefield’s research being published, his findings were found to be inaccurate. Many doctors and scientists alike have proven his theory wrong, causing the magazine that published the article to fully retract it (Goodlee para 2). However, the damage caused by Wakefield’s false findings has yet to be undone. The number in vaccinations dropped and the number of deadly diseases ultimately rose (Goodlee para 8). Despite study after study proving that Wakefield blatantly falsified his findings, many parents including, celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, continue to advocate against vaccinations and blame the MMR-vaccine for her child’s autism diagnosis.

This led to the support of various unproven vaccine-autism theories by parents in both the UK and America. After findings of intestinal disease in children with autism, Wakefield claimed that separating the MMR into three different vaccinations would be safer. Since then, Wakefield’s research has been discredited, he was charged with serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council for violating several ethical practices, and he was investigated for failing to disclose conflict of interest – a pending patent on a rival measles vaccine (Gross, 2009). Although false, many still believe wholeheartedly that vaccines are harmful.

One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,

This recent and lengthy string of anti-vaccination hysteria started in 1998 with a medical paper published in the Lancet, which is a peer reviewed medical journal from the now discredited Doctor Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield had fraudulently created data and misused his power to create possible link between measles, mumps, rubella or M.M.R vaccine and autism. His studies never showed a direct link, but that there is a reasonable doubt of how safe this vaccine is. Of course this news rose