Global InformationMMR vaccine and autism information
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Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism have been extensively investigated and found to be false.[1] The link was first suggested in the early 1990s and came to public notice largely as a result of the 1998 Lancet MMR autism fraud, characterised as "perhaps the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years".[2] The fraudulent research paper, authored by discredited former doctor Andrew Wakefield and published in The Lancet, falsely claimed the vaccine was linked to colitis and autism spectrum disorders. The paper was retracted in 2010[3] but is still cited by anti-vaccine activists.[4]
The claims in the paper were widely reported,[5] leading to a sharp drop in vaccination rates in the UK and Ireland. Promotion of the claimed link, which continues in anti-vaccination propaganda despite being refuted,[6][7] has led to an increase in the incidence of measles and mumps, resulting in deaths and serious permanent injuries.[8][9] Following the initial claims in 1998, multiple large epidemiological studies were undertaken. Reviews of the evidence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,[10] the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences,[11] the UK National Health Service,[12] and the Cochrane Library[1][13] all found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.[14] Physicians, medical journals, and editors[15][16][17][18][19] have described Wakefield's actions as fraudulent and tied them to epidemics and deaths.[20][21]
An investigation by journalist Brian Deer found that Wakefield, the author of the original research paper linking the vaccine to autism, had multiple undeclared conflicts of interest,[22][23] had manipulated evidence,[24] and had broken other ethical codes.[which?] The Lancet paper was partially retracted in 2004 and fully retracted in 2010, when Lancet's editor-in-chief Richard Horton described it as "utterly false" and said that the journal had been deceived.[25] Wakefield was found guilty by the General Medical Council of serious professional misconduct in May 2010 and was struck off the Medical Register, meaning he could no longer practise as a physician in the UK.[26] In January 2011, Deer published a series of reports in the British Medical Journal,[27][28][29] which in a signed editorial stated of the journalist, "It has taken the diligent scepticism of one man, standing outside medicine and science, to show that the paper was in fact an elaborate fraud."[30][31] The scientific consensus is that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism and that the vaccine's benefits greatly outweigh its potential risks.
- ^ a b Di Pietrantonj, C; Rivetti, A; Marchione, P; Debalini, MG; Demicheli, V (22 November 2021). "Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2021 (11): CD004407. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub5. PMC 8607336. PMID 34806766.
- ^ Flaherty, Dennis K. (October 2011). "The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science". The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 45 (10): 1302–1304. doi:10.1345/aph.1Q318. ISSN 1542-6270. PMID 21917556. S2CID 39479569.
- ^ Dyer, Clare (2 February 2010). "Lancet retracts Wakefield's MMR paper". BMJ. 340: c696. doi:10.1136/bmj.c696. ISSN 0959-8138. PMID 20124366. S2CID 43465004.
- ^ "Public Health Education". KYRA SCHWARTZ TECHNICAL WRITING SAMPLES. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Goldacre, B. (30 August 2008). "The MMR hoax". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2008. Alt URL
- ^ Hussain, Azhar; Ali, Syed; Ahmed, Madiha; Hussain, Sheharyar (2018). "The Anti-vaccination Movement: A Regression in Modern Medicine". Cureus. 10 (7): e2919. doi:10.7759/cureus.2919. ISSN 2168-8184. PMC 6122668. PMID 30186724.
- ^ Gross, Liza (26 May 2009). "A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine–Autism Wars". PLOS Biology. 7 (5): e1000114. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000114. ISSN 1544-9173. PMC 2682483. PMID 19478850.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
McIntyrewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Pepyswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ Institute of Medicine (US) Immunization Safety Review Committee (17 May 2004). Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.17226/10997. ISBN 978-0-309-09237-1. PMID 20669467. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ^ "MMR The facts". NHS Immunisation Information. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- ^ Di Pietrantonj, Carlo; Rivetti, Alessandro; Marchione, Pasquale; Debalini, Maria Grazia; Demicheli, Vittorio (20 April 2020). "Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 4 (4): CD004407. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub4. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 7169657. PMID 32309885.
- ^ Flaherty, Dennis K (October 2011). "The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science". Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 45 (10): 1302–4. doi:10.1345/aph.1Q318. PMID 21917556. S2CID 39479569.
- ^ Gever, John (5 January 2011). "BMJ Lifts Curtain on MMR-Autism Fraud". MedPage Today. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ Godlee, F (January 2011). "The fraud behind the MMR scare". The BMJ. 342 (jan06 1): d22. doi:10.1136/bmj.d22. S2CID 73020733.
- ^ Deer, Brian (6 January 2011). "Brian Deer: Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism". BMJ Group Blogs. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ "Link between MMR Vaccines and Autism conclusively broken". IB Times. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ Broyd, Nicky (6 January 2011). "BMJ Declares Vaccine-Autism Study 'an Elaborate Fraud', 1998 Lancet Study Not Bad Science but Deliberate Fraud, Claims Journal". WebMD Health News. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AgeOldwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Jasek, Marissa (6 January 2011). "Healthwatch: Disputed autism study sparks debate about vaccines". WWAY Newschannel 3. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ The Sunday Times 2004:
- Deer, Brian (22 February 2004). "Revealed: MMR research scandal". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- Deer, Brian (2007). "The Lancet scandal". Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- ^ 2004 BBC documentary:
- Deer, Brian (2007). "The Wakefield factor". Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- Deer, Brian (2004). "Dispatches. MMR: What They Didn't Tell You". The BMJ. 329 (7477): 1293. doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7477.1293. PMC 534460.
- ^ Deer, Brian (8 February 2009). "MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- ^ Boseley, Sarah (2 February 2010). "Lancet retracts 'utterly false' MMR paper". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ Triggle, Nick (24 May 2010). "MMR doctor struck off register". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ Deer B (2011). "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed". The BMJ. 342 (jan05 1): c5347. doi:10.1136/bmj.c5347. PMID 21209059.
- ^ Deer B (11 January 2011). "How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money". The BMJ. 342 (jan11 4): c5258. doi:10.1136/bmj.c5258. PMID 21224310. S2CID 37724643.
- ^ Deer B (18 January 2011). "The Lancet's two days to bury bad news". The BMJ). Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Godlee F, Smith J, Marcovitch H (2011). "Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent". The BMJ. 342: c7452. doi:10.1136/bmj.c7452. PMID 21209060. S2CID 43640126.
- ^ Deer, Brian (2011). "Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent". The BMJ. 342: c5347. doi:10.1136/bmj.c5347. PMID 21209059.