Well, 12 years later in 2010, the Lancet journal FINALLY retracted its 1998 Andrew Wakefield article that falsified facts linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism in children.
In a statement published on Feb. 2, the British medical journal clearly stated that “several elements” of the 1998 paper published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues “are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation.” Wakefield and 12 coauthors claimed to have investigated a series of 12 randomized children referred to the Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine for chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder. The article connected the symptoms of autism to the children’s recent MMR vaccine, stating that 8 of the 12 parents noticed loss of acquired skills directly after having vaccinated their child. When the article was first released, it spread quickly throughout the media and was soon followed up by various speeches and interviews in which Wakefield claimed that the combination of the MMR vaccine posed danger for its recipients.
However, in January of 2010, Britain’s General Medical Council ruled that the children in Wakefield’s study were not at all randomized, but that they were carefully selected to fit within the framework of the message Wakefield was trying to present. What’s more, it was soon established that Wakefield had been funded by lawyers acting for parents who were involved in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, giving him a clear alternative motive for falsifying data. Millions of dollars consequently went into various further investigations and studies to determine the safety of the MMR vaccine and the falsification of Wakefield’s study. It was Deer’s 2004 paper that unearthed the potential research fraud, unethical treatment of children, and conflict of interest that Wakefield’s study presented. It was soon revealed that Wakefield took advantage of vulnerable families who were looking for an explanation to their child’s condition to sell his own agenda.
While various other scientific articles and studies have been since performed to expose Wakefield’s false data conclusion, it has still caused great harm to the community and to patients who refuse to be vaccinated. In the United Kingdom, the Health Protection Agency attributed a large measles outbreak in 2008 and 2009 to a large drop in the number of children receiving the MMR vaccine. Cases of measles have also continued to rise in the US and Canada as anti-vaccination propaganda rises.
Scientists who publish their research have an ethical responsibility to ensure the highest quality of research protocols, data analysis, and reporting. There can be no compromising in science, because, as the Wakefield saga so aptly reveals, any deficit in the scientific method cause cause great harm to patients, the community, and science.
micro biology 