1998 the Lancet Published an Article by Andrew Wakefield - Autism

Back in 1998 The Lancet published an article by Andrew Wakefield which suggested there was a link between the rising number of autism cases and the amount of children receiving the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. No one else could find the kind of results Wakefield did and ultimately the article was removed and the British Journal of Medicine made a claim that the researcher was attempting to make money from this false article. Even with these steps taken to discredit Wakefield, his false research had made quite an impression on many people, especially scared, misinformed parents. One could say that the damage had already been done, and seemingly irreversible . I believe that the concern of these parents that is based on Wakefield's article is completely illogical.

It seems that this issue should not be one at all. A man made a false statement, he lied. The truth is now brought out so it should not be a matter of controversy . It goes considerably deeper than that. Individuals can be persuaded, but can also be hard headed once they get an idea in their head. In a study done for the British Journal of General Practice, one parent who refused to give their child the vaccine said "It was because of the media and the press that I looked into the MMR and decided well whoa, I'm not having that you know, otherwise, before, I didn't just didn't think anything of it .". This issue is now engraved in the minds of many parents. Many, like the parent quoted before, do not know what to think. Many parents who thought they saw a correlation between the time their child was diagnosed with autism and when their child received the MMR vaccine still believe in Wakefield's' article, even with the facts out there that show as of today there is no causal evidence supporting this idea.

According to a report in the British Medical Journal had said a mere 80 percent of the population in England and Wales received the vaccination in 2003 since the Wakefield research had been presented and while the vaccination levels continue to increase, they are still below the level at which the World Health Organization suggests a population should be at. The fact that it has been over a decade since Wakefield's article was published and there are people who are still cautious when considering getting the MMR vaccination for their children is a scary reality. With the evidence that has been shown against what Andrew Wakefield proposed, still considering his