The doctor whose 1998 medical journal article linked autism to childhood vaccinations altered and misrepresented facts in his research, according to a newspaper investigation.
The study conducted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield launched an anti-vaccine movement among many parents of children with autism leading many to forgo the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for their children.
Wakefield’s article published in The Lancet medical journal said that eight out of 12 children studied experienced problems within days of receiving the vaccine. But now an investigation by The Times of London indicates that Wakefield’s claims do not match the children’s medical records. Rather, the newspaper found that only one of the children experienced problems within days of receiving the vaccine and several of the children had experienced problems before being vaccinated.
Wakefield is currently under investigation by Britain’s General Medical Council related to the ethics of this same study.
