Immunization fraud
Disbelief in the value of immunization is allowing once defeated diseases to re-emerge. More than 7,000 people in California developed whooping cough, and 10 babies died. On the East Coast, an intentionally unvaccinated child caused a mumps outbreak that sickened 1,500 people, causing some to go deaf. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked the measles outbreak from Disneyland and found that the majority of the 100+ people who were afflicted were unvaccinated. This resurgence of diseases in America, including whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, is directly tied to a medical researcher who committed a hoax on the world.
Dr. Wakefield, the principle investigator of a study published in The Lancet distorted numerous patient records so that data would support a connection between measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism. And this is not a case where scientists have different conclusions after reviewing the same data, but rather a deliberate falsification of the research data for money. Wakefield was paid more than $675,000 by a lawyer hoping to sue vaccine makers. Moreover, there is clear and convincing evidence of falsification of data. The Lancet formally and publicly retracted the paper and repudiated its conclusions, and Wakefield lost his medical license.
It is difficult to estimate the harm caused by this fraudulent 1998 study linking vaccines to autism and the ensuing decline in vaccination rates, but vaccination rates have declined in the last 10 years according to the CDC. It is very hard to un-scare people, and, regrettably, many parents made fear-based decisions based on these false claims and have lost a child.
Over the last decade, numerous research teams have investigated the relationship between immunization and autism. Fourteen independent research studies have failed to find any link between vaccines and autism. Thus, the scientific community dismissed Wakefield’s findings based upon the best data even before it was discovered that his findings were a deception. Vaccination has made enormous contributions to public health, including the eradication of smallpox and polio from all but a handful of countries. It is estimated that between two and three million child deaths are averted annually through vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and measles, and many more future deaths are averted in older groups.
Some parents forego vaccines for their children because of concerns about autism and other complications, typically fueled by misinformation. Now parents are no longer worried about the diseases themselves, as far as their children getting sick. They’re more worried about vaccine safety. Immunizations have become a victim of their own success. Yet, according to the scientific literature, the benefits of immunization outweigh the risks, which are rare.
Children of parents who refuse pertussis immunizations are at high risk for pertussis infection relative to vaccinated children. A recent study found that the risk of pertussis infection in children for vaccine refusers increased 22.8fold when compared with vaccine acceptors. This result dispels one of the commonly held beliefs among vaccine-refusing parents that their children are not at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. Parents wrongly rely on “herd immunity” assuming that others will vaccinate their children, so they do not have to. But the risk of an outbreak increases as more refuse to immunize.
The typical measles infection produces a fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose and a rash. A worstcase scenario is swelling of the brain (encephalitis), which has permanent effects such as brain damage, deafness or other impairment. The chances of that happening are 1 in 1,000. Worldwide, measles deaths approach 150,000 a year.