Andrew Wakefield, once a respected physician, became infamous for a flawed study linking vaccines to autism, which sparked a dangerous anti-vaccine movement. His 1998 paper published in The Lancet, characterized by its limited methodology and lack of rigorous controls, presented misleading claims that influenced public opinion and fueled outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles. Despite the paper's deficiencies, Wakefield's sensationalist rhetoric gained widespread media attention, contributing to significant public health repercussions, including rising vaccination hesitancy and increasing childhood mortality due to preventable infections.
Wakefield's ascent to the pinnacle of despicableness all started with one small and staggeringly shoddy study. Before his infamy, he was a physician and surgeon, educated in Canada, practising medicine in the UK.
There was no randomization or control group, so the sample of children had the potential to be highly biased.
But that didn't stop Wakefield from suggesting...that his results showed a clear link between vaccines and autism.
The lie—and it is now clear that it was a blatant and harmful lie—took off.
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