Vaccine and Austism Parents Have Every Right

Vaccine and Austism

Parents have every right to be concerned about their child's health and well- being and for this reason; it's not very hard to fathom why they got seriously worried over an important research study that established a link between MMR vaccine and autism. The research was not ordinary. It was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals of Britain, The Lancet, and was written by a well-respected name in the field, Dr. Wakefield. The research established a link between vaccine and autism after eight children had allegedly developed autism symptoms after MMR vaccine.

The research came out more than a decade ago and was soon followed by series of studies on the subject that mostly rejected the original finding and found no link between the vaccine and autism symptoms. Interestingly after so many rejections, British medical community got involved in discovering the veracity of claims made in Wakefield study and it was then found that Wakefield had not behaved in responsible and honest manner. The researcher had apparently been paid by two parents who thought a link existed and this resulted in the famous though incorrect discovery.

This study however had many parents worried. Unfortunately immediately after the publication, parents got so apprehensive that some entirely refused to give their children MMR vaccine due to which one child even died of measles. A claim this huge had to be carefully checked and the findings that followed showed no such link which may have eased off some worries but concerns and questions still lingered.

However when it was finally discovered that Wakefield study was not based on entire truth, the journal decided to retract the study and its results and Wakefield even lost his license to practice. This finally should help parents understand that autism is not caused by a vaccine and hence there is no need to rob their child of something that has numerous health benefits. It must be understood that while not giving MMR would not decrease the risk of autism, it will definitely increase the risk of fatal health problems associated with measles and rubella.

The magnitude of impact that this study has had on people over the last one decade has made me even more aware of responsibility connected with researches especially those that have an impact on people's health decision. It is highly unfortunate that people in whom we have vested so much trust and confidence find it so easy to betray people because they know they can get away with it irresponsible research methods should be turned into a criminal offence because it can lead to false results that eventually cause some fatalities that could have been avoided.