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The anti-vaccination debate was built on a lie, why do people still believe it?
OPINION: Another measles case has hit New Zealand, this time in the Bay of Plenty, adding to the six reported cases in the Waikato region in recent weeks.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by the measles virus. It is associated with skin rashes and a high fever, and – in some cases – infection can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, seizures, and even death.
In fact, no other vaccine-preventable disease has caused more deaths worldwide.
Vaccination programs prevented global measles deaths by an estimated 2.1 million between 2000 and 2017. Deaths decreased by 80 per cent in that time, but – thanks to vaccine hesitancy – those numbers have started to increase. As such, the growing anti-vaccination movement has recently been named one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
So, how did a safe and effective procedure become something people actively avoid? The origin of these sentiments can be traced back to a single scientific study that has since been labelled fraudulent, manipulative, and unethical.
Despite widespread scientific condemnation, Andrew Wakefield, the lead author of the paper, has not backed down from its conclusions, becoming the centre of the anti-vaxx movement and an advocate for distrust in science.
Falsified Research
Wakefield's original manuscript, published in 1998, described a link between measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines and the onset of bowel disease and autism, which was based on data later shown to be either misrepresented or entirely falsified.
In addition to data inconsistencies, Wakefield failed to disclose that he had been paid more than £400,000 (NZD$769,660) by lawyers trying to prove the MMR vaccine was unsafe and children in the study were claimants of a pending lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers.
He also had previously filed a patent for an alternate measles vaccine, meaning he stood to benefit financially from discrediting the current MMR program.
Already having serious questions about the ethical motivation for his work, Wakefield proceeded to subject the children in his study to unnecessary invasive medical procedures, and he was later charged by the British General Medical Council with 12 counts of abuse to developmentally delayed children.
Citing dishonest and unethical behaviour, Wakefield was stripped of his medical licence and his research paper was retracted from publication in 2010. But, by then, the damage to society was already underway.
Wakefield Responds
In response to the exposure of his misdeeds, Wakefield went on the attack, staunchly defending himself from any wrongdoing. He lashed out at his critics by filing lawsuits against award-winning reporter Brian Deer and the British Medical Journal. In each instance, his lawsuits were thrown out, and Wakefield has been on the hook for each defendant's legal fees.
But rejection by the scientific community and justice systems has not stopped him. He continued his misinformation campaign, and, in 2016, released a film that paints himself as the victim of high-level conspiracies. His followers absorb these baseless claims, and continue to support his cause. One prominent anti-vaccine advocate has even proclaimed that, "to our community, Andrew Wakefield is Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ rolled up into one".
Having "celebrity" status has allowed Wakefield to travel and preach his message of anti-vaccination and anti-science. In one instance, he travelled to the State of Minnesota to target its Somali community on the anti-vaccination movement. This campaign preceded Minnesota's largest measles outbreak in 30 years, with over 80 per cent of cases involving unvaccinated Somali-American children.
The Science is Clear
Wakefield is not the only person that has looked into vaccine safety. In science, a single published paper does not constitute a definitive fact. A study must be reproducible, and its results must be confirmed by further research before it is widely accepted.
In the case of Wakefield’s work, numerable follow up studies have been conducted, none of which have been able to reproduce his result. Moreover, a 2014 meta-analysis looking at over one million children supported the conclusion that there is absolutely no link between vaccines and autism.
However, this hasn't stopped the anti-vaxx movement from using scare tactics to propagate their message. One such technique attempts to outline the toxic chemicals that are contained in vaccines, pointing to compounds like formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
While excessive formaldehyde exposure is most certainly dangerous, the residual amount in vaccines is significantly less than the levels naturally occurring in the body. In fact, a single pear has roughly 10 times more formaldehyde than any vaccine.
As with any medical procedure, there are always potential side effects. For vaccines, these side effects are rare and pale in comparison to those from actual vaccine-preventable infections. Thanks to vaccination, the WHO estimates 2.5 million deaths are prevented each year, and millions more are saved from injury and disability.
An unvaccinated child is not the only person put at risk, but the larger community as well. High vaccination rates help prevent outbreaks like the recent cases in Waikato, and they also help protect vulnerable people, such as those with medical conditions, immune deficiencies, or those who don’t respond to the vaccine.
The science is clear: in order to better protect the health of our community, we need to start by protecting ourselves.
author =
Joel Rindelaub, Ph.D. is a freelance writer and Research Fellow at the University of Auckland.
link to the article :
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/110136209/the-antivaccination-debate-was-built-on-a-lie-why-do-people-still-believe-it 
