The MMR Controversy Sarah Sinclair and Zara Woodcock

Andrew Wakefield• Born 1956 in Bath, England• Former British Surgeon and researcher• St. Mary’s Medical School Qualified 1981• Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1985• Continued studies in University of Toronto: - became a transplant surgeon - small intestine transplantation

Timeline• “The suggestion that the vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) might raise a child's risk of

bowel disorders and autism”• February 1998 – Dr. Andrew Wakefield – first to suggest of the link between vaccinations and autism

• March 1998 – Panel of experts from the Medical Research Council says there is “no evidence to indicate any link” between the vaccine and autism. 37 scientific experts conclude there is nothing to worry about

• April 1998 – 14-year study by Finnish scientists finds no danger with the vaccine. (Out of 3 million children, those who developed side-effects did not have it last longer than 7 days)

• • January 2001 - Dr Wakefield renews his concerns about MMR, saying the vaccine has never undergone

proper safety tests. Claims were rejected

• February 2001 – Study shows autism rates rose has no connection to MMR jab

• September 2001 – Researchers from St George’s Hospital and Institute for Child Health give vaccination all- clear

Timeline• December 2001 – More research, still no links. Autism is blamed on bad genetics

• March 2004 – Most colleagues of Dr. Wakefield retract their support and belief in his study and claims

• March 2005 – Japanese scientists also found no links. Their autism rates rose when they took out the MMR jab instead.

• May 2006 – US scientists report found they found measles virus in the guts of autistic children with bowel disease but MMR vaccine didn’t cause it.

• February 2008 - Researchers looked at 240 children aged 10 to 12. They found no difference between children with autism and those without, and concluded the study showed there was no link.

Will you vaccinate your children?

Would you allow your children to hang around unvaccinated children?

A lot of U.K. Newspapers “expose” or disagree

When asked whether the vaccines cause permanent damage…

• “We simply don’t know at this stage. We have … We entered this as a pilot study to look at ten children, we’ve now looked at 40 children.”

• Sunday Times Writer, Brian Deer, wrote against him

Brian Deer Findings• Deer had numerous findings, including that children with autism were

subjected to unnecessary medical procedures such as colonoscopies and lumbar punctures, and that Wakefield acted without the required ethical approval from an institutional review board.

VAXXED London Premiere – 14th February (Pulled from the Tribeca Film Festival)

An ongoing issue…• Popular media – cartoons, TV shows, talk shows etc. poke fun at the

matter• In Australia, if you don’t vaccinate your children, they won’t pay for yo

ur healthcare• Donald Trump has always said autism and vaccinations are linked. 1 in

3 Trump supporters believe they’re linked.

Above: MMR % coverage in England at 24 months, 1992-93 to 2011-12

Amazon and Apple are both selling the documentary film and Amazon is selling the books

Andrew Wakefield reveals the inside story of desperate parents trying to help their autistic children, only to be labeled as abusers by social workers, medical professionals, and the courts.

Andrew Wakefield reveals the inside story of the vaccine-autism connection, and his controversial research.

More Questions!• Should Amazon and Apple be profiting off this controversial

issue?

• Do big platforms have the responsibility of not sharing potentially harmful information? Why?