A very weird way to start off. I know. But hear me out. Andrew Wakefield furthered the discussion regarding the proposition that vaccinations increased the risk for the development of autism and other problems within children. In the report/scientific article he and other published, they were able to study 12 children. This cohort of children were originally referred to the Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine with chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder. They intended to use the study to determine if there was a relationship between the MMR vaccination and children developing further physical and behavioral problems. To conclude, Wakefield and others deduced that 8 of the 12 children who had received the vaccination reported “lost of acquired skills, including language”. They thus stated that the vaccine was associated with the onset of “gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression”.

12 years after the article was published, the article became redacted because of unethical practices done by Wakefield during the completion of his studies. From an article published by Laura Eggertson called “Lancet retracts 12-year-old article linking autism to MMR vaccines”, Britain’s General Medical Council concluded that Wakefield had specifically chosen the cohort that was studied and it was funded by lawyers who represented families that were in lawsuits against vaccination manufacturers. It can be seen then that Wakefield had initiated his study to prove an idea/bias he may have had rather than letting the study itself present the findings and basing judgement on what the findings were. The article by Laura Eggertson does not mention other studies that have been able to prove the findings that Wakefield presented in his article, but, Eggertson does mention that autism advocacy groups continue to support Wakefield’s findings, creating more confusion within the public about whether or not vaccinations are to be used.

When looking at the MMR vaccine today in the world and how it has been used to treat the Mumps, Varicella, and the Measles, it has had major impacts on the health of people and those they come into contact with. For example, in an article called “The effectiveness of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in the prevention of pediatric hospitalizations for targeted and untargeted infections: A retrospective cohort study”, Giuseppe La Torre and other researchers were able to conduct a study that included 11,004 children. They were able to study the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine and concluded that “MMR vaccination is effective for the primary prevention of target and not targeted infectious diseases and may also limit hospitalizations for respiratory diseases”. For many parents, there is concern that the vaccine would lead to further hospitalization and potential respiratory problems. But, through this study that was conducted, its findings will hopefully reduce the opposition facing the idea of having children vaccinated.

So, I titled this blog as “Thank you Andrew Wakefield”. As it may seem, it would seem wrong to thank someone who has tried to create more problems than solutions in the world of medicine. But I believe Wakefield has done something unique for us (approvers of vaccinations). He gave researchers like La Torre the opportunity to experiment and conduct studies on why vaccines are vital to the health of a population. From my point of view, Wakefield poked the sleeping bear that is the reasoning behind the effectiveness of vaccinations. In today’s world, the scientific and medical community has never been more determined to show why vaccines are necessary especially with the onset of many diseases that were at one point in time eradicated from the face of the planet (and new ones like the coronavirus). So, thank you Andrew Wakefield. Even though there was a bit of a setback, you helped us show the world why we need vaccines. By having to prove ourselves through experiments and real science, we finally are able to give the general public the answers they need and thus deserve.

My name is Brandon Cashwell and I am from Raleigh, NC. I am in my third year at UNC – Chapel Hill. I am studying Quantitative Biology and will have minors Spanish for the Medical Profession and Chemistry. I hope to attend Pharmacy School after completing my undergraduate studies. I currently work at a local pharmacy in Chapel Hill to help get a better understanding of community pharmacy and how it functions.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.