Less than 30% of these articles mentioned that an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence suggested that these vaccinations were completely safe.
Since the initial panic, fears that MMR vaccines cause ASD have generally subsided. A survey completed in 2004 showed that only 2% of people in the United Kingdom thought that there was a legitimate link between MMR vaccines and ASD. Fears were most likely allayed when, in 2004, an investigative reporter discovered that Andrew Wakefield had received a large sum of money from lawyers seeking evidence to use in cases against vaccine manufacturers. It was then discovered that Wakefield had applied for patents on an alternate MMR vaccine, These severe conflicts of interest damaged the credibility of Wakefield’s study beyond repair, In 2010. Wakefield was tried by Britain’s General Medical Council under allegations that he had falsified data and manipulated test results. The Council found that Wakefield had acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly,” and consequently The lancet officially retracted Wakefield’s 1998 article.
The anti-MMR vaccine panic that arose immediately after Wakefield’s article was published had a significant had a significant negative effect on the health of thousands of children.