The concept of a ‘flexible’ vaccination schedule was popularized by Dr. The man who popularized ‘spaced-out’ vaccination schedules: Dr. The sticky myth that vaccines cause autism is not supported by ANY scientific evidence, with more than 25 studies and trials refuting Wakefield’s fraudulent claim. Unfortunately, Wakefield’s fraudulent findings have produced an enduring conviction in many parents across the globe that vaccines cause autism. He put these plans into motion before the first child in his 12-child study had even been fully investigated: for Wakefield, a lot of money was riding on his study showing a link between MMR and autism. He even planned to develop a replacement vaccine for MMR. He expected these kits would be popularized by testing of patients with autistic entercolitis driven by litigation once his paper was released. Wakefield was planning to develop diagnostic kits to identify autistic entercolitis, the syndrome he describes in the paper, for which he forecasted $44 million in annual profits. An investigative report by Brian Deer entitled “How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money” delves into Wakefield’s conflicts of interest and motivations for publishing his fraudulent paper. Why did he do it? Wakefield planned a number of potentially lucrative business ventures to take advantage of a link between MMR and autism. Wakefield’s article ignited panic: causing parents to worry that the risks of vaccine complications outweighed the benefits of avoiding disease. However, it took The Lancet until 2010 – 12 years – to retract his paper. After an investigation, Wakefield was found guilty of falsification of data and lost his medical license. This false paper linked measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination with autism using a sample of only 12 children. The anti-vaccine movement, in its current form, really began in 1998 after Andrew Wakefield’s publication of his fraudulent article in The Lancet. The man who started a disinformation movement: Andrew Wakefield This blog post will explore two main figures in the rise of alternative vaccine facts: Andrew Wakefield and Bob Sears. Alternative facts about vaccination are not new – much of the anti-vaccine movement has been based on misinformation from agents with ulterior motives. This negative shift in vaccine attitudes is especially dangerous in the pandemic context: in the U.S., avoidance of non-essential medical visits has caused pediatric vaccination rates to plummet and globally, vaccination campaigns have been suspended. This loss of trust fuels vaccine hesitancy and fans the flames of conspiracy theories like the one above.ĭiminished confidence in COVID-19 vaccines could increase hesitancy to other vaccines for common diseases like measles, rubella, diphtheria, and pertussis as well. With President Trump’s increasing politicization of a vaccination effort, trust in the government assuring vaccine safety and efficacy is eroding. We are living in extraordinary times for mis- and disinformation. Of those, 1/3 said it was “definitely” or “probably” true. This conspiracy theory has spread like wildfire : as of July 2020: 71% of US adults had heard this conspiracy. “The COVID-19 pandemic was intentionally started by global elites (including Bill Gates) in order to roll out vaccines with tracking microchips that would later be activated by 5G for broad population control.“ COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Far-Fetched Conspiracy This blog post will review the role that conspiracy theories and misinformation have played in the evolution of vaccine hesitancy. Much COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy stems from conspiracy theories involving Bill Gates, 5G, and microchips. Thus vaccine hesitancy may threaten efforts to control the pandemic. for use against COVID-19, vaccines cannot stop a pandemic – only vaccinations can. While we now have two approved vaccines in the U.S. and Italy found that only 58% and 59% of respondents, respectively, intended to be vaccinated. Even though COVID-19 has caused significant disruption and death, surveys have found that a sizeable proportion of the population is resistant to taking a COVID-19 vaccine: surveys in France found that 26% of respondents would not take a COVID-19 vaccine, and studies in the U.S. Since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in December 2019, public health and vaccines have been a part of the daily news.
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