Study Summary
Andrew Wakefield’s study, which was an experimental study, included a sample of 12 children with developmental problems. Each child was given an MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine that should have prevented such issues as measles, mumps, and rubella. Parents assumed that it was because of this vaccine that they had symptoms of delay or autism.
Andrew Wakefield, in turn, suggested that this drug causes inflammation in children’s gut, which is why a specific protein can pass through it and get into the brain, causing developmental problems. Later, a study was conducted that refuted the effect of the MMR vaccine and gut inflammation on the development of autism. Two main issues of the study were the presence of bias and the small size of the experimental group.
Ethical Concerns
One of the main ethical issues highlighted is the conflict of interest in the Andrew Wakefield study. This is because, two years before his experimental study, he was approached by a company that wanted to sue the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine. This information was hidden from the public and the scientific community, and the money was not used for the experiment, as the children were under the care of the National Health Service (“Vaccines and the autism myth,” n.d.). Thus, in this context, the primary concern is the potential bias on the part of Wakefield, which may have influenced the results of his research.
It is also worth noting that within the framework of the Wakefield study, a sample of only 12 patients with developmental problems was made. Based on this sample, conclusions were drawn concerning the effect of the vaccine on the gut, which in turn produced a protein that affects children’s brains. The primary ethical concern is that the experimental group was too small to provide conclusive support for the authors’ hypothesis.
One of the reasons the results of the Andrew Wakefield study were rejected is the doubts about the connection between the digestive system and an individual’s development. Hence, several studies have been conducted that refuted the information that the MMR vaccine affects inflammation in the gut and that a specific protein can affect the brain and cause autism (“Vaccines and the autism myth,” n.d.). Moreover, a study was conducted in the UK, the US, and Finland, which showed no correlation between the vaccine and the development of autism in children who received it.
References
Rishi Desai, M.D. (n.d.) Vaccines and the autism myth. Khan Academy.