Andrew Wakefield

Andrew Wakefield
Name	Andrew Wakefield
Caption	Wakefield in 2011
Birth name	Andrew Jeremy Wakefield
Birth date	1957
Birth place	London, England
Alma mater	St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Occupation	Former physician, anti-vaccine activist
Known for	Fraudulent research linking the MMR vaccine to autism

Andrew Wakefield. Andrew Jeremy Wakefield is a former British physician and researcher who became a central figure in the anti-vaccination movement. His fraudulent 1998 study, published in The Lancet, falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the onset of autism spectrum disorder. This discredited work precipitated a significant decline in vaccination rates, contributing to outbreaks of preventable diseases and enduring public health crises. Wakefield was subsequently struck off the UK medical register for serious professional misconduct, and his research was fully retracted.

Early life and education

Born in London, he attended King Edward's School, Bath before pursuing medical studies at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, part of the University of London. He qualified as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1981. His early postgraduate training included work in surgery and gastroenterology, with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease. He later completed a fellowship at the University of Toronto, conducting research on Crohn's disease.

Medical career and research

Wakefield worked as a gastroenterologist and researcher at the Royal Free Hospital in London. His early publications focused on the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In the mid-1990s, he shifted his research focus to a potential connection between bowel disease, autism, and childhood vaccines. This work was supported by funding from the Legal Aid Board for a project intended to support litigation against vaccine manufacturers. His controversial investigations involved invasive procedures on children, including colonoscopy and lumbar puncture.

MMR vaccine controversy

In February 1998, Wakefield and twelve co-authors published a case series paper in The Lancet suggesting a novel syndrome of autism and enterocolitis linked to the MMR vaccine. The study received immediate and widespread media attention, notably from journalist Brian Deer who later investigated the work. Public confidence in the vaccine plummeted, leading to a sharp decline in immunization rates across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and parts of North America. This decline resulted in resurgent outbreaks of measles and mumps, causing hospitalizations and deaths. Major health bodies, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted extensive studies that found no such link.

Disciplinary proceedings and retraction

Following investigations by Brian Deer for The Sunday Times and the General Medical Council, Wakefield was found to have committed serious professional misconduct. The GMC panel ruled he had acted dishonestly, unethically, and with "callous disregard" for the children in his study. Key findings included that he had performed unnecessary invasive tests, failed to disclose his conflict of interest from the Legal Aid Board funding, and had manipulated patient data. In 2010, he was struck off the UK medical register. Shortly thereafter, The Lancet fully retracted the 1998 paper, with editor Richard Horton calling it "utterly false."

Later activities and public influence

After moving to the United States, Wakefield became a prominent anti-vaccine activist. He directed the controversial documentary Vaxxed and co-founded the Autism Media Channel. He has been a featured speaker at events organized by anti-vaccine groups like the National Vaccine Information Center and has cultivated a following among celebrities such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Jenny McCarthy. His continued advocacy is cited by public health officials as a major driver of vaccine hesitancy, contributing to measles outbreaks in communities like Disneyland and in New York City.

Personal life

He married Carmel, a former nurse, and they have four children. Following the findings of the General Medical Council, the family relocated to Austin, Texas, where he has continued his activism. His mother-in-law is the novelist Carmel Fitzsimons.

Category:British anti-vaccination activists Category:Medical researchers Category:1957 births