Andrew Wakefield
(Alvin Lo, Danely Gonzales, Xeon Gutierrez, Sriram Hariharan) In 1998, Andrew Wakefield conducted a study, which has since been discredited, on the correlation between MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccines and the development autism. Wakefield lost his medical license due to his unethical practices through which he conducted and funded his research, but the scorn he has received from the medical community and public health officials seems to only fuel his belief in his findings. The effects of the study can be observed, even nearly two decades after the initial findings. Over the years after the report, the MMR vaccine had vaccination rates “so low that childhood diseases once all but eradicated here … have re-emerged” (Dominus 1). Wakefield has, for his own benefits, created a large public panic. In addition, some methods that Wakefield utilized to obtain data, including “[lining] up kids to give blood samples at a birthday party … [for] £5” can be described as ill