Twelve years after Dr. Andrew Wakefield published his research in the international medical journal the Lancet purporting that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism, the journal on Tuesday formally retracted the paper.
The action came less than a week after the U.K. General Medical Council's Fitness to Practice Panel concluded that Wakefield had provided false information in the report and acted with "callous disregard" for the children in the study. The council is now considering whether Wakefield is guilty of serious professional misconduct. A positive finding could cause him to lose his medical practice.
Wakefield's study, conducted on only 12 children, concluded that the MMR vaccine is a primary cause of autism. He subsequently said that he could not, in good conscience, recommend that parents have their children vaccinated.
His words and actions led to a sharp drop in vaccination rates in both Britain and the United States and a resurgence in measles.
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