Andrew Wakefield

Andrew Jeremy Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield with Justyna Socha Warsaw 2019 Andrew Wakefield in 2016
Born	Birth date -1st March 1966 United Kingdom
Education	Royal Free Hospital
Occupation	Anti-vaccine activist, former physician
Known for	Lancet MMR autism fraud

Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic. He was struck off the medical register due to his involvement in the Lancet MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.

Early Career

Wakefield was initially a surgeon on the liver transplant programme at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Later, he became a senior lecturer and honorary consultant in experimental gastroenterology at the Royal Free and University College School of Medicine. He resigned from his positions there in 2001.

Lancet MMR Autism Fraud

In 1998, Wakefield published a study in The Lancet that falsely claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study was later retracted by the journal due to serious procedural errors, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest, and ethical violations.

Impact and Activism

Following the publication of the 1998 study, there was a sharp decline in MMR vaccination uptake, leading to several outbreaks of measles around the world. Wakefield has subsequently become a prominent figure in anti-vaccination activism.

See Also

• MMR vaccine
• Anti-vaccination movement

References

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