Let’s look at where this myth came from and what modern medicine actually knows.
How Did It All Begin?
In 1998, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet published a paper by the British physician Andrew Wakefield. It described a new form of enterocolitis said to be linked to autism and triggered by the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella).
The study quickly captured public attention and stirred concern among parents in many countries. The paper, however, was riddled with errors, contradictions, and outright false claims.
For example:
- The work examined only 12 children (a proper screening study requires at least 400 participants), had no control group, and its results were never subjected to appropriate statistical analysis.
- In some cases, signs of developmental disorders appeared even before the children received the MMR vaccine, while in others the first signs of autism spectrum disorder emerged months — not weeks — after vaccination, or did not appear at all. All of these data were deliberately distorted or omitted by Andrew Wakefield.
On top of that, other scientists were unable to reproduce the study’s findings. For instance, a 2002 study involving more than 535,000 children in Denmark found no difference in the number of autism cases between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Similar studies carried out in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries reached the same conclusions.
It later emerged that the author of the paper stood to gain substantial financial benefit from lawsuits filed against MMR vaccine manufacturers, and had also registered his own competing MMR vaccine.
In 2010, owing to the deliberate falsification of the study’s data and actions that ran counter to the interests of his own patients, Andrew Wakefield was barred from practising medicine, and the paper itself was officially retracted by the journal.
What Does Current Research Show?
Over the past decades, scientists have conducted many large studies involving hundreds of thousands of children around the world.
Not one of them has confirmed a link between vaccination and the development of autism. Today the medical community regards it as established that vaccines do not cause autism, and that no connection between vaccination and autism spectrum disorders has been found.
So Why Does This Myth Still Persist?
The first signs of autism spectrum disorders often appear at roughly 12 to 18 months of age — around the same time a child receives the first dose of the MMR vaccine.
Because of this overlap in timing, some parents may feel that changes in their child’s behaviour are connected to the vaccination.
Yet a coincidence in time does not mean that one event caused the other. This is exactly why vaccine safety is assessed in large scientific studies rather than on the basis of individual observations.
Why Is Refusing Vaccination Dangerous?
When vaccination rates fall, the risk rises that preventable infections will spread.
Measles, whooping cough, rubella, and other diseases have not disappeared entirely. Some of them can cause severe complications, require hospitalisation, and pose a serious threat to health, especially in young children.
It is precisely thanks to mass vaccination that the spread of many dangerous infections has been significantly reduced. Vaccination therefore remains one of the most effective ways to protect a child from disease and its possible complications.
Children’s Vaccination at SILK Medical
SILK Medical provides vaccination for children of all ages in line with current international recommendations and the national immunisation schedule.
We use only registered vaccines, the same ones used in leading clinics across Europe and other parts of the world.
Before vaccination, a paediatrician always examines the child, assesses their health, and helps choose the optimal vaccination schedule.
If routine vaccinations have been missed for any reason, the doctor will help draw up an individual catch-up immunisation schedule.
If parents have questions about vaccine safety, vaccine composition, or an individual vaccination schedule, the paediatrician will answer them in detail during the consultation and help them make an informed decision.
Children’s vaccination is carried out at SILK Medical branches:
- Tbilisi, Digomi, 6th block, 5a.
- Tbilisi, Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, 62.
- Tbilisi, Uznadze St. 9.
- Batumi, Luka Asatiani St. 43/45.
Book a paediatric consultation and vaccination at SILK Medical to protect your child from dangerous infectious diseases in good time.
