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Surprising Science

Consequences of Autism-Vaccine Fraud

The autism-vaccine fraud has left a lot of mistrust to mop up. Since Dr. Andrew Wakefield's erroneous report, science and public health took a huge step backward.

The autism-vaccine fraud has left a lot of mistrust to mop up. Since Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s erroneous report, science and public health took a huge step backward, says Dr. Nancy Snyderman. “The first MMR vaccine isn’t given until 12 to 16 months. Almost all children will start to have some soft signs of autism around that time — that’s what’s made the [Wakefield] report such an easy thing to buy. …I want to say to everyone, you’re entitled to your opinion. I know the pain of autism. But you’re not entitled to your own science. This is where we have to stand back and trust the concrete science.”


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