Editing Vaccination (section)

====Vaccination and autism====
{{Main|Vaccines and autism}}

The notion of a connection between vaccines and autism originated in a 1998 paper whose lead author was the physician [[Andrew Wakefield]]. His study concluded that eight of the twelve patients, aged three years of age to 10 years of age, developed behavioral symptoms consistent with autism following the administration of the [[MMR vaccine]] (an immunization against [[measles]], [[mumps]], and [[rubella]]).<ref name="Wakefield">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M, Berelowitz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE, Walker-Smith JA | s2cid = 439791 | title = Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children | journal = Lancet | volume = 351 | issue = 9103 | pages = 637–41 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 9500320 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-paper.htm | author-link1 = Andrew Wakefield | access-date = 5 February 2012 | archive-date = 27 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010149/http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-paper.htm | url-status = live }}{{Retracted|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4|pmid=20137807|http://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-leaderboard/top-10-most-highly-cited-retracted-papers/ ''Retraction Watch''|http://retractionwatch.com/2015/02/03/frauds-long-tail-measles-outbreak-shows-important-look-downstream-retractions/ ''Retraction Watch''|intentional=yes}}</ref> The article was widely criticized for lack of scientific rigor and it was proven that Wakefield falsified data in the article.<ref name="Wakefield" /> In 2004, 10 of the original 12 co-authors (not including Wakefield) published a [[Retraction in academic publishing|retraction]] of the article and stated the following: "We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient."<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Murch SH, Anthony A, Casson DH, Malik M, Berelowitz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Valentine A, Davies SE, Walker-Smith JA | s2cid = 5128036 | title = Retraction of an interpretation | journal = Lancet | volume = 363 | issue = 9411 | pages = 750 | date = March 2004 | pmid = 15016483 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15715-2 }}</ref> In 2010, ''[[The Lancet]]'' officially retracted the article, stating that several elements of the article were incorrect, including falsified data and protocols. The article has sparked a much greater anti-vaccination movement, particularly in the United States, and even though the article was shown to be fraudulent and was heavily retracted, one in four parents still believe that vaccines can cause autism.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Daley MF, Glanz JM | title = Straight talk about vaccination | journal = Scientific American | volume = 305 | issue = 3 | pages = 32–34 | date = September 2011 | pmid = 21870438 | doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0911-32 | bibcode = 2011SciAm.305b..32D }}</ref>

All validated and definitive studies have shown that there is no correlation between vaccines and autism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html|title=Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism Concerns Vaccine Safety CDC|date=6 February 2019|website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)|access-date=22 March 2019|archive-date=16 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316105455/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One of the studies published in 2015 confirms there is no link between [[MMR vaccine and autism|autism and the MMR vaccine]]. Infants were given a health plan, that included an MMR vaccine, and were continuously studied until they reached five years old. There was no link between the vaccine and children who had a normally developed sibling or a sibling that had autism making them a higher risk for developing autism themselves.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jain A, Marshall J, Buikema A, Bancroft T, Kelly JP, Newschaffer CJ | title = Autism occurrence by MMR vaccine status among US children with older siblings with and without autism | journal = JAMA | volume = 313 | issue = 15 | pages = 1534–40 | date = April 2015 | pmid = 25898051 | doi = 10.1001/jama.2015.3077 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

It can be difficult to correct the memory of humans when wrong information is received prior to correct information. Even though there is much evidence to go against the Wakefield study and retractions were published by most of the co-authors, many people continue to believe and base decisions on the study as it still lingers in their memory. Studies and research are being conducted to determine effective ways to correct [[misinformation]] in the [[public memory]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pluviano S, Watt C, Della Sala S | title = Misinformation lingers in memory: Failure of three pro-vaccination strategies | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 12 | issue = 7 | pages = e0181640 | date = 27 July 2017 | pmid = 28749996 | pmc = 5547702 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0181640 | bibcode = 2017PLoSO..1281640P | doi-access = free }}</ref>