Vaccination does NOT lead to autism

In the 1998, the widely respected British medical journal The Lancet published a study suggesting a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.(4) As might be imagined, this has led many parents to question the value and danger of vaccines, and in some cases, to refuse to have their children vaccinated. Heavy publicity of the study's findings only spread the issue farther, involving more parents and, more to the point, more children.

Unfortunately, the study appears to suffer from some flaws, some of which I discuss below. I say "unfortunately" because it now appears that there is no real link between vaccines and autism, so many parents are denying their children the protection of vaccination simply because they have been mislead. Most of the study's authors writing in the same journal that published the initial study, have since retracted their initial interpretations.(1)

One flaw in the study has to do with possible conflicts of interest for the researchers. Three of the paper's authors, including the lead author (Dr Wakefield), are scheduled for hearings regarding allegations of professional misconduct in this respect.(2) Another flaw is discussed in a letter by the study's senior (not lead, but the senior) author, Dr Walker. In his letter, published in The Lancet less that a year after their publication of the original study, Dr Walker states that the Wakefield paper discusses two possible connections, one between autism and a form of inflammatory bowel disease, and the other "between [the] MMR [vaccine], autism, and inflammatory bowel disease". Dr Walker states that the first possible connection, which does not involve any vaccine at all, "is a new idea worthy of discussion". However, he goes on to say that the second possible connection is "unsubstantiated", and that "[t]his anecdotal reporting of a biased sample is poor science and has no place in a peer-reviewed journal." Dr Walker concludes "[s]ince no additional work was reported to substantiate this association and since considerable evidence has been collected by others to suggest that it does not exist, publishing it again lends further unwarranted credence to the hypothesis."(3)

Ten years later, The New York Times is reporting that a growing number of children are not being vaccinated, and a growing number of children are getting sick. Admittedly, there are some adverse effects of vaccines. But the adverse effects of the diseases for which we vaccinate include things like "death". So why is there so much debate?

References:
(NOTE: REFERENCES ARE ONLY INCLUDED FOR ARTICLES THAT I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO LINK TO, OR COULD ONLY PROVIDE LINKS THAT APPEAR TO REQUIRE A SUBSCRIPTION)
1. Munch, Simon H. et al "Commentary: Retraction of an interpretation". The Lancet. Volume 363, Issue 9411, 6 March 2004, Pages 747-749.

2. General Medical Council Press Office. Fitness to Practise Hearings. Accessed 21 march 2008 at http://www.gmcpressoffice.org.uk/apps/news/events/detail.php?key=2515

3. Walker. "Autism, inflammatory bowel disease, and MMR vaccine" The Lancet. Volume 351, Issue 9112, 2 May 1998, Page 1355.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T1B-3T5317Y-H/2/16a7b571a17e33eedd27ccf78fb0065d)

4. AJ Wakefield, et al. "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children". The Lancet Volume 351, Issue 9103, , 28 February 1998, Pages 637-641.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T1B-3SGHJ0T-1C/2/b1405dfce70e84ebde22390ec71142ec)