Worried about vaccinating your child? Read this…
- Dr Natalie Hutchins
- Feb 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 3
BOOK IN REVIEW: The doctor who fooled the world: Andrew Wakefield’s war on vaccines By Brian Deer
When my second child was born and I was in the throes of postnatal fog and sleep deprivation (#twoundertwo), I remember taking him to his first vaccine appointment like it was yesterday. It was a medical practice I knew well (in fact I ended up working there), seeing a doctor who I’d trained with and so essentially an environment full of goodwill and trust.
I also vividly remember the rising panic I felt when the doctor started telling me about a new vaccine on the schedule that my son would be getting (one I hadn’t had a chance to familarise myself with pre maternity leave). A completely inexplicable feeling really, given that I knew the evidence for vaccines and their safety (link below), counselled parents about it often and had never been hesitant before.
No doubt it was because my brain wasn’t quite working normally, but the feeling was very real. A weight of all the endless decisions we have to make on behalf of these precious innocent babies. What if I get it wrong? What if we find out later it was harmful? Is it really necessary? Does the anxiety of choosing to do something now outweigh the anxiety of all the ‘what ifs’ afterwards?
So, whilst I got over that moment of indecision pretty quickly, when I talk to mothers hesitant as to whether to vaccinate their children or not, I empathise. I know that for the vast majority, it comes from a place of love, fear and a primal need to protect in a world that is very noisy with conflicting information. I understand that with all the misinformation out there, seeds of doubt placed are hard to erase. That you might find yourself questioning; surely this vaccine-autism connection must have started with something concrete? Surely there must be some evidence, no matter how small or inconclusive that started this ball rolling? Even if it isn’t all true, is it not better to be safe rather than sorry?
But the answer is no. It all started as a lie, an ego trip; the ultimate medical fraud. And the devastating result has been endless parental anxiety, plummeting vaccination rates and the deadly resurgence of diseases that were once thought to be all but extinct. Decades of progress being wiped out because of the musings of one man and his unbridled ambition.
I think everyone should read this book but especially those that can’t help but wonder whether there really is a grain of truth to rumours of vaccines causing autism and developmental delay (there is no evidence whatsoever).
Investigated and written by Brian Deer, a British Journalist, he takes you through what was one of the most shocking acts of hubris, greed and ego in medicine that I have ever read about. Before reading this, I had always thought Wakefield was a scientist who had set out with honourable intentions, but just couldn’t let go of a theory that the results of his experiments repeatedly failed to prove to be true and he was unable to admit he was wrong.
That would be bad enough, but his story was so much worse than that, with vulnerable children and families the collateral damage. Andrew Wakefield was fired from his job, struck off the medical register and ostracized within the medical community for his actions decades ago and yet still the fear his actions caused continue to work its way into parents’ hearts and minds now more than ever. I very much hope that this book goes some way to change this and to help parents understand, that these beliefs although innocently held, are based on nothing but lies.
Links to more reading on the topic: