Unfounded Fears

Ever since Edward Jenner (pictured) deliberately infected a patient with a virus to protect them from smallpox, vaccines have played a major role in the medicinal toolkit. By sensitising our bodies to a weak form of a disease, they allow our immune systems to better respond to a future attack. However effective this may be, vaccines have a history of being distrusted. A backlash in the UK against the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot shows how these fears can set back progress. In 1998, a research paper that fraudulently linked MMR to autism led to a sharp drop in parents taking their children to be vaccinated. The 18-year high of measles outbreaks last year is testament to the damage caused. However, thanks to a large body of evidence, including one recent study showing that MMR doesn't cause cognitive damage, the UK’s vaccination rates are now higher than ever.

Written by Jan Piotrowski

Jan Piotrowski

Writer

A recent Imperial College graduate with a Masters in Science Communication, Jan now works as a freelance science communicator. His interests focus on neuroscience, psychology and the environment.

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• Image by E. J. C. Hamman after C. Manigaud
• Courtesy of Wellcome Library, London
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 2.0)