The Philippine Online Chronicles

Jessica Boynton’s 11-year old son, Justin, was born a happy, easy baby. At that time, Boynton was working with children with disabilities as an occupational therapist, so she kept an eye on her son’s developmental milestones.

“When he was an infant, we did everything that the baby book said… He was at par until about 18 months,” says Boynton, who lives with her family in the United States.

Justin got the MMR vaccine as scheduled around 18 months.

Boynton noticed a gradual change in Justin when he was about two years old. He didn't smile as much anymore and the sparkle in his eyes was gone. He was already saying some words and singing songs, and then those were gone too.

The words and the singing were replaced by gibberish and hand flapping. He had minimal eye contact and was often lost in his own little world. He would turn cars upside down and spin the wheels.

“I knew what it was but the symptoms were so mild then that even our pediatrician said he was only delayed like most boys,” stated Justin’s mother. “But I knew things were not right. Call it a mother's instinct or a therapist's more acute eye.”

Justin was later confirmed to have autism.

In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British physician, presented a paper that created many years of debate in the medical world and caused vaccination rates to decrease.

Wakefield’s study, which included only 12 children, concluded that there is proof that the children behaved differently after being vaccinated with the MMR shot, leading him to believe that the shot might increase the risks for autism and bowel disorders. Dr. Wakefield further suggested that the immune system of the body might be overwhelmed by the mixture of the MMR, encouraging the use of separate vaccines against the three diseases.

The study was made known worldwide through a press conference and video releases, which resulted in the vaccine being viciously attacked and the public losing confidence in the MMR vaccine’s credibility. Before that, the shot has almost successfully removed measles and rubella since it was being used in the early 70s in the US and then in late 80s in London.

Measles, which may lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis, has fatality rates as high as 28% in developing countries. Rubella, or German measles, may cause congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in the infant of a pregnant woman infected with the virus. CRS commonly presents with deafness, eye defects and congenital heart disease.

A lot of other studies contested Dr. Wakefield’s conclusion.  In 1998, a 14-year Finnish study concluded that MMR does not cause autism and bowel disorders. The study followed up 1.8 million individuals who were given the MMR shots from 1982 to 1996. The study further concluded that there is huge evidence that supports the MMR shot’s safety.

There followed various researches that asked questions on how the study was conducted. Similar studies showed different results or inconclusive data. Others could not replicate the research because of insufficient information. The British Medical Journal reported that the rising rate of autism cases is not caused by MMR because, although the vaccine was not widely given, autism conditions have risen.

In February this year, The Lancet fully retracted the study from its published record after Andrew Wakefield was found by the British General Medical Council (GMC) to have “acted dishonestly and irresponsibly.”

“I believe they are retracting this because of the way the study was conducted. It doesn't really cancel out the possibility of the vaccine triggering autism,” Boynton reacts to the recent retraction.

The Wakefield study was retracted in light of ethical issues. A thorough investigative report by award-winning journalist Brian Deer unmasked the supposedly conflict of interest behind Wakefield’s paper. Deer discovered that Wakefield was paid to create evidence against the MMR vaccine by a lawyer named Richard Barr. Barr represented a group of parents who believed their children were harmed by the vaccine.

Despite the retraction of the study, opinions of parents and healthcare professionals still vary. The debate continues.

Nida Gusto of H.O.P.E. Development Center for Children, Inc., a school for special children including those with autism located in Las Pinas City in the Philippines, recalled that she was already a bit skeptic with the findings during those times. “My daughter was vaccinated with MMR and she grew up normal.”

However, for families like Boynton’s, who continue to face the challenges of living with autism, the retraction is not enough to convince of the vaccine’s safety. Boynton’s third child, a seven-year old girl, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a milder form under autism spectrum disorders. Boynton also has an eight-year old son who got the MMR vaccine, but is in perfect health today.

“Is it the vaccine?” asks Boynton, “ Maybe, maybe not. But it has been reported that the last batch of MMR vaccine made with thimerosal was in 1999, the year Justin was born. The likelihood of him getting a batch with thimerosal is high.” Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that was added to vaccines as an antiseptic and often associated with the development of autism. In richer countries such as the United States and those under the European Union, thimerosal is no longer used in vaccines.

Boynton concludes: “I just believe some kids are more genetically predisposed to getting [autism after the MMR shot]. What triggers it still remains a mystery.”

Now based in United States, Dr. Wakefield says the GMC hearing result is "unjust and unfounded."