In 1998 Andrew Wakefield published a paper claiming a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination and autism – reporting on a total of eight children who developed symptoms of autism within a month of receiving the vaccine.

In the past sixteen years there have been multiple studies – at least 14 worldwide – and books published debunking the paper, which was initially rejected by four of the six reviewers who were asked to judge it. And yet the myth continues to have tragic effects worldwide as more deaths are reported from outbreaks of preventable these diseases here in the United States and abroad. Why? In part thanks to celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, actress, Playboy centerfold, co-host of The View, and since 2005 anti-vaccine activist. Read more…