In the 20 years since Wakefield’s study was first published, his results have been disproven time and time (and time) again. In fact, the study was so riddled with errors and false findings, that it was accused of being fraudulent and was ultimately retracted from “The Lancet” medical journal.
“At this point, you've had 17 previous studies done in seven countries, three different continents, involving hundreds of thousands of children," Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN. "I think it's fair to say a truth has emerged.”
The most recent study (the largest of its kind) found that the MMR vaccine did not increase the risk of autism in the 657,461 children involved.