Autism and vaccines: A timeline of the dubious theory and the ongoing debate

How a false claim made in 1998 instigated one of the most tenacious health controversies of our time

Child vaccines
(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

In 1998, a British researcher suggested that immunization shots may have a negative effect on an infant's developing brain. Ever since, many medical experts have worked to prove that childhood vaccine schedules are safe. The link between vaccines and autism has been debunked on numerous occasions — most recently in a study published March 29 in the Journal of Pediatrics — and the aforementioned researcher was stripped of his medical license for his dubious assertion. And yet the debate persists. One of the reasons for the lingering belief is that the number of diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders is rising at an unprecedented rate, while the causes of the disorder continue to elude us. And so, backed by the power of celebrity and social media, anti-vaccine proponents continue to blame the shots, only to prompt further research on the subject. Here, a look back at this frustratingly persistent cycle:

1998

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.