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Richard Barr receives funding to file suit against vaccine manufactuers.
A UK lawyer, Richard Barr, secured funding from the Legal Aid Board to pursue a class action suit against manufacturers of MMR vaccine. -
Andrew Wakefield receives funding for what will be his 1998 Lancet paper.
Legal Aid Board gives £55,000 to Wakefield and Barr to study possible links between the MMR vaccine and autism -
Lancet Paper published
Wakefield and 12 others publish "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children" in The Lancet. In an accompanying press release. Wakefield is quoted to have said "The study has identified a possible link between gut disorders in children and autism. In the majority of cases onset of symptoms occurred soon after the MMR vaccination." -
"Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association" published
The Lancet publishes a study entitled ""Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association," which contradicts Wakefield's original hypothesis. -
Daily Mail reports a threat of a measles outbreak in the UK
From 1997 to 2001, UK vaccination rates dropped from 92% to 87%, following a loss in confidence in the MMR vaccine, and the Daily Mail reports of the threat of a measles outbreak. -
Sunday Times publishes an investigation into Andrew Wakefield
Brian Deer, a journalist working for the Sunday Times, publishes the findings of his investigation into Andrew Wakefield. The full extant of his report can be found on his website -
10 of Wakefield's original co-authors retract the Interpretation of their article
full text10 of Wakefield's coauthors, upon learning the results of Deer's investigation, publish a retraction of the Interpretation of their article. Part of the retraction is avaiable from the Lancet website. Deer's webiste contains the -
Institute of Medicine publishes review of Immunization Safety
Institute of Medicine publishes a review of immunization safety, in which they did not find evidence of an autism-vaccine link. The report is available from their website -
Test cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings begin
Panel of Special Masters (who make decision in Vaccine Court, part of the US Federal Court of Claims system) began to hear three cases, in which parents claimed that the MMR vaccine caused autism in their children, and sought compensation, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act. The first three test cases tested whether the MMR vaccine caused autism. -
Daily Mail reports a measles outbreak in London, following fears about the MMR vaccine
The full story is available here -
Jenny McCarthy on Oprah
Jenny McCarthy appears on Oprah on a segment entitled "Mothers Battle Autism," claiming that her son's autism was caused by the MMR vaccine he received. The story is available on Oprah's website. -
Decisions in the first three tests cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings are published
Decisions in Cedillo v. HHS, Hazlehurst v. HHS, Snyder v. HHS released. In all three cases, the court found that the parents' theories on how the MMR vaccine caussd their childrens' autism were not sufficient to merit compensation. -
Lancet fully retracts Wakefield's article
The editors fully retract Wakefield's 1998 article, writing "it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al. are incorrect." The full text of the retraction. -
Decisions in the second three Omnibus Autism Proceeding test cases
Decisions in Dwyer v HHS, King v HHS, and Mead v HHS released. In all three cases, the court found that the parents' theories on how thimerosal-containing vaccines caussd their childrens' autism were not sufficient to merit compensation. -
British General Medical Council strike Wakefield from medical registry
The British General Medical Council, after investing Wakefield, find him guily of "serious professional misconduct."Their full decision is availablehere