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I've had way too many downvotes to just give up on Wakefield like that. My experience tells me, when I get voted down a lot on HN about non-hacker subjects, I'

I've had way too many downvotes to just give up on Wakefield like that. My experience tells me, when I get voted down a lot on HN about non-hacker subjects, I'm usually right. You guys stick to your guns, I'll stick to mine.

Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
OK, let's take a different tack on this. Let's assume that you (or rather Wakefield) is right and that the MMR vaccine does cause autism (it doesn't but curiously it actually doesn't change much in terms of what you should do). Given that the risk of any one of mumps (complications including pancreatitis, encephalitis, spontanious abortion in pregnant mothers, impotence in men), measles (kills 0.3% of those who get it in the US, up to 28% in developing nations) or rubbella (can cause miscarriage in pregnant mothers and cardiac defects and brain damage in new borns) is greater than the risk from autism (both in terms of impact and probability), how does opposition to MMR and vaccination in general make any sense? Even if you accept the most extreme claims of anti-vaxxers in terms of what they might be causing and at what level, it's still better than the alternative. We've forgotten just how potent these diseases are because we're not exposed to them often these days. Drop vaccines and that would change very, very quickly.
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