[affinehat]

That all came later as an attempt to punish Wakefield for the negative consequences to society due to people not getting vaccines. But people only stopped getting vaccines in the first place based on a misinterpretation of the paper.

They emphatically did not paint the picture that vaccines cause autism, which is exactly what "We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described. Virological studies are underway that may help to resolve this issue" is cautioning against. That picture was painted by the media.