Strictly speaking, Wakefield didn't create anti-vax sentiment - in the 1980s, there was a moral panic in the US about whether the pertussis vaccine caused encephalopathy in children.

Congress passed a law to protect pharmaceutical companies from nuisance lawsuits.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Childhood_Vaccine_Injury_Act

January 29, 2026 - 10:02 UTC

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It goes back a lot further than that. Back to the 18th century.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-vaccine_activism
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Maintenance Phase has a really good episode on this - we have always has grifters and hacks claiming the evidence is inconclusive and you should really try my remedy instead...

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rfk-jr-and-the-rise-of-the-anti-vaxx-movement/id1535408667?i=1000621494286
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