Kathryn Borg has once more overstepped a red line by misleading readers with a highly biased article which can harm public health (“MMR vaccine – the movie ‘that they don’t want you to see’”, The Sunday Times of Malta, April 16).

In the article she recommends the film Vaxxed which she hails as a “classic of investigative journalism”. This film exploits an emotive element (autism) while ignoring the fraud behind the claim of a connection between vaccination and autism.

This research fraud had consequences. Parents started to refuse vaccination for their children which resulted in reduced vaccine rates. There was a return of measles and other preventable illnesses. Restoring public confidence after such a damaging setback was challenging and it took 15 years for vaccination rates to recover.

Another sad consequence of the vaccination scare was that attention was diverted away from efforts to understand the real causes of autism, still a poorly understood condition, and how to help children and families who live with it.

Unfortunately, Borg has neglected to establish the true facts behind this story and has written an article which can do much harm. If the film achieves popularity, it may result in renewed public health damage.