The anti-vaccine movement lost steam Tuesday after the world’s leading medical journal officially retracted a controversial autism study that has caused millions of parents around the world to fear childhood vaccines.

The study, published in 1998 in the British journal the The Lancet was the first to report a purported link between a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella and the onset of autism. That reported association, which has since been discredited, formed the crux for the argument that MMR vaccines can cause autism and many in the anti-vaccine movement used the paper as proof of their claims.

Experts say the rare move by the Lancet to pull a published paper should help to correct the public record, though many added that more work is needed to remove the publication’s harmful legacy.

“This sends a very strong signal this research is not to be believed,” said Paul Hebert, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “For something that is published, taking it out of the public record is effectively saying it never existed.”

The published research, led by Dr. Andrew Wakefield of London’s Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine, had far-reaching public health consequences after fearful parents questioned the safety of vaccines.

“That caused a drop in vaccination rates, which has caused harm to children who have got measles and mumps as a result,” said autism expert Dr. Peter Szatmari and Chedoke Health Chair in child psychiatry at McMaster University’s Offord Centre for Child Studies. “And it has caused enormous suffering and anxiety to parents of children with autism, particularly those who have a younger child and are wondering about whether to vaccinate them or not.”

Szatmari, whose work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, said he hopes the retraction will be another piece of reassuring evidence that it is safe for parents to vaccinate their kids.

“And that it’s important to do so, not only for their health, but for the health of the population of all children, with or without autism,” he said.

While the paper’s withdrawal was lauded by the scientific community, the same experts say the retraction will likely do little to sway the opinion of parents who are convinced the MMR vaccine causes autism.

Dr. Joanne Embree, section head of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba and past president of the Canadian Paediatric Society, said the autism community should consider the retraction good news since it means they can move on to fund other, more promising, areas of autism research.

“What I suspect will happen, is those individuals who truly believe that this was the case will not change their mind based on this action,” she said.

Autism Canada, a charitable organization that provides “uncensored resources to parents and caregivers,” released a statement Tuesday that urged journalists to read Wakefield’s 1998 study and to understand he never stated parents should not vaccinate their children.

However, the statement released by the organization’s executive director Laurie Mawlan, said Autism Canada believes “no stone should be left unturned in understanding this disorder, which is affecting more children, youths and adults yearly.”

In his 1998 study, Wakefield said he and his colleagues investigated 12 children with chronic enterocolitis (inflammation of the colon and small intestine) and regressive developmental disorder, and found “in most cases, onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation.”

After its publication, many experts in the autism field were concerned about the quality of science Wakefield reported in the paper.

Other scientists outside the Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine were unable to replicate the study. And epidemiological studies from multiple countries have shown no association between the MMR vaccine and autism, with some even showing children who receive the vaccine are less likely to be diagnosed with the disorder, said Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, a child neurologist and scientist at Bloorview Kids Rehab.

The retraction is the third strike for the controversial paper: Ten of the 13 authors later renounced the study in a statement to the Lancet. It was found out that Wakefield received funds from lawyers hired by parents who believed their children were harmed by the MMR vaccine. And last month, the UK General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practice Panel ruled Wakefield broke research rules and acted unethically, which prompted the Lancet to withdraw the paper.