Autism MMR Vaccine Link
Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who made the now discredited link between autism and the
measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, is not giving up.
On 24 May, 2010, the UK's General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that Wakefield be struck off
the UK medical register for "serious professional misconduct" in the course of his research at
the Royal Free Hospital in London. The reasons listed by the GMC include dishonesty in a
paper published in The Lancet in 1998 that first suggested the autism-MMR link, undeclared
conflicts of interest, and ethical flaws in the way children were recruited and managed
during the course of the research.
Wakefield, however, appears unrepentant. As New Scientist went to press, he was due to
address a rally in Chicago on 26 May, 2010 organised by a group called the Center for
Personal Rights, which promotes "individual vaccination choice, parental consent to
vaccination for children, and freedom to make healthcare decisions for ourselves and our
families".
I wonder how many people cling to the belief that vaccines cause autism.
Next
Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who made the now discredited link between autism and the
measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, is not giving up.
On 24 May, 2010, the UK's General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that Wakefield be struck off
the UK medical register for "serious professional misconduct" in the course of his research at
the Royal Free Hospital in London. The reasons listed by the GMC include dishonesty in a
paper published in The Lancet in 1998 that first suggested the autism-MMR link, undeclared
conflicts of interest, and ethical flaws in the way children were recruited and managed
during the course of the research.
Wakefield, however, appears unrepentant. As New Scientist went to press, he was due to
address a rally in Chicago on 26 May, 2010 organised by a group called the Center for
Personal Rights, which promotes "individual vaccination choice, parental consent to
vaccination for children, and freedom to make healthcare decisions for ourselves and our
families".
I wonder how many people cling to the belief that vaccines cause autism.
Next
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