Keith Olbermann -- Today's Best "Worst Person in the World"

Last night, thousands of parents and grandparents of children with autism sat in front of their TVs, mouths agape, as Keith Olbermann declared their national hero, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Tuesday's "Worst Person in the World" on the popular Countdown show on MSNBC.

Quoting from a story in the Sunday Times of London, Olbermann said that Dr. Wakefield had fabricated data in a 1998 Lancet article about 12 children with autism and severe bowel disorders. Wakefield had written that eight of the families noted deterioration in their children within days of them receiving the triple live virus MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, and that vaccine-strain measles virus had been identified in gut biopsies in some of the patients.

The uproar has never really subsided, especially in the United Kingdom, where Wakefield and two other doctors who worked on the Lancet study are on trial at the General Medical Council on several serious charges of misconduct.

The person who brought these issues to the Medical Council was a freelance reporter named Brian Deer - the same Brian Deer who wrote the article on Wakefield in the Sunday Times. In his writing, Deer claimed that Wakefield had made up results about severe MMR reactions in the children just days after receiving the shots, had ignored signs of autism in some kids before they received their MMR vaccine, and changed lab reports on the gut biopsies - among other alleged infractions that have been covered in the two year trial in London of Wakefield et al.

The accusations printed in the Sunday Times are, frankly, outlandish. And they are false. A thorough accounting of the entire blackballing of Andrew Wakefield was published today by journalist Melanie Phillips in The Spectator, (UK): called The Witch-Hunt Against Andrew Wakefield."

It makes for some pretty interesting reading:

What the Sunday Times did not report was that the GMC investigation into Wakefield was triggered by a complaint from... Brian Deer, who furnished the allegations against him four years ago. He has thus been reporting upon the hearing into his own complaint. Since when has a reputable paper published a story by a reporter who is actually part of that story himself -- without saying so - and who uses information arising from the disciplinary hearing which he himself has instigated and which is investigating allegations he himself made in the first place.

The point is an excellent one. Imagine if a US journalist sued a doctor for libel or misconduct, and then went to the NY Times and asked to be hired as a freelancer to cover the trial that they themselves had instigated in the first place. It wouldn't happen.

Ms. Phillips also wrote:

It is remarkable how so many commentators take at face value the claims being made by Wakefield's detractors, and how many recycle the misrepresentions of easily verifiable facts - such as what the Wakefield paper actually said -- which his detractors disseminate.

Which brings us to Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

It does not matter what opinion you have about the vaccine-autism controversy (and you know you do) for you to realize that Dr. Wakefield was unduly maligned by the Sunday Times. The allegations are not true, and Andy Wakefield is not, nor has he ever been, the "worst person in the world."

What made Keith Olbermann's mistake almost deliciously ironic was that, in the same "Worst Persons" segment, he gave the Bronze Award to a Fox News Anchor for reading Republican talking points without doing any independent reporting or verification. The Silver went to Bill O'Reilly (no surprise there), another employee of Fox News -- and Rupert Murdoch.

Mr. Olbermann even got out his trademark pirate voice to imitate right-winger Murdoch, by saying, "We have never been a company that tolerates facts! Rrrrrr!"

So here was Keith Olbermann, in the same segment, slamming Fox News -- owned by a company that does not "tolerate facts" -- for promoting falsehoods and propaganda; and then slamming Dr. Wakefield for something that was reported in The Sunday Times -- owned by that same fact-intolerant company.

Countdown's producers clearly took the Sunday Times story at face value, without doing a little due diligence. After all, Wakefield had denied the allegations in the original article, he issued a formal statement of denial earlier this week, and the autism treatment group he works for in Austin, TX also issued a statement. Olbermann's people should have picked up the phone and called Austin before he blasted Wakefield for faking scientific data.

Which brings us to today's Best Person in the World -- Keith Olbermann, who is issuing an eloquent and fitting correction on tonight's show.

I contacted his office today, as did many, many people, to see if he would address the issue. And address it he will. Here is the email I got back this afternoon:

Here is Keith's script from tonight's show, where Brian Deer will receive (at least) the bronze Worst Person in the World honors... it will air tonight, barring breaking news:

The bronze to Brian Deer.

He wrote the Times of London report that Dr. Andrew Wakefield had allegedly altered key research linking the Measles, Mumps and Rubella triple-vaccine to autism in children, which earned Dr. Wakefield a spot on this list yesterday.

The Times of London did not bother to mention that the British investigation into whether or not Wakefield did that was the result of a complaint by... Brian Deer.

The guy who wrote the article about the investigation never mentioned he was the complainant who precipitated the investigation.

The truth about the doctor's research may be in doubt here, but not Deer's vast conflict of interest nor the Times of London's journalistic malfeasance.

The paper is owned by Rupert Murdoch, and it's my bad for forgetting his new motto: "We have never been a company that tolerates facts."

It might have been your bad, Mr. Olbermann, but you have turned it into a good.

------

PS - Just to remind everyone that vaccine-autism research is neither fringe, nor a threat to civilization as we know it, I copy again this list below, which I also sent to the good people at Countdown:

I hope you will take just one moment to see that vaccine-autism research continues, because the link has not been disproven. Even the new President agrees with that statement, so Dr. Wakefield is not as far outside the mainstream as you might think. (Please see below)

MAINSTREAM VOICES FOR VACCINE RESEARCH:

President Barack Obama -- Who said last year, that: "We've seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it's connected to the vaccines. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- Who said last year that, " I am committed to make investments to find the causes of autism, including possible environmental causes like vaccines. We don't know what, if any, kind of link there is between vaccines and autism - but we should find out."

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) -- Who told Congress in 2006 that the Combatting Autism Act should fund "environmental research examining potential links between vaccines, vaccine components and autism. In January, 2008, he called efforts to strip vaccine research from funding, "contrary to the spirit of the (CAA) bill."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) -- Who said last year, "It's indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what's causing it. And we go back and forth and there's strong evidence that indicates that it's got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) -- Who told Congress in 2006, "I want to be clear that ... no research avenue should be eliminated, including biomedical research examining potential links between vaccines, vaccine components, and autism."

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) -- Who concured on the Senate Floor with Senator Enzi's remarks.

Bob Wright, Co-Founder, Autism Speaks -- Who told the UK Daily Telegraph in 2008 that, "There is no question but that autism is partly genetic and partly environmental. We ought to be able to zero in on some of the environmental factors in early childhood. Vaccines are one of the variables."

CDC's Immunization Safety Office -- As part of its draft research agenda for vaccine safety, this agency last April proposed looking at several clinical outcomes from childhood vaccinations, including "Autoimmune diseases; central nervous system demyelinating disorders; encephalitis/ encephalopathy; and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism."

Former CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding -- who told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta: "If a child was immunized, got a fever, had other complications from the vaccines, and if you're predisposed with the mitochondrial disorder, it can certainly set off some damage (and) symptoms that have characteristics of autism. We have to have an open mind."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases -- who told US News, "If we can show that individuals of a certain genetic profile have a greater propensity for developing adverse events, we may want to screen everyone prior to vaccination (for) undetectable diseases like a subclinical mitochrondrial disorder."

Drs. Richard I. Kelley, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Margaret L. Bauman, Massachusetts General Hospital, Marvin R. Natowicz, Cleveland Clinic, etc -- "Large, population-based studies will be needed to identify a possible relationship of vaccination with autistic regression in persons with mitochondrial cytopathies."

Scientists at UC San Diego -- They wrote in the journal Autism that children given Tylenol after the MMR shot were several times more likely to develop autism. Tylenol can reduce levels of glutathione - a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier. "Tylenol and MMR was significantly associated with autistic disorder," the authors wrote. "More research needs to be completed to confirm the results of this preliminary study."

Former NIH Director and current IOM Member Dr. Bernadine Healy - She told CBS News that, "public health officials have been too quick to dismiss the (vaccine) hypothesis as 'irrational,' without sufficient studies of causation... without studying the population that got sick."

Former Chief Scientific Officer, UK Department of Health, Dr. Peter Fletcher - The former equivalent of the US FDA Adminstrator, said, "This really proves the causal role of vaccines: Somali children who are newly exposed to aggressive vaccine programmes have exceptionally high levels of autism. What more evidence is needed? The refusal by governments to evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the greatest scandals in medical history."

CURRENT VACCINE/MERCURY RELATED STUDIES:

The National CADDRE Study -- This 5-year project of the CDC's Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE) Network will "help identify what might put children at risk for autism," the CDC says. Among those risk factors: "specific mercury exposures, including any vaccine use by the mother during pregnancy and the child's vaccine exposures after birth."

The Kennedy Krieger Institute -- The nation's premiere autism research outfit is sponsor of the Interactive Autism Network (IAN). Its new questionnaire deals with autism and vaccines. Thousands of families are describing their experiences with autistic regression following vaccination. Top scientists will then use this information, "to conduct additional vaccine-focused studies."

The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network -- CISA is a CDC-sponsored group that brings together leading autism research institutions and America's health insurance companies. Last April, the CDC proposed this research question: "Is immunization associated with increased risk for neurological deterioration in children with mitochondrial dysfunction?" To find out, "CISA has formed a working group to study methods related to mitochondrial disorders and immunization," the CDC said.

Autism Speaks -- Autism Speaks recently authorized three studies on thimerosal, vaccines and autism, and the foundation is considering funding a lot more highly significant research into the possible links between vaccines and autism.

The National Children's Study -- This is not a vaccine-autism study. But the HHS-EPA joint effort will investigate "the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States," including autism. As part of their work researchers will track medical records, which include vaccinations.

UC Davis MIND Institute -- Authors of a new study say that genetics alone cannot explain the rise in autism in California. "We're looking at the possible effects of metals, pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment," said Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a co-author and professor at UC Davis.

The University of Texas -- Two studies led Ray Palmer, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center show increased risks for autism among kids living closest to mercury-emitting sources, such as coal-fired power plants.

California Department of Health Services/ Kaiser Permanente -- This CDC- funded, NIH-published study showed that kids born in the most polluted tracts of the SF Bay Area (mercury was a significant factor) were more likely to develop autism: "Our results suggest a potential association between autism and estimated metal concentrations."

MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND AUTISM:

The Hannah Poling Case - A year ago, medical personnel at HHS determined that this girl's autism was caused by, "vaccine induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic reserves." Hannah had low cellular energy related to her underlying and mild mitochondrial dysfunction. Many children with autism claims in Vaccine Court have almost identical mitochondrial dysfunction.
Mitochondrial disorders are not rare in autism -- Research suggests that dysfunction may affect 10-to-30% of all kids with autism -- perhaps more among "regressive" cases.

Mitochondrial disorders are probably not rare in the general population -- Such disorders were thought to affect 1-in-5,000 people. But new research suggests that genetic mutations that might confer mitochondrial dysfunction might be found in 1-in-400 to 1-in-50. A study by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) found mitochondrial DNA mutations that might cause disease in up to 1-in-200 people.

Children with mitochondrial disorders are at greater risk of autistic regression -- A new study by researchers at Cleveland Clinic and elsewhere found that a trigger for autistic regression in kids with mito disorders could possibly come from a vaccine reaction. "There might be no difference between the inflammatory or catabolic stress of vaccinations and that of common childhood diseases," they wrote.

Children with mitochondrial disorders are at greater risk of vaccine injury -- This according to Dr. Douglas Wallace, Professor of Molecular Medicine and Director of the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine in Genetics at UC Irvine. A member of the UMDF's scientific board, he stated, "We advocate spreading vaccines out as much as possible -- each time you vaccinate, you're creating a challenge for the system, and if a child has an impaired system that could in fact trigger further clinical problems."

Comments

[tonylurker]

9 days now and Kirby et al. still haven't addressed Brian Deer's response in any fashion. Do Kirby and Olberman have any evidence to back up their claim that Brain Deer was the complainant? If not, will they ever apologize?

[JohnDanStone]

Citizen Deux

You claim that there are no peer review studies by Wakefield on Pub Med, when in fact there are well over a hundred. I suggest you brush up your internet skills.

No direct response to my earlier post below, of course.

[CitizenDeux]

It is clearly a case of absolute bunk which you seem to promote. The work presented by Mr. Deer is consistent, thorough and irrefuted. Continued predation by individuals, like Wakefield, on desperate parents has not only led to an alarming spike in measles illnesses in the UK, but possible groundwork for epidemics here in the United States. Anyone with some reasonable internet skills can now review the medical literature via the NIH's PUBMED Central in full. Among that literature there is, notably, nothing by Wakefield, et al.

Why is that? Because their claims, much like your own, are completely unsupported by careful science. Your collection of politico quotes and cherry picked "data" discount the removal from vaccines of Thimerasol in 1997 and the body's natural ability to excrete organic mercury in days after exposure.

[JohnDanStone]

Mr Justice Eady, in a UK High Court judgement, previously uncontested, stated that Brian Deer was the complainant against Andrew Wakefield, and listed three separate letters of complaint written by Deer in 2004. As a journalist Brian Deer now needs to publish all his correspondence with the GMC and its lawyers in order to clarify his relationship with them.

http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/?p=1849&cpage=3#comment-56569

[autismnostrum]

Was the link you provided intended to back up this claim? If so, it failed. All it links to is a blog entry about Deer's article and some accusations in the comments. I'm not finding anything in Google News to support this, and I doubt I will.

I *can,* however, find proof that Wakefield himself called for the investigation. "Dr Wakefield said that he would insist on a full GMC inquiry after it was suggested by John Reid, the Health Secretary, on Friday." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1027465.ece

[quiddler]

Boy, to read Deer you'd think that Wakefield was really out there flapping in the breeze. I checked to see if Wakefield's results really were not reproducible by looking at his citations. All those guys must be practicing scientific fraud and all those journals must be in collusion with them. I'm sure Deer can set them all straight.

In the meantime, why not read Wakefield's conference presentation on his website, Thoughtful House, instead of mucking about here?

[autismnostrum]

The better way to search to see if his results were not reproducible is by doing a search for his hypothesis or similar keywords: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=autism+mmr&btnG=Search

But you could look at his work: http://gut.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/36/4/564

And then look at the citations:

Y. D'Souza, S. Dionne, E. G Seidman, A. Bitton, and B. J Ward
No evidence of persisting measles virus in the intestinal tissues of patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Gut, June 1, 2007; 56(6): 886 - 888.

Most of them are refuting Wakefield's claims, and most of them are actually referring to his earlier hypothesis that Crohn's Disease was caused by measles.

Least that's what my Google tells me. If you've got different results, I'd love to see them.

[BrianDeer]

This attack on me is based on a fabrication: this fabrication is that the GMC'sd investigations were triggered by a complaint by me. This is wholly untrue. Revelations by me in The Sunday Times that Wakefield was employed by lawyers to attack MMR triggered the secretary of state for health, AND Wakefield himself to call for a GMC inquiry. The GMC approached me and asked, in the public interest, that I supply details of my journalistic findings. They similarly approached dozens of other parties.

I am not the complainant and have letters to prove this. Moreover, my latest revelations, based on striking mismatches between the Lancet paper and the actual situations of the children, are entirely new, and do not mirror any charges Wakefield already faced.

It would be contrary to the public interest were journalists who have supplied information to statutory regulators to then disbar themselves from further coverage of a topic. In that event, no journalist would cooperate with regulators, as they do all the time, in the US and the UK.

Mr Kirby's attacks merely recycle the fabrications of a handful of cranks and opportunists who lurk around the fringes of the vaccine issue.

His own collaboration with the MSNBC programme, leading them to supply him with script material, indicates that he is a campaigner, well beyond the line which professional journalists, including myself, would not cross.

[Reaniel]

Mr. Deer,
Perhaps you might want to contact the HuffPo editors directly and supply your side of the story as well as possible rebuttal? I mean replying in the comment area is less than effective most of the time :/

[autismnostrum]

Thank you for posting this!

And keep up the good work. There are parents like me out there who really appreciate your efforts.

[jacko88]

Keep up the good work. Journalism needs more people like you who are willing to investigate and capable of understanding technical issues. I'm sorry Olbermann made such an ass of himself.

[tfoley]

Olbermann seems to be doing alot of apologizing lately

[S1m0n]

It is strange to see Mr Kirby trying to refute the Medical Council's fraudulent data finding by citing....Barack Obama and Dr Wakefield's present employers? WTF?

This was a finding on a question of FACT. No one's fine opinion of Dr Wakefield holds any sway. If contemporary medical records contradict Dr Wakefield's representation of their contents, then he's guilty, no matter who made what allegation to whom, and regardless of who might think Dr Wakefield is a jolly fellow.

[autismnostrum]

Not to mention that the whole premise of this article is flawed. Brian Deer isn't a complainant in the proceedings against Wakefield, so there was nothing to disclose.

[deamon]

I'm from Britain. I never thought I'd see the day when the leftwing Huff Post would favourably quote a rightwing polemicist like Melanie Phillips. For you Americans that don't know who her, I would say she is equivalent to your Ann Coulter. Yes, she's THAT bad.

It doesn't matter how many politicians you quote, fact is that there is no controversy in the scientific community over MMR. MMR jabs DON'T cause autism. Wakefield's research (regardless of fraud), has been refuted time and again.

The mainstream media is the only link outside of school that the population has to science. It is therefore the media's responsibility to make sure they are educated sufficiently enough to report on scientific issues faithfully. This is not done with most reporting on MMR. It is reporting like this that has led to an increase of 90 cases to 1348 cases of measles in the UK as parents refuse to vaccinate their children.

Another case in point: the LHC. I seem to remember some news sources reporting that the world was going to end when they switched it on.

I support most people's right to free speech, but fact is, I use my right to free speech to say perhaps people in the media should recognize when not to report on a subject because of scientific illiteracy. You have a right to do articles against MMR, but that doesn't mean it is right to do so.

[autismnostrum]

Vaccine-autism research IS fringe, I don't care what Barrack Obama says off the top of his head. The research is, in fact, conclusive. The preponderance of evidence doesn't support any connection. And there's been a lot of research. Any research Wakefield did, whether it was faked or merely extremely ethically tainted, has been tossed out as invalid, sloppy science.

So the question is really, "Is Wakefield unethical and ignoring evidence that conflicts with his hypothesis, or is he super duper unethical and outright making stuff up? Either way, he's not a good researcher, and we shouldn't be paying attention to his claims anymore.

[MNmommy]

Keith did a fantastic job making the anti-vaccine crowd happy, without making them correct.

What a fine line he walked.

[mhkh87]

I heard that story and was very suprised - I knew it did not sound right. I'm glad its been corrrected. Thanks to you and thank you Keith Olberman!!

[samuel99]

I don't see Deer's conflict. As a journalist, he exposed Wakefield's fraud, complained about it (as he should), and now he's covering it. It's a followup. When Woodward & Bernstein exposed Watergate, was it a conflict for them to write about it later?

It's funny how Wakefield's much more lucrative conflict wasn't mentioned. He was working for, and funded by lawyers for people trying to get compensation for people claiming vaccine damage. His objective was to find evidence for a vaccine-autism link. And even then, he couldn't claim a definitive link.

And funny how there is no mention that 10 of 12 of Wakefield's co-authors have published a retraction on the central interpretation of the famous paper.

I suppose it's understandable that parents with autistic children take comfort from blaming someone, but they should be losing sleep over the children that will get sick and die because of the misinformation they are helping to promote. (Before vaccinations, in the 50s and 60s, measles killed 500 to 600 people per year in the UK. The disease practically disappeared after vaccination but since Wakefield's shameful paper, the number of cases has gone from 56 to more than 1200, with 2 deaths, and 2 cases of permanent damage. Fortunately, since Wakefield and 2 colleagues have been charged with professional misconduct, his research is widely accepted to be discredited, and the vaccination rates are starting to climb again. For that, we can thank Brian Deer.)

[calamityjohn]

did Woodward and Bernstien file a complaint against Nixon and then cover their own complaint in the news without noting their conflict of interest ??? really ????

As a parent of a child who lost all his language but 6 words between the ages of 2 and 3 .. and still has those 6 words as his vocabulary at 15 .. I don't take comfort from blame .. that is patronizing not "understandable" .. it was a difficult and tortured decision not to vaccinate my two little girls after what happened to my son .. to think that Wakefield was the primary focus of that decision is a tremendous oversimplification .. MMR vaccination rates in the UK were falling 3 years before Wakefield's study .. I "lose sleep" over what will happen to my son since I am not immortal and have had 15 years of experience with how little society cares .. Trivializing and demonizing the carefully thought out decisions and concerns of parents is not going to raise vaccination rates it is just pouring fuel on the fire.

[AutismNewsBeat]

What proof do you have that Deer filed the complaint?

[samuel99]

“did Woodward and Bernstien file a complaint against Nixon”

Well, they filed stories, and the stories were complaints about Nixon, so yes. I don’t know if they filed formal complaints, but the relevant point is that the investigation was a direct result of information they revealed.

According to Deer, he didn’t file a formal complaint either; he merely provided information. But even if he had filed a complaint, I don’t see it as a conflict of interest. Reporters should be encouraged to blow the whistle when they uncover misdeeds, not discouraged by taking them off the story. Where is the conflict? Did he stand to get a bonus, a raise, a promotion. If so, then that’s merit reward, not a conflict of interest. Otherwise doing one’s job well would be a conflict because it could lead to a bonus, a raise, or a promotion.

Now, if he had been hired specifically to find Wakefield fraudulent, and if that was all he did, that would be a conflict. But that situation (reversed) seems to fit the author of this piece rather more accurately.

“it was a difficult and tortured decision not to vaccinate my two little girls after what happened to my son”

It would have easy, but for the misinformation promulgated by Wakefield and his ilk.

[samuel99]

"Trivializing and demonizing the carefully thought out decisions and concerns of parents is not going to raise vaccination rates it is just pouring fuel on the fire."



Children's health is not trivial, and so I was attempting to do the opposite of trivializing the decisions of parents to refuse vaccination.

But what does pouring fuel on the fire mean? That you don't really care about the facts, but are willing to put children's health at risk because of spite, because you feel patronized?

[TheTruthAboutAutism]

The US and Brit governments only have themselves to blame for the decline in vaccinations. If the governments would face up to their mistake --admit they screwed up by combining the MMR into one jab, making children get far too many vaccinations too young, and giving numerous jabs in one day instead of spacing them apart -- they would regain some credibility with the public.

Then, if they would introduce a safer, more realistic vaccination schedule -- like the one that existed in the 1980s and earlier -- they would regain public trust.

Back then, autism was extremely rare, affecting 1 out of every 10,000 children. Since the 1990s when the current vaccination schedule was adopted, autism has become an epidemic, affecting 1 out of every 150 children.

See 1980s vaccination schedule: http://generationrescue.com/pdf/turnback.pdf and compare to today's schedule: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2008/08_0-6yrs_schedule_pr.pdf.

Then, consider these recommendations for vaccinating your own child: http://generationrescue.com/pdf/doctor.pdf

[samuel99]

"The US and Brit governments only have themselves to blame for the decline in vaccinations."

This might be true if (1) a link between MMR and autism were demonstrated, and (2) a weaker link were demonstrated to single vaccines.

But even Wakefield admits an MMR-autism link has not been established, and this is more than a decade after it was first suspected. Surely, if such a rapid increase in autism diagnoses were related to MMR, it would be easy to demonstrate a link statistically. For a cause & effect correlation, look at how measles follows disuse of vaccines in a nicely predictable way, with expected delays etc. But the autism curve is a remarkably smooth increase (as might be expected from gradually improving methods of diagnosis), with no jump when MMR came in, no plateau when MMR use leveled off, and importantly, no decrease when MMR use dropped dramatically. For a disease that is triggered within weeks of the jab, this seems to pretty well rule causation out.

So, after more than 10 years of unsuccessful attempts to establish an MMR-autism link (by people who could handsomely from such a link), you suggest the government should introduce a less effective, more expensive vaccine regimen, because of – what – someone’s hunch?? Abandoning MMR would give credibility to the hunch, in which case, who would trust single vaccines? If the govts have themselves to blame, it is for allowing fraudulent science the influence it has had.

[kassaq]

Wakefield is a quack, period. He should leave real research to real scientists. The Lancet editors and reviewers should be ashamed of letting this piece of garbage (or "rubbish", as the Brits would call it) get through. It wasn't even a "study" (which implies controls, masking and other medical research strategies) but a case series. Case series' are often useful , when reported properly, as hypothesis­-generatin­g tools but they should always be considered anecdotal evidence at best.

[AutismNewsBeat]

So those 12 scientists who retracted their support of the 1998 study - are they part of the conspiracy, too? What's it up to now? Like a million or so?

[CraigWilloughby]

And how many parents are in on the conspiracy to bring down the vaccine industry and cause a return of communicable diseases? What, a couple of million or so?

[TheTruthAboutAutism]

Apparently they saw good reason to support it at first, but after seeing what Wakefield and other doctors and scientists have gone through, they backed out. It takes real courage to be a whistle blower, especially when there's so much at stake.

Do you stand up for the truth, even if it means you might risk losing your career, your livelihood, your reputation? It's a rare person who, like Wakefield, will stand up to Big Pharma and the government.

[Data-Z]

Thank you again, David. Great job!

Everyone should also read Melanie Phillips' article, which David pointed to.

A couple of days ago, when Huff Po ran the Brian Deer rant story from the Times of London, lots of commenters indicated they thought Deer was right, Wakefield was a crook, the it had been proven that there was no connection between vaccines and autism, that autism parents are wackos out to make a buck etc. Let's hope they all read both of these newer articles - completely - and followed up on the references. Clearly those who believed Deer were misled, at best.