We re pretty sure that by now you re at least somewhat familiar with the fraudulent (and supremely damaging) research done (made up, really) by Andrew Wakefield the former physician whose license was revoked in the UK which claimed there was a link between a children s vaccine and autism. It is impossible to calculate the number of illnesses and preventable deaths caused by this sordid affair, but it must be enormous. Even today long after the fraud was thoroughly exposed some people still cling to their beliefs that vaccines cause autism.
Few people know this story better than Michael Shaw, who not only has the story down cold, but has provided us with what is arguably the best source to provide a clear, in-depth assessment of the investigation of this research to the eventual retraction of the Wakefield paper the actual three-part investigative report written by Brian Deer, a reporter for The Sunday Times of London, who won the British equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize (twice) for his work in this area.
Shaw, who runs his own blog Shaw s EcoLogic, and is also a regular contributor to the enormously popular HealthNewsDigest, has written about this scandal before. He does not mince words.
He says, For all the great work that Brian Deer did on the Wakefield matter, even he did not portray this as the absolute disaster that it is. Public health has been set back decades, if the entire notion of vaccination--uncontested since Edward Jenner's work of the late 18th century--is being subject to a constant stream of absurd attacks. Josef Mengele would be so proud. Wakefield and Horton belong in prison.
We wish he would tell us how he really feels.
We highly recommend you read the full text of Deer s investigation, presented in three parts. can be found here. It will make you sick.