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February 08, 2009
The Autism Deception
So, how many people has this lie killed?
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.There have been a number of studies that cast serious doubt on Wakefield's work, but there are still parents who diminish the herd immunity by refusing to get their children vaccinated. I hope the discrediting of this study will cause some of them to reconsider. (h/t: Instapundit)Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition.
...Despite involving just a dozen children, the 1998 paper’s impact was extraordinary. After its publication, rates of inoculation fell from 92% to below 80%. Populations acquire “herd immunity” from measles when more than 95% of people have been vaccinated.
Last week official figures showed that 1,348 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales were reported last year, compared with 56 in 1998. Two children have died of the disease.
Posted by slublog at February 8, 2009 10:25 PM
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Comments
My son got his one-year shots today. I mentioned this story to the nurse giving the shots, who hadn't heard about it yet, and she was furious. She said the guy should go to jail. She did also say, however, that in America at least our herd immunity is still pretty much intact.
Posted by: MainiacJoe at February 9, 2009 03:47 PM