January 29, 2010

Dr. Andrew Wakefield in the news again

I posted yesterday about Dr. Wakefield and his tainted "research" regarding childhood vaccinations and the bogus link to autism. The Daily Bayonet has more:
Vaccine Alarmist Reaps the Whirlwind
An important news story comes from the UK as the doctor behind the hoax linking the MMR vaccine to autism faces losing his license.

Andrew Wakefield�s bogus research scared parents away from having their children vaccinated against dangerous but preventable childhood diseases. At least two children died as a result of not being immunized. What might have motivated Wakefield to make scaremongering claims against a safe, effective vaccine? Money, perhaps:
He [Wakefield] was also criticised for not telling the Lancet he had filed a patent for a measles vaccine to rival MMR, and for starting a child on an experimental drug called Transfer Factor, which he planned to produce and sell, without the necessary paediatric qualifications.
It looks very much as if Wakefield wanted to ruin the reputation of the MMR vaccine to create a favorable market for his own solution, without regard for the consequences to innocents.

Wakefield took advantage of parents seeking an explanation for their children�s autism and offered them something to blame, the MMR vaccine. But his research was false and no other study ever supported his theory. The disturbing element of the story is Wakefield�s �supporters�, people who became so invested in his false narrative that they can�t let it go even as the awful truth is revealed. Much like global warming believers, they are unable to reorient their mindset to understand they were duped by cynical hucksters seeking money and power.

The findings against Wakefield should serve as a warning to alarmists of all stripes � irresponsible activism has consequences. Phil Jones of the CRU might yet be tried for criminal actions, and it�s fair to say the global warming activism sector is a target rich environment for future fraud investigations.

Be worried, alarmists, eventually your lies will catch up with you, and the Internet never forgets.
The persistence of data and the searchability of the internet is what I love about it. You cannot hide -- the truth wants to be free. We saw it with ClimateGate and we see it with this failure of an EX-Doctor... Posted by DaveH at January 29, 2010 1:59 PM
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