(no subject)
UK's General Medical Council Bars Doctor Who Associated MMR Vaccine With Autism.
The New York Times (5/25, A4, Burns) reports that Andrew Wakefield, the controversial "doctor whose research and public statements caused widespread alarm that" the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) "vaccine could cause autism, was banned on Monday from practicing medicine in his native Britain for ethical lapses, including conducting invasive medical procedures on children that they did not need." The UK's "General Medical Council applied its most severe sanction against the doctor" by striking his name from the medical register.
The Wall Street Journal (5/25, D3, Whalen) reports that in 1998, Wakefield's study suggesting an association between the MMR vaccine and autism was published in The Lancet. Because of that study, many parents around the world made the decision not to vaccinate their children. In the US alone, it was estimated that in the year 2000, nearly 2.1% of children did not receive an MMR vaccination, a 2008 Pediatrics study suggested. As a result, there have been sporadic outbreaks of measles in the US and Europe.
The AP (5/25, Cheng) reports that while Wakefield's study was eventually discredited, "vaccination rates have never fully recovered and he continues to enjoy a vocal following, helped in the US by endorsements from celebrities like Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy." In yesterday's ruling, the GMC found Wakefield "guilty of serious professional misconduct," saying that he had "abused his position as a doctor and 'brought the medical profession into disrepute.'"
"During the two-and-a-half-year case...he was accused of carrying out invasive tests on vulnerable children which were against their best interests," BBC News (5/24, Triggle) reported. Moreover, the GMC "said Dr Wakefield, who was working...as a gastroenterologist at the time, did not have the ethical approval or relevant qualifications for such tests." The GMC took further exception to the fact that Wakefield gathered blood samples by paying "children £5 for the samples at his son's birthday party" and that he did not let it be known that he was being paid to advise attorneys acting on behalf of parents whose children were believed to have been harmed by the MMR vaccine.
According to the USA Today (5/24, Stanglin) "On Deadline" blog, "Wakefield has consistently claimed the allegations are unfair and says he will appeal the verdict."
Newsweek (5/24, Carmichael) "Human Condition" blog reported that despite the GMC's ruling and certainly now as a result of it, "many people in the antivaccine community regard him as a martyr, a whistle-blower who lost his job for daring to speak out against a shadowy conspiracy of governments and drugmakers."
According to the Time (5/24, Park) "Wellness" blog, now in the US and "defending his career on the Today show on Monday, Wakefield...maintained that 'there are millions of children out there suffering, and the fact [is] that the vaccines cause autism.'" But, "without a license to practice medicine, and the growing evidence to the contrary, it's going to harder for him to prove that claim." The Financial Times (5/25, Jack), and the UK's Independent (5/25, Laurance) also cover the story.
The New York Times (5/25, A4, Burns) reports that Andrew Wakefield, the controversial "doctor whose research and public statements caused widespread alarm that" the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) "vaccine could cause autism, was banned on Monday from practicing medicine in his native Britain for ethical lapses, including conducting invasive medical procedures on children that they did not need." The UK's "General Medical Council applied its most severe sanction against the doctor" by striking his name from the medical register.
The Wall Street Journal (5/25, D3, Whalen) reports that in 1998, Wakefield's study suggesting an association between the MMR vaccine and autism was published in The Lancet. Because of that study, many parents around the world made the decision not to vaccinate their children. In the US alone, it was estimated that in the year 2000, nearly 2.1% of children did not receive an MMR vaccination, a 2008 Pediatrics study suggested. As a result, there have been sporadic outbreaks of measles in the US and Europe.
The AP (5/25, Cheng) reports that while Wakefield's study was eventually discredited, "vaccination rates have never fully recovered and he continues to enjoy a vocal following, helped in the US by endorsements from celebrities like Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy." In yesterday's ruling, the GMC found Wakefield "guilty of serious professional misconduct," saying that he had "abused his position as a doctor and 'brought the medical profession into disrepute.'"
"During the two-and-a-half-year case...he was accused of carrying out invasive tests on vulnerable children which were against their best interests," BBC News (5/24, Triggle) reported. Moreover, the GMC "said Dr Wakefield, who was working...as a gastroenterologist at the time, did not have the ethical approval or relevant qualifications for such tests." The GMC took further exception to the fact that Wakefield gathered blood samples by paying "children £5 for the samples at his son's birthday party" and that he did not let it be known that he was being paid to advise attorneys acting on behalf of parents whose children were believed to have been harmed by the MMR vaccine.
According to the USA Today (5/24, Stanglin) "On Deadline" blog, "Wakefield has consistently claimed the allegations are unfair and says he will appeal the verdict."
Newsweek (5/24, Carmichael) "Human Condition" blog reported that despite the GMC's ruling and certainly now as a result of it, "many people in the antivaccine community regard him as a martyr, a whistle-blower who lost his job for daring to speak out against a shadowy conspiracy of governments and drugmakers."
According to the Time (5/24, Park) "Wellness" blog, now in the US and "defending his career on the Today show on Monday, Wakefield...maintained that 'there are millions of children out there suffering, and the fact [is] that the vaccines cause autism.'" But, "without a license to practice medicine, and the growing evidence to the contrary, it's going to harder for him to prove that claim." The Financial Times (5/25, Jack), and the UK's Independent (5/25, Laurance) also cover the story.