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Digital News Report – Dr. Andrew Wakefield says Wednesday that his 1998 paper in the journal Lancet didn’t find a link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Although subsequent research could not duplicate the results, some doctors and scientists thought the 1998 study found a link.
Responding to an article in the Los Angeles Times concerning the Lancet retraction of Wakefield’s 1998 study, the doctor called the allegations unsupported. “The allegations against me and my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion,” Wakefield said.
Since the 1998 study, ten of the paper’s thirteen authors have retracted their support. The paper was also retracted by the Lancet. But the controversy remains with some people questioning whether drug companies who produce vaccines put pressure on the journal or scientists.
In a MSNBC commentary, Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. said some people have called Wakefield a “martyr” for standing up to the drug companies. “But the profit from childhood vaccination has always been a very small part of Big Pharma’s big profits,” Caplan said.
Now Wakefield says his original study didn’t actually make a connection. “In fact, the Lancet paper does not claim to confirm a link between the MMR vaccine and autism,” Wakefield said in an email to the LA Times. “Research into that possible connection is still ongoing.”
Indeed Wakefield has been under a lot of pressure. In March 2004, the British General Medical Council (GMC) announced an investigation into the issue. The council questioned the data and methods.
On January 28th they concluded that Wakefield “failed in his duties as a responsible consultant”, acted against the interests of his patients, and acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly.”
By: Jason Change
Health Writer
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