| Re: So it's official, encouraging skepticism and doubt is "poor science", according to UK Govt's chief medical ossifer. |
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| Richard Forrest (richard@plesiosaur.com) |
2004/02/24 09:08 |
branchofjesse@hotmail.com (Jerzy Jakubowski) wrote in message news:<b9b3de8.0402240253.15fdda7e@posting.google.com>...
> http://society.guardian.co.uk/publichealth/story/0,11098,1154677,00.html?79%3A+Uk+latest
>
> "Claim that MMR work mixed science and spin
>
> James Meikle, health correspondent
> Tuesday February 24, 2004
> The Guardian
>
> Tony Blair yesterday weighed in to the MMR controversy by appealing
> once more for parents to give their children the all-in-one measles,
> mumps and rubella jab.
>
> The prime minister, who refused two years ago to reveal whether his
> son Leo had received the vaccine, stepped in to hammer home his view
> of the MMR's importance as the General Medical Council paved the way
> for an investigation into the ethics of Andrew Wakefield's study into
> autism and bowel disease six years ago which lit the fuse for a series
> of explosive rows over the vaccine's safety.
>
> Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet medical journal, has said he
> would never have published the research study in February 1998 if it
> had known of "a serious conflict of interest", which Mr Wakefield
> should have revealed at the time.
>
> He and other senior staff conducted an urgent investigation last week
> following allegations presented by a researcher for the Sunday Times,
> and concluded that the fact that Mr Wakefield had not revealed he was
> receiving legal aid funds on behalf of parents seeking to establish a
> link between MMR and autism was a serious error of judgment and a
> "fatal conflict of interest".
>
> But Mr Wakefield, who denies any wrongdoing, and former colleagues
> were cleared by the Lancet of other allegations of research misconduct
> made about the study which provoked years of argument, serious falls
> in uptake of the vaccine and repeated warnings of a measles epidemic
> among young children.
>
> Mr Blair told ITV: "There is absolutely no evidence to sup port this
> link between MMR and autism. If there was, I can assure you that any
> government would be looking at it and trying to act on it. I hope, now
> that people see that the situation is somewhat different to what they
> were led to believe, they will have the triple jab because it is
> important to do it."
>
> Mr Blair, at the height of "did he or didn't he" row over Leo and the
> jab in 2002, made clear he would never advocate something he did not
> think safe for his own children.
>
> The government's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, speaking
> on BBC's Today programme, said he had always regarded Mr Wakefield's
> study as poor science. "If the paper had never been published, then we
> would not have had the controversy and we wouldn't have had the seed
> of doubt sown in parents' minds which has caused a completely false
> loss of confidence in a vaccine that has saved millions of children's
> lives around the world.
>
> "When Mr Wakefield has been in contact with us, he has often been
> represented by a PR company rather than communicating directly.
>
> "I don't think that spin and science mix. If they are mixed, it is a
> very unfavourable position for children's health. Now a darker side of
> this work has shown through, with the ethical conduct of the research
> and this is something that has to be looked at."
>
> The GMC confirmed last night that it had spoken to Mr Wakefield and he
> had indicated his willingness to work with any investigation.
>
> Mr Wakefield has been defended by Jabs, a group including members who
> are trying to pursue legal action over MMR. Its founder Jackie
> Fletcher said: "Mr Wakefield's original data is not in question at all
> and the conclusions from it have not changed."
>
> But Sense, the national deafblind and rubella association, said the
> revelations "further undermine the significance and credibility of
> Andrew Wakefield's original paper".
>
> Abel Hadden, a PR spokesman at Bell Pottinger, has acted for Visceral,
> a charity that funds work by Mr Wakefield and others. The Guardian was
> unable to contact Mr Wakefield last night either by ringing Mr
> Wakefield's home or Mr Hadden"
Your point being?
RF
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