"Wakefield purposefully manipulated patient histories in order to fabricate an erroneous link between vaccines and autism. The direct result of this was the creation and perpetuation of an insidious myth that may be unparalleled in modern day medicine" (Berezow, CNN)
We as a people have an unfortunately short memory. The public consciousness does not remember more than a few decades back and thus forgets the devastation wrecked by preventable diseases, the lives lost to measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, polio, diphtheria, hep B. I never thought that in 2011 I'd see deadly outbreaks of pertussis, not when the vaccine was first introduced in the 1920's. That was 90 years ago and people are still dying from a preventible disease today because people won't vaccinate!
Wakefield has committed crimes not only against the scientific community, but against every family, every child he's put in danger with his lies. Countless children have become needlessly ill, others have died when they didn't have to. It's time for scientists to speak up, Wakefield must be punished for the irreparable damage he's done.
"Perhaps the silence within our community occurred because the repudiation of the Wakefield claims seemed so obvious to us. We knew that when it comes to the link between vaccines and autism, the science has never wavered—there simply is no proven connection. But we need to appreciate how easily fraudulent or suspect science can influence public perceptions and political support. When “junk science” has the power to drown out the evidence, we have to use our voices to keep the focus on the real science. After 13 years, it seems that vaccines are finally vindicated. This important moment certainly calls for celebration, but also for reflection. One man’s fraudulent assertions in a respected medical journal led to a flurry of needless infections and deaths, not to mention a black eye on one of the world’s most successful public health interventions. While we hope that such a tragedy never happens again, we need to be ready for it if it does. Silence is no longer an option." (Elias, CEO of PATH)
"Perhaps the silence within our community occurred because the repudiation of the Wakefield claims seemed so obvious to us. We knew that when it comes to the link between vaccines and autism, the science has never wavered—there simply is no proven connection. But we need to appreciate how easily fraudulent or suspect science can influence public perceptions and political support. When “junk science” has the power to drown out the evidence, we have to use our voices to keep the focus on the real science. After 13 years, it seems that vaccines are finally vindicated. This important moment certainly calls for celebration, but also for reflection. One man’s fraudulent assertions in a respected medical journal led to a flurry of needless infections and deaths, not to mention a black eye on one of the world’s most successful public health interventions. While we hope that such a tragedy never happens again, we need to be ready for it if it does. Silence is no longer an option." (Elias, CEO of PATH)
"Editor's note: Alex B. Berezow is the editor of RealClearScience. He holds a Ph.D. in microbiology.
(CNN) -- Finally, after 13 years of needless controversy, the British Medical Journal determined that Andrew Wakefield's vaccine-autism link constituted an "elaborate fraud."
Having already lost his medical license in the UK for unethical professional conduct, it is now time for him to be prosecuted.
The prosecution of a scientist, or any academic for that matter, might conjure up images of the trial of Galileo. For the sake of research integrity and academic freedom, it is not something to be undertaken lightly. Scientists require the flexibility to publish unconventional research, especially if that research is controversial or unsettling. However, there is a distinct line between controversy and fraud. Wakefield clearly crossed that line, according to the medical journal.
In 1998, Wakefield conducted a small study with 12 children in which he reported finding a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism. However, it was recently revealed that Wakefield manufactured the vaccine-autism link by falsifying patient histories. Despite the British journal's accusations, Wakefield maintains he did not commit fraud.
Scientific fraud is a very serious matter. From a fiscal standpoint, it is essentially stealing money. Whether the funding comes from taxpayers, charities or private sources, there is an expectation that the recipients of such largesse act in good faith and honesty. Any knowledge produced from this funding then enters the public domain via scientific journals. Thus, when a scientist fabricates data, he is not only squandering limited financial resources but is also violating the public's trust.
Even worse, when a scientist commits fraud, he misleads his fellow colleagues for years, if not decades. Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are often wasted disproving the research, and those precious assets could have been better spent elsewhere. In this case, the scientific community has been wasting its resources on Wakefield's theory for 13 years.
As bad as that is, wasted time and money pale in comparison to the devastating personal consequences that occurred across the globe as a direct result of Wakefield's behavior. The marked decrease in vaccinations which occurred in the decade following his research literally cost people their lives. When parents refused to vaccinate their children, many of them contracted diseases such as measles and pertussis (whooping cough). Some of them died.
The reluctance of millions of people to accept the annual influenza vaccination also likely stems, at least in part, from the fallacious vaccine-autism link.
Prosecuting scientists is not common, but it is also not without precedent.
Eric Poehlman, a former obesity and menopause researcher, falsified data in grant applications to the National Institutes of Health. He wasconvicted of scientific misconduct and sentenced to a year in prison.
Additionally, disgraced researcher Hwang Woo-suk fabricated data in regard to the cloning of human embryos. He was tried in South Korea and convicted of embezzlement and bioethical violations, but he escaped a fraud conviction and jail time.
In the current case, the journal says, Wakefield purposefully manipulated patient histories in order to fabricate an erroneous link between vaccines and autism. The direct result of this was the creation and perpetuation of an insidious myth that may be unparalleled in modern day medicine. Amazingly, Wakefield even established the "Thoughtful House" in Austin, Texas, from which he promoted his quackery in the United States.
It is for these reasons that Wakefield should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of American and British law. Perhaps if he spends the next few years behind bars, people who have suffered from the impact of his actions will see that justice is being done.
Unfortunately, Wakefield's enthusiastic supporters have little use for facts. With Jenny McCarthy and others willing to use their celebrity to propagate this myth, the scourge of preventable childhood diseases may be with us for years to come.
Let us hope Hollywood sends us a pro-vaccine actor.
(Source)
Ending the Silence on The Fraudulent Vaccine-Autism Link
When news from the British Medical Journal emerged last week discrediting the notorious Wakefield study as “an elaborate fraud,” I expected a chorus of celebration from the vaccine community, but what I observed was relative silence. I suspect that if the news had instead given more credence to the spurious argument that childhood vaccinations cause autism, Wakefield’s supporters would have had a field day. Why then did members of our community choose not to shout this from the rooftops, and put to bed a debate that has gone on, frankly, for much too long?
In my role as the president and CEO of PATH, I have witnessed first-hand the power of vaccines in combating some of the world’s most nefarious diseases. Indeed, just last month, I stood in the streets of Ouagadougou—the capital of Burkina Faso in West Africa—as thousands of parents brought their children to be vaccinated against meningococcal A meningitis, the strain of the disease most destructive to people living in Africa’s 25-country meningitis belt. On that day, there were no debates about whether this safe and effective vaccinewould cause more harm than good. On the contrary, there was only a palpable sense of hope that, at last, a century-old, debilitating and deadly disease would finally be eliminated.
What we so often take for granted in the developed world is our right to choose and, in this instance, choosing whether to vaccinate our children. Conversely, in the developing world, one’s choices are much more curtailed. Even when a vaccine does exist, reaching the people who need it most is challenging, given the many obstacles in poor countries to accessing care. So, when news spreads in developing countries that there might be a solution to prevent pertussis, a disease which kills almost 300,000 people every year, the only question is will my child be able to get it.
For more than 30 years, PATH has been a part of some impressive breakthroughs in vaccine development and delivery. What we’ve learned throughout this time is that vaccines are the most successful and cost-effective public health tools we can employ to save lives, particularly among the world’s children. Vaccines are responsible for preventing more than 2 million deaths each year. Complacency or hesitancy about vaccination, however, can cause diseases previously thought to be eliminated to reemerge. In the aftermath of the Wakefield study we saw the reemergence of measles, which became endemic in England and Wales in 1998.
Perhaps the silence within our community occurred because the repudiation of the Wakefield claims seemed so obvious to us. We knew that when it comes to the link between vaccines and autism, the science has never wavered—there simply is no proven connection. But we need to appreciate how easily fraudulent or suspect science can influence public perceptions and political support. When “junk science” has the power to drown out the evidence, we have to use our voices to keep the focus on the real science. After 13 years, it seems that vaccines are finally vindicated. This important moment certainly calls for celebration, but also for reflection. One man’s fraudulent assertions in a respected medical journal led to a flurry of needless infections and deaths, not to mention a black eye on one of the world’s most successful public health interventions. While we hope that such a tragedy never happens again, we need to be ready for it if it does. Silence is no longer an option.
No comments:
Post a Comment