"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)
