You may have seen today's report from CNN.com entitled "Doctor Defends Retracted Autism Study." The physician states that he received money not only from the British Medical Journal, but also the Sunday Times of London - where he has been employed since the early 1980s. This physician was stripped of his medical license in May.
I, along with other people, are trying to get people to let go and move on from the false assertion that vaccines are linked to autism. But, what will be the long term impact of not only this fraudulent study, but its affect on the public? On a daily basis, the press hammers physicians for accepting as much as a pen from pharmaceutical companies. Oh yeah, accepting even a pen is against the law. Maybe that's why I haven't seen anymore pharma pens around. Hmm...
This false study will not only help perpetuate the false perception that vaccines are linked to autism, but also will hamper announcements of any future medical studies, as the question of bias and "Who paid the doctor and research team?" will come up. Convincing an ever growing skeptical public will be tomorrow's challenges. And, unfortunately, will make taking care of patients for me and other physicians more difficult...
2 comments:
I think that's why the continued efforts of scientists and healthcare providers to dispel myths and help the public and our communities understand the data behind public health issues is critical. If we let up on our efforts to blog, vlog, give interviews and talks, and otherwise speak out, then that's when public perception is liable to be influenced by the misinformation that is out there.
WWW.thecitizendoc.com
My cousin and my (adopted) brother are both autistic, and knowing as much as I do about their histories, I never believed for a minute that vaccines were the cause, or that there was a "cure" for it. Also, autism is a relatively new diagnosis (no one was autistic when I was growing up), and if vaccines were the cause, it would have been just as prevalent then as it is today. Unfortunately, not everyone has that sort of common sense.
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