WHAT DOCTORS DON’T TELL YOU - E-NEWS BROADCAST No. 71 - 26 Feb 2004


MMR AND DR WAKEFIELD:  Anyone spotted the hypocrisy?

An 'exhaustive investigation' by the London Sunday Times has revealed that
Dr Andrew Wakefield, who put forward the theory that the MMR vaccine could
cause autism, was at the time being funded by solicitors who were seeking
evidence to use against the vaccine manufacturers.

In effect, Dr Wakefield was being hired as an expert witness, not unusual
for any specialist.  But to leap from that to the conclusion that the link
between MMR and autism was "entirely flawed", as suggested by the journalist
involved, seems a step too far.

It also raises the ethical standard to a level that would find most of
medicine lacking.  Most medical studies are funded by a pharmaceutical
company, the ultimate beneficiary of the findings, while the medical bodies
which evaluate the safety and efficacy of drugs are filled by experts who
have shares in pharmaceutical companies or who sit on their boards.

The UK's chief medical officer of health, Dr Liam Donaldson, said that, even
leaving aside any possible conflict of interest, medical experts have always
felt that Wakefield's hypothesis was bad science.

This would be experts such as those on the Medical Research Council, which
has reviewed Wakefield's findings on three separate occasions.  Its most
recent review, in 2001, concluded that there was no evidence of a causal
link.

Yet some of these experts act as advisors to the vaccine manufacturers.  As
one apologist put it: "It was inevitable that the vaccine manufacturers
would seek advice from leading authorities in the field (who happen to sit
on the MRC).  These have only become advisors to the drug companies because
of the allegations against MMR."

In other words, they are expert witnesses, just as Dr Wakefield is for the
parents whose children have been permanently damaged.  If Dr Wakefield's
findings are fatally flawed because of his expert witness status, then the
MRC conclusions must be equally flawed.  We await a full exhaustive
investigation.

* At WDDTY, we've always maintained that a possible link with autism is only
one of the areas of concern about the MMR vaccine.  Our accusation that the
UK government has constantly misled the British public about the safety of
the vaccine has never been answered.  To discover more about the vaccine,
and the government's role in a cover-up, read our Vaccination Bible and
special report, What the Government Doesn't Tell You About the MMR Vaccine.
To order both today, click on this link:
http://www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=335