Wakefield ... Again

The breaking news, that the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield linking vaccines, in particular the MMR vaccine, to autism, was not only inaccurate but fraudulent, is everywhere.  One would think there was a tremendous amount of new information here.  Maybe there is, but if so, I must have missed it.  We knew, from earlier news releases, that the "information" that was published was inaccurate.  We knew, really, from the very first publication, that it had little, if any, scientific value - we're talking here about a "study" of 12 children, after all.  Since when is a scientific study considered "scientific" when it is composed of only twelve subjects?  Really? 


By the time the "study" had been withdrawn from the Lancet, we knew that the details of the medical histories were inaccurate and that Wakefield had been paid a small fortune for his expertise in a forthcoming lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers.  The obvious interest in a specific result was more than clear.  The fact that some of the children had developmental  concerns before receiving vaccinations was documented.  So, what we have just discovered, if I am understanding things here, is that ... all of this was not a mere accident?  That up until now, we thought this was all just sloppy work, and now, surprise! we just found out that it was intentional?


I guess I'm just too cynical.  It didn't occur to me that any of the "manipulation" of medical records, or any of the inaccuracies in the histories, or any of the blatant falsifications were accidental.  There was clearly a motive.  This was not being undertaken for the sake of pure science, or for the sake of helping children in need: this was being undertaken to support a particular position in a lawsuit.  There was only one outcome that was desired.  Even if, for the sake of argument, one wishes to believe that Wakefield wanted to help children/families, his motivation was to reach a particular conclusion here.  He was not unbiased or disinterested.  He had a theory that he wanted passionately to prove.


And of course, with this "breaking news," comes a huge outpouring of outrage ... on both sides of the issue.  People who look at the news and say "What a scoundrel!  He should be put in jail forever!" may be shocked to learn that there are many, many supporters of Wakefield who are lining up to defend him.  This is all, in their view, a plot to undermine the truth-teller who would seek to reveal the dangerous reality about "Big Pharma" and its nefarious intentions.  It is as if the more that is revealed about Wakefield's bad science, bad ethics, bad integrity, the more his supporters view it as proof that there is a conspiracy to silence him because he has so much important information to share.  It is circuitous "logic" that is difficult or impossible to counter, since all science that counters what he has found is dismissed as "tainted" by the researchers' supposed interest in vaccine income.  This is asserted constantly and vehemently regardless of whether or not the researchers have such an interest, and any reference to Wakefield's financial interest in the outcomes of his "research" are dismissed out of hand.  The inability of anyone to duplicate Wakefield's "findings" are similarly dismissed, while the many studies that have failed to find a connection between vaccines and autism are picked apart for various reasons.


Many people welcomed the news about the fraud as the final nail that will put an end to the vaccine-autism "nonsense."  Maybe now, the hope is, time, energy and money will be better spent on more useful things to help people and families dealing with autism.  Unfortunately, I don't think that this news will do that any more than the prior news, including the retraction of the story from the Lancet, has done to put this issue to rest.