"First, do no harm."

[unixronin]

Or, not.

The General Medical Council ruled that Dr Andrew Wakefield, who claimed a link between the MMR jab and autism, also “failed in his duties as a responsible consultant”.

[...]

His 1998 research, based on 12 children, was published in the Lancet and is said to have done more damage than anything published in a scientific journal in living memory.

[...]

The charges against the trio run to 93 pages and include the allegation that Dr Wakefield failed to disclose to the Lancet that he had accepted £55,000 from the Legal Aid Board.  The money was allegedly for research to support legal action by parents who believed their children were harmed by MMR.

Step 1:  Create a false medical panic.

Step 2:  Rent yourself out to people looking for someone to blame for their kid's autism.

Step 3:  Profit!

(Pointer via brownkitty)

Comments

[lebo-superman.livejournal.com]

I never said I wasn't suspicious of Dr. Wakefield - I just felt that since unixronin's post was already antago to Dr. Wakefield it wasn't necessary to push that point. My only point was to show that the skepticism unixronin was heaping on Dr. Wakefield could be leveled equally on the medical establishment, and for the same reasons. That does not imply defense of Dr. Wakefield.

[smandal.livejournal.com]

You did write "in this case, I tend to be very suspicious of the medical establishment, ..."

So I was wondering why you weren't as suspicious of Wakefield, but perhaps I misinterpreted your comments.

[lebo-superman.livejournal.com]

That's ok, perhaps I could have been more clear. But then we wouldn't have gotten to have this conversation!