Over a decade after the publication of the infamous "study" linking the MMR vaccine and autism, it has been determined that the research was not merely bad science, but massive, elaborate fraud, including altering facts about patient medical histories and misrepresenting data in all 12 study cases (news story, Jan. 7).
Additionally, at the time of the research, Andrew Wakefield, the study's principal author, was on the payroll of a lawyer, who commissioned and funded the study for use in litigation against vaccine manufacturers. Now that the fraud has been exposed, perhaps Wakefield will donate the proceeds from his upcoming book to families who lost loved ones to vaccine-preventable diseases (the resulting vaccine scare extended beyond the MMR vaccine), or to autism research, to make up for the millions of dollars that were wasted exploring the bogus link to vaccines.
Maybe Oprah will feel so ashamed that she gave anti-vaccine zealot Jenny McCarthy a public forum on her show that she will fund a public education campaign to help boost U.S. vaccination rates back up to the WHO-recommended levels for herd immunity.
