No, Dr. Wakefield is not a fraud

Re: In response to the following editorial that appeared on the Longview News Journal at http://www.news-journal.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-don-t-let-illogical-fears-keep-you-from-vaccinating/article_cc984566-2a04-5e9b-a263-cc31d1cb0ecb.html

On February 10, 2015, the LNJ Editor wrote a editorial entitled "Don’t let illogical fears keep you from vaccinating your children"  in which the editor described a fraudulent study published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield concerning a connection with autism, bowel disorder and vaccines, more specifically the connection between the MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella combo vaccine) and the development of autism. The information in the LNJ editorial was inaccurate and I would like to set the record straight. Sadly, mainstream media ran with the story about a fraudulent study yet never revisited the subject when more information was available. Like in the said editorial the false information continues to be spread and does not give parents the information they need to make an informed decision about vaccinating their children.

I am not here to convince you of the dangers of vaccines nor the benefits of them. Instead my motive is to give you sound information about the research that has been published or lack thereof. The decision is a personal one and something that should not be determined before researching the information beyond what mainstream media provides.

In short, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a paper in the British Journal of Medicine and the Lancet Journal with the following conclusion: There could be a measles/gut disorder connection to autistic behavior and these findings  merit further research and study on the matter. The study did include 12 other studies that examined the link between the MMR vaccine and bowel disorder. These 12 other studies have not been discredited.

Dr. Wakefield does not claim to be an anti-vaccine doctor. Instead his stated mission is safety with vaccines and his studies led him, other researchers and doctors to determine that a safer approach to the MMR vaccine is to vaccinate with single vaccines verses the common practice of 3 vaccines in one, like the MMR vaccine.  He also suggested a more liberal vaccine schedule. The current vaccine schedule results in roughly 25 shots in the first 15 months of life. In 2011, the work of pediatrician Dr. Robert W. Sear suggests spreading these same shots out over 5 to 6 years.

Now back to Dr. Wakefield. What went unreported in the  mainstream media is BMJ (British Journal of Medicine) and Lancet's strong financial ties to the manufacturer of the MMR vaccine. Mainstream media also will not report that the co- author of Dr. Wakefield's paper, Prof. John Walker-Smith, fought the fraud allegations in court legal and won. He was completely exonerated . 

One major issue with the vaccine/autism debate is the impact that mercury/thimerosal used in the vaccines has on children. The vaccine manufacturers Merck Pharmaceuticals and Smithkline-Beecham Pharmaceuticals were asked to reduce the amount of mercury in vaccines from 237 mcg to 100 mgc in infant vaccines in the 1990s. This would mean that infants born starting in September 1999 would receive the same amount of mercury as infants in the 1980's. In 1980 the autism rate was 1 in 10,000. The statistics today have this rate at 1 in 68.  Studies by the CDC and the Institute of Medicine in 2000 that were not reported in the mainstream media indicated that fraudulent epidemiological science reports were used to convince the masses that mercury in vaccines was indeed safe. In 2001,  research papers about mercury poisoning revealed that autism and mercury poisoning symptoms are identical. In 2002 Congress inserted a provision into the Homeland Security Bill to prevent lawsuits over the mercury in vaccines and any injuries that might occur. However, a little known fact is that the U.S. government has set up a Vaccine Injury Court that has paid millions of dollars to families of children injured by vaccines. Like the U.S., Italy has a national vaccine injury compensation program and in 2004 the court found that a child had “been damaged by irreversible complications due to the MMR vaccination. In May 23, 2012, an Italian court found that the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine  (MMR), had caused a child’s autism. Then in September 2014, an Italian court ruled that a child suffered autism and brain damage because of the neurotoxic mercury, aluminum found in the vaccination. All of these cases were part of a U.S. media blackout and never covered by the U.S. press.

At one time our media serve as the watchdog for the public. However that is no longer the case and we as consumers must now be our own watchdog and question everything and research beyond the mainstream media and look for connections between outcomes of studies and the money trail that follows.

The decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate should not be made out of fear or lack of information. To say the work of Dr. Wakefield  is fraudulent is erroneous and irresponsible on the part of the media.