Legal Commentary

Lancet Retracts Vaccine-Autism Study

By Jonathan H. Adler

The Lancet, one of the premier medical journals, has retracted the controversial study purporting to link the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine to autism in children.  The journal issued this statement:

It has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al. are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. In particular, the claims in the original paper that children were ?consecutively referred? and that investigations were ?approved? by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore we fully retract this paper from the published record.

From CNN?s report:

The Wakefield study has been a key piece of evidence cited by parents who do not vaccinate their children.

?The story became credible because it was published in The Lancet,? Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation, said Tuesday. ?It was in The Lancet, and we really rely on these medical journals.?

Singer, the mother of a child with autism, added, ?That study did a lot of harm. People became afraid of vaccinations ? this is the Wakefield legacy ? this unscientifically grounded fear of vaccinations that result in children dying from vaccine preventable diseases.? . . .

?Since Wakefield?s study came out, some 20 other studies have come out, and each one of these studies, done by different researchers, in different populations and in different countries has denied the associations between vaccines and autism,? he said. ?... Scientifically, this story is over.?

Schaffner added, ?This series of events is damning and should refocus all of us in the field to find better methods of diagnosis and treatments.?

?This story is over??  I sure hope so.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on February 02, 2010 (boomark / email).