Parent of Autistic Child in Wakefield Study Says Key Journalist Got Facts Wrong
FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- When reporter Dan Olmsted met with the father of an autistic boy whose medical history is central to a British Medical Journal article refuting the vaccine/autism link, Olmsted never expected to be shown a letter written by the boy's father that would reveal the facts of the BMJ article to be flagrantly false. In contrast to the article, the letter clearly reveals the plausibility of the boy's autism being caused by his MMR (combined measles, mumps, rubella live virus vaccination) as well as the father's belief that the shot caused his son's autism.
Today in Age of Autism, Olmsted's interview with this father of a boy with autism known only as "child 11" appears in Part 7 of the Elaborate Fraud series by Olmsted and Mark Blaxill, Age of Autism's Editor-At-Large. The contents of the letter mark another revelation in the controversy over the British Medical Journal's published report by freelance journalist Brian Deer who has received support from MedicoLegal Investigations (MLI), a bureau affiliated with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) which specializes in bringing doctors before the General Medical Council, the UK's disciplinary body.
The father's 1997 letter was written to Dr. Wakefield, who had led a team of researchers in the controversial case study of 12 children with autism. Contrary to Deer's January report in the British Medical Journal, the chronology of Child 11's MMR shot and his subsequent autism diagnosis was inaccurately reported. From Olmsted's article:
"When I showed Father 11 what Deer had written about the shot-and-symptoms sequence, he said, emphatically, 'That's not correct.'"
BMJ's fraud allegations against Wakefield derive from 2009 and were published in the Sunday Times six days after proprietor James Murdoch was appointed to the board of MMR manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline with a brief "to review…external issues that might have the potential for serious impact upon the group's 'reputation.'"
Dr Peter Fletcher, former Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Department of Health, said if it is proven that the jab causes autism, "the refusal by governments to evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the greatest scandals in medical history".
YES MMR GIVES AUTISM i know it happend to my son
Posted by: Liz Gray | November 07, 2011 at 02:44 AM
Jenny just might have been the same paymaster
"Reporter arrested over alleged payments to police officers believed to be paper's district editor, Jamie Pyatt"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/04/phone-hacking-arrested-sun-journalist
L.O.L. to Brian lots more to come...
Posted by: Angus Files | November 04, 2011 at 06:14 PM
What a coincidence that this story should come out the same day as this one:
The British drug company GlaxoSmithKline said Thursday that it had agreed to pay $3 billion to settle United States government civil and criminal investigations into its sales practices for numerous drugs.
The settlement would be the largest yet in a wave of federal cases against pharmaceutical companies accused of illegal marketing, surpassing the previous record of $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer in 2009. In recent years, drug companies have been prime targets of federal fraud investigations, which have recovered tens of billions of dollars for Medicaid and Medicare.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/business/glaxo-to-pay-3-billion-in-avandia-settlement.html?_r=2&hp
How much longer will Americans allow themselves to be spoonfed drug company propaganda by the pharma-funded media?
Posted by: Acid Reflux | November 04, 2011 at 01:15 PM
Looks like we have a Deer caught in the headlights! LOL
Posted by: Erik Nanstiel | November 04, 2011 at 11:35 AM
One wonders how the Skeptics will spin this...oh, I forgot they're too busy not dealing with this:
"The celebrated Plantation artist known as Jose Alvarez, who lived and worked under an assumed name stolen more than 20 years ago, will plead guilty either to passport fraud or aggravated identity theft, his attorney told a judge Thursday.
Alvarez's true name is Deyvi Pena, and he is the longtime companion of magician James 'The Amazing' Randi, 83, a renowned professional skeptic who has dedicated his life to debunking people who profess to have paranormal powers.
Pena, 49, was arrested Sept. 8 under the name 'John Doe' at the Plantation home he shares with Randi. He was charged with using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a New York man to travel the world on a United States passport first issued to him in 1987."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/plantation/fl-amazing-randi-jose-alvarez-plea-20111103,0,3976723.story
Posted by: Carol | November 04, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Dr. Wakefield speaking at the 68th Annual Meeting of AAPS. (American Association of physicians and surgeons.)
Dr. Wakefield seems to command the respect of this group.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l67fWVrw8xU
As Brian Deer can no longer be seen with the Murdochs, he may be at Dr. Nancy's house for Thanksgiving, as he has no where else to go...
Perhaps someone could visit with a pie and a camera after dinner and chat with these two for a while.
Posted by: cmo | November 04, 2011 at 09:40 AM
Who or what paid for Brian Deer to travel to California from the UK in order to interview Child 11's father?
Who or what paid Deer's expenses in Balimore and Canada where he delivered a series of anti Andrew Wakefield lectures and interviews?
Who or what paid BMJ Editor Dr Godlee's travel and other expenses when she recently delivered a pro Brian Deer/anti Andrew Wakefield lecture at Bethesda?
It has been established that Brian Deer resided, for a time, in Atlanta Georgia, home of the CDC. His house was later sold for twice the estimate. Was he there at the same time as 'indicted for fraud and money laundering' Poul Thorsen, and were there any professional or other links between the CDC, Thorsen and Deer?
These questions all NEED answers, but we can assume that getting those answers will be like 'pulling teeth'.
Well done Dan Olmstead for establishing the truth about Deer's interview with Child 11's Dad.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | November 04, 2011 at 08:12 AM
Vaccines, period, are the greatest scandal in medical history.
Posted by: Barry | November 04, 2011 at 07:11 AM