Wakefield: Advances in medical science demand ongoing scrutiny

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Wakefield: Advances in medical science demand ongoing scrutiny

Dr. J. Wakefield, LOCAL CONTRIBUTOR

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Do vaccines cause autism?

According to the former head of the National

Institutes of Health, the question remains unanswered.

Bernard Shaw once said that science never

solves a problem without creating ten more. For

every advance in medical science, in particular

for vaccines given to healthy children, there

must be ongoing scrutiny to look for those

inevitable problems. This is a duty of modern science.

However, in a recent interview on CBS News, Dr.

Bernadine Healy, the former head of the National

Institutes of Health and member of the Institute

of Medicine, acknowledged that public health

officials have failed to fulfill that duty when

it comes to the problem of autism.

Regarding the possibility that vaccines might

contribute to autism, Dr. Healy acknowledged that

many of her colleagues " don't want to pursue a

hypothesis because that hypothesis could be

damaging to the public health community at large

by scaring people. " Dr. Healy said that the

government has been too quick to dismiss the

concerns of these families without studying affected children.

Many others share this concern. Along with the

many universities and research institutions that

have published research investigating the safety

of vaccines, she now joins all three presidential

hopefuls, as well as many hundreds of thousands

of parents worldwide, in insisting on an honest examination of this theory.

Faced with an epidemic of developmental disorders

in children and increasing evidence of a link

with childhood vaccines, Dr. Healy reiterated the

position taken by parents and doctors for many

years: that there may be a subset of children

who, for genetic or other reasons, are

susceptible to developing autism following vaccination.

Like many others, Dr. Healy had initially

dismissed the vaccine-autism link based on a

'superficial' understanding of the evidence

gleaned from newspapers. However, as she looked

deeper into the science, she realized that no

study exists that demonstrates that our current

recommended vaccine schedule is safe. She

supports the kinds of studies that doctors and

scientists at Thoughtful House Center for

Children have advocated from the outset –

meticulous investigations of affected children,

and detailed testing of the childhood vaccine

schedule in an appropriate animal model. She also

endorsed strategies such as modifying the vaccine

schedule in the vulnerable children to reduce the

risk of complications, should this subset of children be identified.

Amazingly, animal safety testing has been applied

to individual vaccines, but it has never been

used to assess the real-world risks­that is, the

cumulative effect of what is now as many as 38

vaccines in the recommended schedule before the age of 5 years.

Far too often doctors and researchers have been

unfairly criticized for asking the very questions

Dr. Healy is articulating. We and others in the

autism community hope that Dr. Healy's revelation

will go far deeper than the expression of an

individual's opinion in a matter of public

debate. It could be the tipping point for many in

the public health community who have remained

silent. We do not yet have the scientific

answers, but as Dr. Healy confirms, we should not

live in fear of asking the right questions.

The stakes are too high. If, after adequate

studies, no link is found, then public confidence

will be restored and the debate will be put to

rest. If a link is established, then we can focus

on identifying the subset of children that are

vulnerable and be able to save them. It is the

responsibility of the public health community and

physicians to develop a safe vaccination schedule

that protects everyone, without exception.

J. Wakefield is executive director of

Thoughtful House Center for Children in Austin.

Think Autism. Think Cure. ®

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