If you have 15 minutes, read this 2009 article by Liza Gross, and then you can skip my post! Plosbiology.org

In this article, she does a good job of explaining the history behind the vaccine-autism link, relying heavily upon the work of an author and researcher Sharon Kaufman.   Fascinating indeed was the manner in which scientific and statistical ignorance, suspicion and distrust, the emotional and manipulative inclinations of the media and celebrities, and a healthy dose of conspiracy theorism, collided.

Outside of an unfortunate comparison between the abuse climate change researchers have taken (well earned, with plenty of evidence of fraudulent motives), with those doing legitimate vaccine research, the author does a wonderful job. 

The highlights:

1.                  A 2008 Institute of Medicine exhaustive report concluded, after reviewing all possible sources of information regarding a vaccine-autism connection,  that no such relationship existed.

2.                  Nonetheless, one in four Americans, and a similar percentage of folks in the UK, suspect vaccines as causing autism.  I realize that a certain percentage of people are going to believe in UFO's...but this figure is staggering.

3.                  Measles, mumps and rubella rates climbed following decreasing vaccine rates that resulted from endless, reckless, opportunistic and unbalanced media attention to this issue. Several tragic childhood deaths resulted from missed or delayed vaccines – its not really clear how high this number is – but its vastly higher than what would have occurred from even the KNOWN complications of vaccines. 

4.                  In an observation that tells us much about the public mindset on this issue, the more seriously and publicly the CDC and other federal agencies took the vaccine-autism concerns, the more they went back over the data, the more convinced the skeptics became that something WAS amiss.  Even though the conclusion of these re-investigations only further solidified the case AGAINST any vaccine-autism link. 

 A couple of quotes caught my eye and ear:

            “There's a lot of good autism research out there,” says Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and head of the hospital's Vaccine Education Center.  “But you never hear about it because the anti-vaccine movement has taken this issue hostage.” Offit has turned down requests to appear on any show with (Jenny) McCarthy. “Every story has a hero, victim, and villain,” he explains. “McCarthy is the hero, her child is the victim—and that leaves one role for you.”

and this:

            Kaufman sees the persistence of the vaccine–autism theory as a consequence of how individuals manage risk in modern society. People must trust experts to protect them from risk, whether they're getting on an airplane or vaccinating their kids, she explains. When faith in experts erodes, personal responsibility prevails. “People think if you blindly follow experts, you're not taking personal responsibility,” she adds.

Offit blames the media for keeping the myth alive by following the “journalistic mantra of ‘balance,’ ” perpetually presenting two sides of an issue even when only one side is supported by the science. And shows like “Larry King Live” have been “just awful on this issue,” he adds, placing ratings and controversy above public health by repeatedly giving McCarthy and other “true believers” a platform to peddle fear and misinformation. But Offit also wishes scientists would do a better job of communicating theoretical risk and the difference between coincidence and causation. Once you raise the notion of a possibility of harm, he says, “it's hard for people to get that notion out of their head.”

So I return to my usual advice.  Do your homework, be honest about your own biases and emotions.  Run the numbers.  Be VERY suspicious of your sources.  The internet now positively polluted with faux scientific sites.  Question your own motives, and those of your “expert” sources.   

Stan Seagraves M.D., an internist who has practiced in Missoula for over 20 years. He is currently practicing hospital medicine at St. Patrick Hospital, and is medical director of their hospitalist program..

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