MMR safe? Baloney, according to Melanie Phillips.
MMR safe? Baloney, according to Melanie Phillips.
The consequences of this sort of scaremongering about MMR and autism are currently being felt in Wales. 900 people have been infected with measles in Swansea alone – measles is a disease that can cause brain damage and death in children – and there are fears that London could be the next city to suffer an outbreak.
The reemergence of measles as a threat to human health is due to parents not getting their children vaccinated in the past 15 years. And why haven’t parents been getting their children vaccinated? As the Times reports today: “one million children may not have received the full course of the MMR vaccine, in large part because of discredited fears it leads to autism“.
Now who would have spread such nonsense?
In her 2005 article (where the ‘baloney’ headline comes from), Melanie Phillips referred to “a frenzy of gloating by Wakefield’s discredited enemies” and “ripe denunciations of those like this newspaper who took his concerns seriously and demands that we apologise for creating a scare that left children unvaccinated and at risk of measles, mumps and rubella”.
I haven’t noticed much gloating. What is there to gloat about? Measles can kill. It’s not about political point scoring, it’s about what’s true and what isn’t, and the responsibility the press has not to mislead the public on such grave issues.
An apology would be appropriate, though – an apology for promoting discredited nonsense long after it has been discredited, putting the lives of children at risk.
Disclaimer: To give them some credit, the Mail has taken the measles outbreak seriously enough to look for someone to blame.
19 Responses to “‘Baloney’ – the Mail’s campaign against life saving MMR vaccine”
Selohesra
just having an illness does not necessarily make you an expert on the causes of that illness – many people know things for ‘facts’ which turn out to be untrue.
Divatrish
Wakefield’s study and date was seriously flawed. However, The government has done more to discredit the man, than to prove the safety of the vaccine. IMHO. My oldest boy had developmental delays, he was about 6 months behind in all milestones. He had his 1st MMR at abour 16 months. He was a happy, babbling baby, no real cause for concern, just a bit behind. Then he started screaming at night, lost his ability to babble, became increasingly “difficult”. Did not speak until over 3.
I didn’t know anything about Wakefield, or his research. He received his 2nd MMR at around 7, he had recurrent tonsillitis which delayed the jab. His behaviour deteriorated within one week of this jab.
I don’t believe MMR, or rather the mercury based preservative, causes autism, but I do believe it exacerbates an already existing propensity towards autistic traits. This is my experience of MMR. My son has Asperger’s Syndrome.
My younger son is also autistic, more low to medium functioning. He did not receive MMR. I was not prepared to risk his condition worsening. That’s MY choice.
Rob Shorrock
Phillips is a bad polemicist and nothing more. She failed to look at the evidence because she didn’t want to dispassionately look at anything that challenged her view about the way the world works. The scientific method is a left wing plot, don’t you know?
Matt Fellows
Care to elaborate on how? Not a regualr PE reader so not sure what you’re referring to?
Nigel Tolley
And you say this from your years of research into a condition you don’t have, another condition you don’t have, and…?? You have no idea of the level of expertise Steve has, but what he says is correct.
You don’t even bring a clue to the table, you just throw some FUD in there for the hell of it – Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt vs. Years of experiance, millions of individuals safely treated, and lots of research by professionals.
Who are you, a Mail reporter?