Shot of Prevention

By Amy Pisani

Journalist Michael Fumento’s opinion piece in today’s LA Times touches on the ramifications of the 1998 Wakefield study, which was retracted this week by the original publisher, The Lancet.  Fumento writes, “Never mind that by 2008, more than 20 articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals found no connection between MMR vaccine and autism…There’s also a mountain of reassuring evidence regarding thimerosal-preserved vaccines.”   Wakefield’s study, for which he has been reprimanded by the General Medical Council, “set us back a decade, and we’re just recovering from that” according to Mark Sawyer, San Diego-based pediatrician and infectious disease specialist interviewed for the article.

Fumento highlights the fact that some anti-vaccine groups, such as the National Vaccine Information Center, who oppose mandatory vaccines disregard the importance of ensuring herd immunity to protect the unvaccinated.  Fumento interviewed ECBT Spokesperson Danielle Romaguera, whose baby died of whooping cough.  Romaguera asks the public to be aware that their decisions affect other people’s children and diseases do still exist, and can kill.

Read the full story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fumento5-2010feb05,0,3589719.story