The infamous 1998 Wakefield article suggesting a link between Autism and the MMR vaccine was officially retracted a few weeks ago by The Lancet, the British medical journal that initially published the article. The Lancet cited questionable research methods on behalf of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, including performing invasive tests on children, paying the kids to participate and failing to disclose ties to a lawyer representing parents of children with autism. 10 out of Dr. Wakefield’s13 research colleagues have disavowed the article. Here’s The Lancet’s editor, Dr. Richard Horton, in a scathingly candid comment on how the media took the MMR vaccine and Autism link and blew it out of proportion:
“This was a system failure. We [The Lancet] failed, I think the media failed, I think government failed, I think the scientific community failed. And we all have to very critically examine what part we played in this. I think the media certainly did sustain the story over a decade. It became a political story, with did Tony Blair have his son vaccinated with MMR or not, suddenly a huge media furor around that.
“Andrew Wakefield would make many statements during the course of those ten years, each of which was dutifully reported as if it was the gospel truth. Profiles of him were written as this charismatic doctor saving the lives of children. I mean, I think we all have to look very carefully at ourselves and say, we really messed up here.”
Check out the entire fascinating interview with Dr. Horton on NPR’s On the Media.
What do you think about The Lancet’s retraction of the Wakefield article?
One Response to “Wakefield Study Article Retraction by The Lancet”
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March 1st, 2010 11:44 pm
This came too late. So much damage has been done by Wakefield’s flawed study. So many families have been caught up in the MMR/vaccine mess.
It’s time to move on.