An recent article from CNN.com suggests that suspected links between childhood immunizations and autism have finally been dispelled. Twelve years ago, the publication of a single journal article originally advanced the hypothesis that multiple vaccines (i.e, MMRs) were linked to autism. Subsequent research, including over a dozen epidemiological studies, showed no link between vaccines and autism. Further, the journal that published the original article retracted it, and its author was stripped of his medical license as a result of ethical questions pertaining to his publication. Unfortunately, the media has appeared to reach this consensus over a decade too late.
Furthermore, the CNN piece leaves readers with the impression that a debate in the scientific community is still ongoing. Undoubtedly this is the result of the reporter's desire to apply the practice of "balanced journalism" (e.g., quoting one expert on each side of a story line) to scientific controversies, even when the weight of evidence tilts emphatically in one direction.
In this case, parents across the globe were unnecessarily alarmed, immunizations were curtailed, and outbreaks of measles and other diseases resulted. In fact, to this day there are parents who are dangerously neglecting their responsibilities to protect their children's health by following the advice of a discredited study and uninformed celebrities. One would hope that in the future, the media would rely on more rigorous application of scientific principles, particularly the weight-of-evidence in the scientific community, rather than lessons learned during Journalism 101.
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