Saturday, January 30, 2010

Making it official

A while ago, I wrote about the on-going investigation into research misconduct by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor who published a now-infamous study that suggested (erroneously) a link between the MMR vaccination and autism.

Britain's General Medical Council has released their findings on the matter, stating that Wakefield had been “dishonest, irresponsibile and showed callous disregard for the distress and pain of children.” MMR vaccination rates plummeted in the years after he released his study, causing hundreds of children to get the diseases. Wakefield, because of the extreme controversy and pending charges from the GMC, left England several years ago for one of the best places for one who obfuscates the scientific process of inquiry on account of strongly held beliefs-- Texas. He runs an autism clinic in Austin.