Letters to the Editor for Feb. 19, 2010

Editorial misled readers on autism

The stated policy of the Baker City Herald concerning letters to the editor is to “not knowingly print false or misleading claims.” Unfortunately, your recent editorial concerning Andrew Wakefield contained both.

The decisions by the GMC of Britain and by the Lancet are part of a very complex political battle that has more to do with corporate control of the media and manipulating information than it has to do with actual medical science.

The GMC’s opening remark when it made its statement on the Wakefield case was: “The panel wishes to make it clear that this case is not concerned with whether there is or might be any link between the MMR vaccination and autism.” Two London newspapers immediately ran headlines saying that the decision stated that there was no link between vaccines and autism, completely contrary to what the GMC had stated. Thus began a media feeding frenzy in which almost every newspaper in the United States, including the Baker City Herald, repeated this falsehood.

The claim that Andrew Wakefield holds a patent for an alternative vaccine is also false, an unsubstantiated claim by a London journalist that was also not part of the GMC’s decision. The real story of conflict of interest of those attacking Wakefield, their financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, government regulatory agencies, and media outlets, is not being reported on at all. It is a story of politically motivated scientific censorship.

As journalists, you have a responsibility to thoroughly research a subject before simply repeating the politically motivated stories published in the London newspapers and the New York Times. The subject of vaccines and autism is very controversial, and there are people right here in Baker City who are much more knowledgeable about this subject than you are. While I’m used to uninformed people and journalists not getting their facts straight on this issue, I hope you will consider that this type of irresponsible reporting directly affects research that has helped heal my son’s condition and many others like him, and will continue to help in the future. Those of us who have been researching this subject for over 10 years wish you would do a better job.                                  

Jim Schlipf

Baker City