Who Is Leroy Jones?

Leroy Jones and Autism

Leroy Jones is a pitcher who happens to be the weakest pitcher on the Eagles who are playing in the World Series.  Two friends are arguing that the Eagles will never win the World Series because of weak pitching and especially because of Leroy Jones.  One of the two guys defends it and says, “You’ve got to be kidding, we’ve got 4 out of 5 of the best starters in the majors and just won 26 ouf of 28 games, the last 3 were shut-outs.  Leroy Jones is a non-event, he hasn’t pitched since last April.”  The other guy comes back, “He’s still your problem, and it’s been proven that to get into college, he cheated on the SATs.”

In the vaccination debate, Leroy Jones is Andrew Wakefield.  Absolutely a non-event in the total picture, but one after another claim that vaccines are safe and Wakefield is a fraud.  Wakefield doesn’t begin to deal with the many problems (besides autism) that vaccines have caused and unfortunately he becomes a major detriment to a safe vaccine program.

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For people in the pro-vaccination camp, the fact that there is even a debate to be had is vexing.  “What’s wrong with these irresponsible parents?” they say.  “So educated and yet so stupid!  Don’t they know that MMR study was discredited?  And how can you take a Playboy Bunny seriously?” But there are reasons why the case of the curious link between vaccinations and autism is not closed, and Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy are not necessarily two of them.

Evidence Wakefield published in 1998 gave birth to the belief of a connection between vaccines and autism, which ignited a nationwide public health scare and a larger anti-vaccine movement.

But the authors of the editorial published nearly two years ago in the British Medical Journal confirmed previous suggestions that Wakefield skewed patients’ medical records to support his hypothesis that the widely-used measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) combination vaccine was causing autism and irritable bowel disease.

But editorial authors, such as Brian Deer wrote, "clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare.”

Source: Salahi, Lara.  British Researcher Wakefield Defends Link Between Vaccine and Autism. January 17, 2011. http://abcnews.go./Health.Autism>autism-vaccine-link-research-dr-andrew-wakefield-fraud/

Robert MacNeil featured an interview with Dr. David Amaral that aired on PBS in April of 2011.

When asked “What is your position on vaccines and autism?” Dr. Amaral stated, “I think it’s pretty clear that in general, vaccines are not the culprit, it’s not to say however, that there is a small subset of children who may particularly vulnerable to vaccines. And in their case, having the vaccines, or particular vaccines, particularly in certain kinds of situations, if the child had a precondition, like a mitochondrial defect, vaccinations for those children actually may be the environmental factor that tipped them over the edge of autism.  And I think it is incredibly important, still, to figure out what, if any, vulnerabilities, in a small subset of children, might make them at risk for having certain vaccinations.”

Source:  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/amaralext_04-20.html

“I believe history will be very kind to Andy Wakefield.  For the moment, he is the symbol of a very unfortunate reality, a reality that a medical system trying to do good may have done just the opposite.  Wit time I feel he will also be a symbol of someone who stood up for truth, despite extreme pressure to stand down.” 

-Jenny McCarthy -

From the Foreword in Callous Disregard by Andrew Wakefield 

“I think as a member of the public, one should be aware of the fact that there are very rare side effects from vaccines. Like allergic reactions to vaccines; and then there are those things that have been reported following a vaccine, for which there is no evidence that the vaccine caused it.”                                             

- Paul Offit  -

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/interviews/offit.html

One of the main detractors to Andrew Wakefield was Poul Thorsen of Denmark.  Thorsen, a scientist working under a grant funded by the CDC, was indicted in April of 2011 on reports of the fraudulent use of the grant money which was allocated for autism research. 

Andrew Wakefield's research had to do only with the MMR vaccine and autism.  Many other vaccines can cause a variety of problems.

"** The information presented or linked to here is NOT medical advice and cannot be relied on as a substitute for such advice.  No medical treatement should be avoided or attempted without prior consultation with a licensed physician. **"