MMR row doctor struck off

The doctor at the centre of the MMR row has been struck off the medical register. 

Andrew Wakefield was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC) at a hearing in central London.

He acted in a way that was “dishonest”, “misleading” and “irresponsible” while carrying out research into a possible link between the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, bowel disease and autism, the GMC said.

Furthermore, he “abused his position of trust” and “brought the medical profession into disrepute” in studies he carried out on children.

The GMC said there had been “multiple separate instances of serious professional misconduct”.

Source:  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20100524/tuk-mmr-row-doctor-struck-off-dba1618.html

 Related Articles

“MMR Doctor Struck From Register”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8695267.stm

“Banned doctor who linked MMR vaccine with autism”:http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18954-banned-doctor-who-linked-mmr-vaccine-with-autism.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

 

The psychological barriers facing MMR promotion campaigns

A focus group study of parents’ attitudes towards interventions promoting uptake of the MMR vaccine suggests it is better for health advice to be seen as independent from government.

The MMR vaccine protects children against measles, mumps and rubella. Unfortunately the number of UK parents vaccinating their children plummeted in the wake of Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet study, since discredited and un-replicated, which purported to show a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Today vaccination rates remain at around 85 per cent, compared with the desired rate of 90 to 95 per cent required for herd immunity (whereby even the unvaccinated are safe).

Read in Full:  http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/05/psychological-barriers-facing-mmr.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BpsResearchDigest+(BPS+Research+Digest)