Age of Autism
By Anne Dachel
February 9, 2011
Several months ago, I interviewed British doctor Richard Halvorsen concerning the heated vaccine-autism controversy. Dr. Halvorsen had gained a fair amount of attention in the British press. I contacted him recently to get his views on the allegations of fraud against Dr. Andrew Wakefield. He minced no words.
“The latest allegations against Dr Andrew Wakefield are quite extraordinary. It seems that certain factions of the medical establishment are intent on hounding him to the grave.
The accusations of journalist Brian Deer make no sense at all. They appear to centre around the fact that elements of the hospital medical records, as reported in the Lancet 1998 paper, are at odds with other aspects of the children’s medical records, mainly those of the children’s General Practitioners (GPs). This is hardly surprising as the hospital doctors who recorded the children’s medical history (which was not, in any case, done by Dr Wakefield) would not have had access to the GPs’ medical notes. Medical histories, taken at different times by different healthcare professionals will inevitably have some inconsistencies.
What is so disturbing is that the editor of the BMJ, who should have known better, appears to have fallen for Deer’s spurious arguments hook, line and sinker.
We have to take a step back and wonder what is really going on here. To go to such extreme – and desperate lengths – to annihilate Dr Wakefield (the person, note, not the science) some people must be very afraid. Afraid, presumably, that parents might actually believe something that is blatantly obvious: that is that all vaccines can cause serious adverse reactions, including autism. By denying what is not only obvious but also supported by a wealth of scientific evidence these obsessive vaccine protagonists risk losing the trust of all parents and destroying the whole vaccine programme, the very thing that they are trying to prevent happening.”
Dr. Halvorsen has been telling the truth, fearlessly, for quite some time.
In October, 2009, the Telegraph in the UK ran the story, “I’m not opposed to jabs but there are serious worries” by Dr. Halvorsen. (HERE) He talked about the pressure put on parents not to question vaccines and the harsh tactics employed by the government. Furthermore, he said, “This climate of fear is ruthlessly exploited by the big pharmaceutical companies, which see vast profits in exaggerated health concerns.”
Halvorsen cited the sudden death of a young schoolgirl after receiving the cervical cancer vaccine as an example of a vaccine program gone wrong. While he said he’s not opposed to vaccinations, he does believe that vaccine efficacy claims are overdone and side effects are not being recognized. He referred to the plan to mass vaccinate for the swine flu as “madness.”
“As a doctor, I have been concerned for some time about this issue. I should stress that I am not in any way opposed to vaccinations.
“Indeed I run an immunisation clinic which offers a wide range of vaccines as a protection against various diseases. But I am increasingly disturbed by the lack of any debate either about long-term vaccine safety or about the excessive influence of commercial interests.
“Contrary to what Government officials and pharmaceutical giants pretend, the health of future generations could be compromised if we are not allowed to question this official fixation with mass vaccination.
“In the research for my recent book on this subject, I discovered that not only are inoculations being introduced with less and less research on their safety, but, just as worryingly, they are being promoted for diseases which do not represent a widespread danger to the public.”
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