Doctor Receives Misconduct Allegations from Autism Vaccine Link Study

Jenny Albano

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Dr. Andrew Wakefield is being investigated by Britain's General Medical Council because of problems with a study he did on the autism vaccine link. The council states that the study was conducted without proper ethical approval, and failed to disclose his link information to the autism litigators. Dr. Wakefield denies all the allegations.

His study, which was published in The Lancet in 1998, claimed that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine could put children at risk for autism and bowel disease. This study, which was heavily covered by the media, scared parents into not allowing their children to receive the shot.

But there were many issues with Wakefield's study. Ten of the 13 authors of the study have renounced the conclusions in the study and The Lancet stated that it was sorry it had published the study.

Wakefield stands accused of conducting operations on children -- including colonoscopies and lumbar punctures -- which were arguably unnecessary, of coordinating his research with lawyers for autism patients, and of taking blood from children at a birthday party to use for research purposes in return for a monetary payment.

Many different studies have shown that there is no link between the vaccine and autism or bowel disease. Most physicians and medical establishments believe the MMR vaccine is perfectly safe to use.

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