MMR conclusion - weighing up the facts
All the evidence points to the tiny risk of side effects from MMR
being far outweighed by the benefits, and that single jabs are even less safe or effective. But we're all more cynical since the Department of Health
insisted that beef was safe. Confidence in government experts has been badly dented, and the sometimes arrogant dismissal of
parents' concerns will not help win it back.
"If your child is diagnosed as autistic it's a terrible shock, particularly if you didn't suspect any problems in babyhood," says
pro-vaccination doctor Claire Girada. "The MMR vaccine is given at around the same time as autistic symptoms begin to show. Distraught parents will cast around for something - anything - to blame for the problem, and the MMR vaccine seems an obvious candidate. But by the same token, it used to be thought that Down's syndrome was caused by the mother falling in pregnancy.
Undoubtedly, there are more questions that need to be asked, particularly about the rise in cases of autism, and also whether vaccination affects the immune systems of very susceptible children. But all the research in the world will not change a tragic fact that thousands of parents without access to effective vaccination programmes have learnt that measles kills.
Where to next?
|
