Wrong Message from the Wrong Person

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Subject: IOM/ Marie McCormick ...$97 Million from Big Pharma ?!?!?!?

http://autism.about.com/library/weekly/aa052901a.htm

Wrong Message From the Wrong Person

The Truth Behind the IOM Report on Autism and Vaccines

Dateline: 05/29/01

Recently the press reported that a report from the Institute of

Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Science, had cleared

the MMR Vaccine any link to Autism. These reports were given

widespread publicity in both the print and broadcast media, and

seemed to indicate that parents and others concerned about vaccine

safety were blaming a totally innocent product which produced far

more good than it did harm.

Now however, a member of the Institute of Medicine, the author of

the report, has blasted the press for their placing emphasis on the

conclusions of one person, and their ignoring of the entire findings

of the report. Walter O. Spitzer, M.D., Emeritus Professor of

Epidemiology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and a member of

the Institute of Medicine since 1986 stated to the Sunday Times that

he was, " embarrassed by the process of this latest Report and would

urge President Shine of the IOM to retract the Report until the

message has been clarified. "

According to Professor Spitzer, the actual report did not clear the

MMR vaccine, and instead indicated that not enough evidence was

found to make a conclusion either way and urged more testing before

any conclusions could be reached. According to Dr. Spitzer, " There

was nothing in the Report or its executive summary to justify such a

headline in a reliable national newspaper. I can only link the

headline's …'off the hook as the cause of autism' to a public

statement of Dr. Marie McCormick, the chairperson of the Committee.

In the Institute of Medicine (IOM) press conference she stated: 'it

[MMR] is as safe as a vaccine can get'. "

The report concludes, " Conduct further clinical and epidemiological

studies of sufficient rigor to identify risk factors and biological

markers of ASD. " At no point does it indicate that there is enough

evidence to show that the MMR vaccine should be removed from

consideration as a risk factor. Dr. Spitzer, who is not a supporter

of the theory of a link between the MMR and Autism, continues, " I

would be delighted if effective MMR were also demonstrated to be

safe in scientifically admissible safety studies. But let that be

the result of the kind of rigorous science that has been called for

by the IOM, not unsubstantiated exoneration of MMR by one person. "

Just who is this " one person, Dr. Marie McCormick? Dr. McCormick is

the Chairperson of the Maternal and Child Health program at Harvard

University School of Public Health. She also is the head of the

Harvard Center for Children's Health, which, " aims to foster a

series of partnerships between researchers and between policymakers,

the business community, the media, and children and their families. "

Among those in the business community are numerous pharmaceutical

companies who in 1997 helped to contributed over $97 Million to the

Harvard School of Public Health in the way of research grants and

other funding methods. Is this a conflict of interest? Possibly, but

one can not say for certain.

What is certain is that the report was misrepresented to the public

by the news media, who in Professor Spitzer's opinion were misled by

Dr. McCormick's statements. According to Professor Spitzer, " It is

understandable that the lay press picked the wrong message from the

wrong source. " As a result of this " wrong message " , numerous parents

of children on the Autism Spectrum have suffered harassment and

ridicule by those who do not agree with the vaccine connection

theory. They have used this misinformation to harm parents who do

not share their belief in the cause of the disorder. Instead of

working together to find the answers, whatever they may be, they

have further driven a wedge between individuals and groups who

should be working cooperatively.

If the true facts, whatever they may be, are to be found, research

must continue on all fronts, and must be supported by all involved

in the Autism community. Only through open, truthful dialogue and

information will we reach the goal of finding the truth.