Today, low key reports like this one revealed that the British medical journal Lancet has "retracted" a study published twelve years ago whose author, Andrew Wakefield, suggested that a certain vaccine might cause autism in children.
The article, because it appeared in an authoritative, reputable medical journal, had been a mainstay of parents and parents-to-be desperately seeking an explanation for autism; it had caused amazingly high percentages of parents to deny vaccination of their children for common childhood diseases.
The retraction unfortunately comes too late for many, and perhaps too late for the good conscience of the editors of Lancet. It would be nice to think that this simple step would correct the misconceptions, but a whole industry has grown up around the idea of blaming (and more important, suing) a drug company for "causing" autism. Lawyers won't let it rest; and these times of recession-driven paranoia, others invested in the unproven link between vaccine and autism will simply believe that this overdue step by the British journal is a conspiracy. (Check out the "comments" on the Washington Post story linked above.)
By the way, it's interesting to note that Wakefield is reportedly practicing (what?) in the U.S. now.
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