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http://bmj.com/cgi/content/abridged/326/7399/1107-a
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BMJ 2003;326:1107 (24 May)
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 Collections under
which this article appears: Drugs:
immunological products and vaccines Health
education (including prevention and promotion) Patients' views
Research
and publication ethics |
News roundup
Roger Dobson
Abergavenny
Most people wrongly believed that doctors and scientists are equally divided over the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to new research carried out during the high profile public debate over the vaccine last year.
At the height of the media coverage the impression was created that medical scientists were split down the middle over the vaccine's safety, including reports of links with autism, say the study's authors, from Cardiff University.
Less than one in four people were aware that the bulk of the evidence favoured the vaccine, say the authors of the study. "Although almost all scientific experts rejected the claim of a link between MMR and autism, 53% of those [the people] surveyed at the height of the media coverage of the issues assumed that because both sides of the debate received equal media coverage, there must be equal evidence for each. Only 23% of the population were aware that the bulk of evidence favoured supporters of the vaccine," says the study.
Towards a Better Map: Science, the Public and the Media is available at the Economic and Social Research Council's website (www.esrc.ac.uk)
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| Collections under
which this article appears:Drugs:
immunological products and vaccines Health
education (including prevention and promotion) Patients' views
Research
and publication ethics |
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© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
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