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The Government has finally caved in to pressure over MMR and agreed to
begin talks with the doctor who first raised concerns about the triple
vaccine.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal the CMO has written to Dr Andrew Wakefield
asking him to share his research findings with the Government.
The move is a significant u-turn by the DoH which has tried to ignore Dr
Wakefield's and his research, which suggests a link between the MMR vaccine
and autism and bowel conditions.
It reveals the Government's panic over the plummeting vaccination rates in
some parts of Britain - and Dr Wakefield's supporters say the Government may
be ready to rethink its policy on making single vaccines available on the
NHS.
The doctor, now in the US, has welcomed the chance to begin talks with the
DoH.
He said yesterday:"we have been trying for many years to enter an
appropriate dialogue with the Government in which our findings can be truly
independently reviewed, but it has failed to provide us with this forum.
We've already made provision for samples to be analysed independently and
invited the Centre for Disease Control to come to work in one of our
laboratories to conduct the analysis, but it failed to take us up on the
offer. Let's hope the latest move is the beginning of a new attitude towards
this serious dilemma"
The Government u-turn was prompted by a letter sent by Dr Wakefield to CMO
Prof. Sir Liam Donaldson and Downing Street last week.
It followed reports of measles outbreaks in some parts of the country where
the uptake of MMR has fallen as low as 65%.
Shortages and the high cost of paying privately for the single vaccines -
about £200 for a complete course of single jabs - mean that some parents are
not having children immunised at all.
In the letter, Dr Wakefield said concerns about the MMR vaccine will not go
away because at least nine new pieces of work which show a link will be
published during the year. "You cannot fail to be aware of the
unexplained and dramatic increase in autism in countries which administer the
MMR vaccine" he adds. "No one is suggesting that the entire
increase in this condition is down to the MMR vaccine but even if the vaccine
is contributing only a small proportion, that would inevitably render it
unsafe."
A spokesman for the DoH said Prof. Donaldson had replied to the letter,
setting out a list of questions about his research for him to answer. He
added:"We also asked Dr Wakefield if he would turn over his data and
samples for independent scientific analysis."
A spokesman for Visceral, the charity which funds research into the link
between MMR and autism, said:"We are delighted that a dialogue is to
finally begin."
Firm offers
single jabs at £80 a time on Milburn's doorstep
A private health company is offering separate vaccines for measles mumps
and rubella at a clinic in Health Secretary Alan Milburn's constituency.
Two hundred children were immunised yesterday at the start of the two-day
'outreach clinic' at the Woodlands hospital in Darlington, Co. Durham. They
had waited patiently with their parents, who were happy to pay £240 for the
three single jabs costing £80 each.
The clinic has been set up by doctors from the London-based Direct Health
2000 after they received hundreds of calls from parents in the North-East
worried about the triple MMR vaccine, which some fear may have links to
autism.
Direct Health 2000 spokeswoman Kathryn Durnford said some parents of
youngsters aged between 2 and 4 had told them they would not vaccinate their
children with the MMR jab. She said:"This suggests there are lots of
unprotected children of pre-school age who are at a high risk from catching
measles or mumps. Parents' concerns are still very high, despite a £3million
advertising campaign to convince them that the triplevaccine is safe."
A statement released by the Woodlands hospital said:"The hospital is
not promoting separate injections but believes that any immunisation is
better than no immunisation."
Shane Gray and his wife Jane, from
Yarm, took 2 of their 3 children for the single vaccines. They wanted their
daughters aged 3 and 2 to receive single jabs after the furore over the MMR
vaccine. Chemical site team leader Mr Gray said: "We have paid out a
total of £500 for the two children to have this done. But you can't put a
price on your children's health".
Autism
Research Is Vital
Suzanne Moore
It is not before time that extra money - £2.5million - is being put into
researching the causes of autism. This should be happening regardless of the
MMR controversy. More than 20 years ago I worked with autistic children and
had to explain to most people what that meant. Now nearly everyone knows a
child with it. The increase in autism is staggering. One study in America
shows that in the early nineties autism levels in schoolchildren were around
15,500. By 1999/2000 the number had increased to 67,000.
We need to explain the rise. I accept MMR may not be the cause but until we
know what is, parents will be suspicious of all vaccinations, not just this
one.
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