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Top doctor ‘to resist’ more MMR
research
CAMILLO FRACASSINI HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
FURTHER government research into the safety of the MMR
vaccine will be resisted, Scotland’s top medical official revealed last
night.
Dr Mac Armstrong - the chief medical adviser to the
Scottish Executive - said he would not back any further studies into links
between the triple vaccine and autism.
Armstrong also conceded that politicians and senior
doctors had lost the trust of the public, in the face of mounting concerns
about the safety of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
And he added that even in the event of an outbreak of
measles in Scotland, parents would not be offered an alternative to the
triple jab.
His comments prompted anger among autism campaigners and
politicians, who accused him of ignoring parents’ fears and increasing demand
for single vaccines.
Speaking exclusively to Scotland on Sunday, Armstrong
said: "I am very well aware of the fact that the public doesn’t trust
what people like me are saying to them."
The chief medical officer went on to urge celebrities
such as film star Ewan McGregor and television presenter Carol Vorderman to
support the government’s policy.
"What I really need is the people that the public
does trust to say it to them," Armstrong said.
"I need the Ewan McGregors of this world and the
Carol Vordermans of this world to say it to them. I need the Kirsty Warks,
Jon Snows and Trevor MacDonalds to say it to them.
"I need the opinion-drivers in the country to do a
less inquisitorial job and to give us a hand on this thing."
Armstrong added that parents’ lack of trust in his
advice on the safety of the triple vaccine reflected a slump in public
confidence in the medical profession.
He said: "I am painfully aware that public
confidence in politicians, doctors and medical opinion has been eroded.
"We are the people who brought you safe hamburgers
and told you that you could trust the medical profession. We are the people who
ignored what went on in Bristol and allowed Shipman to keep on practising.
"It is the power of the people against the vested
interest of the medical profession in the white coats.
"You may not believe what I am saying, but at least
listen to me and talk to someone you do trust - your community nurse, or
health visitor or doctor."
Armstrong confirmed that he would not back further
research into the supposed link between the combined MMR vaccine and autism.
"I fully endorse the need for research into the
causes of autism," he said.
"That is why all of us are resistant to putting
more money into the link between autism and MMR.
"We want to get that research diverted into other
causes of autism - there is plenty of fertile ground, not least the genetic
linkages."
Armstrong added: "It has been investigated directly
again and again and again and again. There have been hundreds of papers
investigating that link involving thousands, millions, of children."
Last night, Bill Welsh, chairman of the campaign group
Action Against Autism, said: "The chief medical officer’s entrenched
reluctance to sanction research into the link between MMR and autism
epitomises the ‘closed mind’ approach of the medical hierarchy.
"The incidence of autism has risen dramatically - a
simple fact confirmed by parents and professionals alike. Until the cause is
identified, Dr Armstrong has no right to ignore the claims of parents that
the MMR vaccine was implicated.
"His decision to refuse access to single vaccines
in the NHS will be interpreted as uncaring arrogance."
Last night, shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
"For Mac Armstrong to say that the public no longer believes him is an
indictment of the crisis in public confidence over MMR.
"His remarks about public figures make a case for
an independent chief medical officer rather than someone who is seen to be a
mouthpiece of the government.
"I don’t consider it to be for the chief medical
officer to suppress demands to carry out valid research in the case of a
particular condition."
cfracassini@scotlandonsunday.com
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