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.