One wonders if Meryl Dorey would have saved herself a lot of bad publicity had she just quietly posted the disclaimer as requested. As it turns out, there have now been two waves of bad publicity for the AVN. The first, after the HCCC report was released some two weeks ago and now the second wave with the refusal to post the disclaimer.

It seems the tide has definitely turned in the media with respect to the AVN. Previously the majority of the reporting was staunchly about “balance” never referring to the AVN as anti-vax and generally giving Meryl a pretty easy ride when it came to her avoiding the question of “you say you’re not anti-vax but which vaccines do you recommend?”.

And if you don’t believe me, listen to Steve Liebermann – who reckons the AVN should be shut down – tear shreds off the AVN on radio 2UE.

In the extensive coverage of the last few weeks, there has only been one example of television that I have seen the term “balanced” used and that was on the frothy morning show Sunrise (not known for hard hitting journalism). This morning the show interviewed both Meryl Dorey and Prof. Booy, who had both previously appeared on Radio ABC 702 Sydney. Even when Meryl got a pretty easy ride from the interviewer, there was no misunderstanding about the agenda of the AVN, as Prof Booy made it abundantly clear by referring to the AVN at least twice as the Anti-Vaccination Network.

You can watch the full story here.

And whilst there was a follow up story in today’s SMH, (following yesterdays front page criticism), interviewing Dorey and detailing her reasons for starting on her anti-vax crusade, it was juxtaposed with a series of rather loopy quotes from Dorey. In a column entitled “Dorey on vaccines” four quotations were published. Although they’re certainly not the most loopy I have seen from Meryl, they nonetheless do not make her look particularly “balanced” and “pro-information” (as she is still feebly clinging to BTW).

“I don’t see that the measles vaccine has done anything for Australia”

“Make no mistakes folks, this measles “outbreak” has been orchestrated for one reason and one reason only – to force the issue of compulsory vaccination.”

More conspiracy nonsense from Meryl, directly contradicting one of my favourite quotes from her;

“…we are already seen as rabid, idiotic fringe dwellers by so many in the mainstream, it does our cause no good at all to bring in conspiracy theories, which though we may subscribe to them, are unprovable.”

Thanks to the hard work of Steve Cannane who kicked this campaign off with the awesome report on Lateline some 2 weeks ago, the tone has been set in the media. Steve did a follow up story last night, this time covering the government’s seemingly disinterest in instigating the vaccination education campaign they have been promising for what seems like an eternity.

In the meantime the McCafferys (who have been extremely brave and stoic throughout this entire nightmare) have contributed to a website in collaboration with Professor Booy called Chain of Protection

Meanwhile Meryl continues unabated. She continues to bleat they are not anti-vax, that the HCCC does not have jurisdiction over them, that she is seeking legal advice etc etc. It’s like a broken record.

Pro-tip Meryl, saying it over and over again will not make it right. And because you arrogantly refused to put up the disclaimer, many more people now know just that.

Below is some of the coverage I have collected from the past few days. If you come across anything else, please leave a comment and I’ll add it here.

SMH Anti-vaccine Group a Threat

SMH Parents who lost baby stonewalled

SMH Still No Warning on Whooping Cough

The Medical News Anti-vaccination Group Declared Unsafe

Northern Star Warning Issued About AVN

ABC News Vaccine Group Needles Opponents
Anti-Vaccination Campaigners Slapped with Warning

New Scientist Anti-Vaccination Website Poses a Risk

International Business Times HCCC Warns Public on Anti-Vaccine Group

Medical Observer Public Warning Against Anti-Vaccination Website

2UE Steve Lieberman interviews Ken McLeod

The public statement was issued after a fortnight’s grace during which time the AVN were instructed to issue a disclaimer on their website stating that;

• • The AVN’s purpose is to provide information against vaccination, in order to balance what it believes is the substantial amount of pro-vaccination information available elsewhere.
• • The information provided by the AVN should not be read as medical advice.

The public warning follows a 12 month investigation into the AVN after 2 complaints were received.

The Commission’s investigation of the complaints focussed on the material presented by the AVN on its website www.avn.org.au. The Commission established that the AVN website:

• • provides information that is solely anti-vaccination
• • contains information that is incorrect and misleading
• • quotes selectively from research to suggest that vaccination may be dangerous.

The AVN was given 2 weeks to post the disclaimer in a prominent position on their website. When the deadline passed, the HCCC was forced to issue the public statement.

Meryl Dorey, media spokesperson and immediate past president of the AVN responded by repeating she does not believe the HCCC has jurisdiction over the AVN and she is seeking legal advice in this regard. (She has been “seeking legal advice” about this matter for what seems like the duration of the investigation).

In a blog post entitled “AVN vigorously opposses HCCC notice” Meryl (who refers to the AVN as a “consumer advocacy and vaccine safety watchdog group”), states:

“Three times since this investigation started last September, the AVN has provided the HCCC with information on their lack of jurisdiction. Each time, this information has been ignored.”

“The HCCC states that our information is misleading because we do not include data on the benefits of vaccination,…..nobody would expect……those who argue against fluoridation of the water supply to write reports about the benefits of mass medication without individual consent.”

So apparently fluoride in drinking water is “mass medication” now?

But it gets even more hilarious.

“The AVN is currently in discussions with our legal advisors….. to defend against the unsubstantiated allegations that our information is anything but complete, unbiased and fully-referenced from the medical literature.” (emphasis mine).

Unbiased and fully-referenced? Meryl, surely you jest. Even you have admitted you don’t tell both sides of the story. And as for fully referenced? Well the HCCC had something to say about that too.

Fully referenced also might not mean what you think it means Meryl. For example, copying and pasting incorrectly attributed references from whale.to is not considered “fully referenced”.

Meanwhile Meryl is still screeching “free speech” and “democracy”. A comment left on her blog offered a much more sinister reason for the HCCC “witch hunt”.

Tracy says:
July 25, 2010 at 11:51
Doctors are hired assassins for the pharmaceutical companies and the government. Paid to kill and injure … method of death and grievous bodily harm … vaccinations. I tell you, there is something very sinister going on that they are going to such extraordinary lengths to silence the truth!

Hold on to your tin foil hats people!

Not only do the Australian public now know the true nature of the AVN’s agenda, Meryl appears to have got herself in some hot water over scanning and posting a pro-vaccine magazine article on her blog. The article, published in Cosmos Magazine, got her ire when she was apparently misquoted after declining to be interviewed. The publishers are now seeking legal advice about the breach of copyright and will be taking action to have the article removed.

And in another schemozzle, Meryl appears to have passed on the email list from her subscriber base to a third party, which breaches email privacy laws in Australia. Although in a blog post published today she denies this is the case.

This came about with the distribution of a media release from the International Medical Council on Vaccination, announcing their support for the AVN and “condemning the attempts of an Australian Government body to censor and suppress their work.” It was signed by well known anti-vaxers Sherri Tenpenny, VacTruth, Moms Against Mercury, and even Judy Wilyman, amongst others.

AVN readers have already begun to write to the HCCC complaining about the findings. One suggested:

• “The HCCC’s purpose is to provide misleading information about the importance and efficacy of vaccination, in order to perpetuate the substantial amount of one-sided, pro-vaccination information available everywhere.”

Or perhaps the science tells us that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks? There’s no debate about that.

According to the Church there were concerns raised by a number of people, including prominent church members who are experts in the field of ethics and public health, that the message promoted by the Australian Vaccination Network is not in line with the ethos and values of the Uniting Church in Australia.

No Uniting Church in the City venue is being made available to the AVN for tomorrow night’s meeting (update AEST 20:42, please see below; it has been cancelled with plans to reschedule in the next four weeks).

The AVN organised the seminar following the recent spate of adverse reactions to the seasonal flu vaccine in children under five years of age.

Australia wide, over 400 reactions have been reported, in five states, the majority of which occurred in Western Australia. Authorities are still investigating the cause of high fevers and febrile convulsions. Most children recovered, but one child in Queensland died 12 hrs after receiving the vaccine. The coroner found no evidence to implicate the vaccine.

The AVN seminar, “Flu Vaccines and Informed Choice” was described in an e-newsletter;

“This talk examines the risk of flu to children, the effectiveness of the vaccine and the additional risks to children’s health of adding another vaccine to the childhood schedule.”

Both media spokesperson and immediate past-president, Meryl Dorey and Murdoch University PhD candidate Judy Wilyman were scheduled to talk.

“To date, more than 300 serious reactions to the current seasonal flu shot have been reported in children under the age of 5 with one child known to have died within hours of being vaccinated. All the indications are that this figure grossly underestimates the actual number of reactions. In her talk, Meryl Dorey will discuss how vaccines are intended to work and why it is that they often don’t. She will talk about the known side effects of childhood and adult shots and reveal that according to the Australian government, as few as 1% of vaccine reactions ever get reported, leading to a belief that they are perfectly safe.”

.

This is not the first time the AVN has been refused access to a venue after having organised, booked and advertised a seminar. In 2009, they were forced to find another venue at short notice after a school in Mt Barker, South Australia declined their appearance, following notification of the nature of their material.

In a blog post entitled “AVN Under attack” Meryl Dorey described how those opposed to her ideas “…have tried to get venues where I am scheduled to present vaccination seminars to cancel and have harassed those who sponsor such events.”

Whilst publicly claiming to be the “pro-choice”, the AVN preaches a clear anti-vaccination message, designed to scare parents into shunning vaccinations for their children.

They were also recently refused paid advertising in The Child Group magazines, distributed free Australia wide and targeted specifically to parents, for similar reasons.

In South Australia, the AVN was able to secure a new venue at the last minute.

A recent tweet from the AVN (@nocompulsoryvac) published at 12:31 AEST, May 13th said; “Flying out to Perth, WA for our seminar tomorrow nite on flu vax. If you haven’t booked yet, extra chairs have been put in-call 1800 007 468 about 5 hours ago via HootSuite”.

At the time of writing, it is not known if Mrs Dorey is aware of the venue cancellation.

—
UPDATE:

Meryl has just sent an e-newsletter about this. The text is reproduced below. Please write to the Uniting Church to thank them for taking a responsible stance here. Or call them on (08) 9321 9711.

———-

“UNITING CHURCH CANCELS AVN SEMINAR AT THE 11TH HOUR

At about 12:45 this afternoon, I was standing on line, waiting to board a plane that would take me to Perth. I had packed, arranged rides for my children, caught up on my office work for the next few days and was ready to just sit back, relax and enjoy the flight (while going over my powerpoint slides for the 20th time!)

As I was waiting my turn to give my ticket to the hostess, my mobile phone rang. I almost didn’t answer but seeing that it was a Western Australian number, I thought I’d better.

Little did I know…

On the other end of the phone was a Mr Andy Corkill who is the Mission Development Officer for the Uniting Church of Perth.

He was calling to inform me that the Church Council had received calls from the WA Dept of Health and from some of their own congregants including a senior academic from a university in Perth. All these people were urging the church to cancel our seminar which was taking place on Friday night.

Mr Corkill informed me that the Council had met the night before and decided that they would cancel the event and that there was really nothing he could do to change this because it was a decision made by the Council – not by him.

When I told him that we had over 100 people booked in to attend and that I was about to board a flight from QLD to Perth specifically for this event, he suggested that we find another venue. He was quite helpful and said they would be happy to post a sign at the Uniting Church to let people know the location of the new venue – hah!

I asked him where he thought I would be able to find a venue for over 100 people in just over 24 hours and he replied that he couldn’t help with that but I couldn’t have any Uniting Church venues.

So – off to the counter I go and ask them to pull my bags off the plane – down the $750 we paid to the Church for the venue and the almost $700 for the plane fares.

Don’t be downhearted!
A person could really be forgiven for feeling more than a little bit downhearted by these events. After all, there are children all across Australia who have died or been seriously injured by the flu vaccine in recent weeks. There is a little girl in PMH right now who was in a coma for some time and now faces a difficult and uncertain future because of this shot. And yet, the Department of Health and certain academics have decided that Australian parents need to be treated like mushrooms and kept away from any information that might call into doubt the safety of shots.

Unfortunately for them however, this action is going to backfire and backfire badly. This backlash is already starting!

The media in WA is now asking the following questions:

1- Who at the department of health chose to put pressure on the Church to force them to cancel our seminar? Why would a small event, attended by only 100 people, be of concern to the government?
2- Who was the senior academic who used his status as a member of the Uniting Church congregation and a supposed expert on this issue to state that the AVN should not be allowed to speak at a Church venue?
3- By trying to suppress this information, is the government trying to pretend that these reactions never took place? Are they stepping on our right to freedom of communication – a right that has been upheld by the High Court of Australia?

In the meantime, we contacted everyone who was booked into the seminar tomorrow to let them know it’s been cancelled. Several of these people have excellent contacts with larger and better venues in Perth and we are hoping to reschedule this talk for sometime within the next 4 weeks.

Of course, we will let you know as soon as we have rescheduled.

—-
UPDATE#2 16/05/10

The Church has now issued a press release stating their reasons for cancelling the AVN seminar. To read the pdf, click on the hyperlink “Cancellation of Australian Vaccination Network Event” on this page.

To read some of the emails apparently sent to the Church from AVN supporters, go here.

The Child group of magazines, covering Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth are free monthly publications distributed via childcare centres and baby shops and are highly targeted to Australian parents.

The website of Sydney’s Child describes the publication as, “..well established in the marketplace and highly respected by readers.”

“With six publications reaching across Australia, the Child group of magazines offer advertisers the ability to advertise nationally, or selectively depending on their needs. The tailored content within each magazine ensures that the publications always remain locally relevant to readers.”

All of which combines to make this the perfect platform for the AVN to scare parents into not vaccinating with their misinformation about vaccines causing autism, SIDS, shaken baby syndrome etc.

I understand that the AVN applied to purchase a 1/3 page ad in Sydney’s Child, Melbourne’s Child and Brisbane’s Child at a total estimated cost of $8000.

But in a highly principled and responsible move, it appears that the magazine declined the AVN the opportunity to do so, thus forfeiting a large amount of advertising money. This is a honorable move on their part, especially since being a free publication, they rely heavily on advertising revenue.

At question here is how the AVN came to have a spare $8000, after their recent donation drive initiated apparently to keep them from going under. Meryl apparently needed the cash to cover debts, so just a few weeks later she has enough in the coffers to blow eight grand on advertising?

I also wonder if her donors would be happy to see their money being diverted from keeping the AVN running to this new venture. That is, if indeed it is their money.

In August 2009, she was asking for donations to run a Generation Rescue ad, for which they would cover half the costs. An ad which never ran mind you, because we pipped her at the post. So it is possible that they have come to the party here.

In any case, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Meryl was told that The Child group did not want her anti-vaccine money. If she was not already convinced there is a conspiracy to see her silenced, then she ought to be well and truly by now. Paranoid much? Well maybe you should be Meryl!

I would like to clarify that neither Australian Skeptics, Stop the AVN or myself had anything to do with this decision. I’m sure Meryl will blame us, and I certainly wish I had the influence to persuade publishers and journalists to never publish her nonsense again, but I don’t.

(Or do I? *look over there, it’s a reptilian overlord*)

Congratulations to The Child group for adhering to their editorial policy and extending this to advertising:

Editorial Integrity – Our editorial integrity ensures that advertisements are always viewed within the context of a highly regarded, quality publication. That our magazines are seen in such a favourable light contributes positively to how an advertiser’s message is received by our readers.

The Child Group had done a great service to public health by limiting the exposure of the AVN’s misinformation. And by doing so, they may have saved a baby’s life.

The source for the news was an email circulated on the Thoughtful House Yahoo! list which was given legitimacy with comments left by Brian Deer confirming the story:

Yes, I heard this was coming some days ago. Apparently, Jane Johnson, Krigsman and Anissa Ryland are among those behind it.

Who is Jane Johnson?

This comment was left by @lizditz

The co-managing director of Thoughtful House’s board is Jane Johnson of New York, part of the family of the Johnson & Johnson health care products and services company. Johnson (who co-authored Jepson’s book, Changing the Course of Autism) and her husband, Chris, donated $1 million to lay the groundwork for Thoughtful House in 2004.

Ah, so Jane Johnson is apparently an heir to the fortune of Johnson and Johnson, a big pharmaceutical company.

That’s right folks, Thoughtful House was seemingly established with funds connected to a BIG PHARMA.

Oh the irony! Or hypocrisy.

Anyway, the news was also reported in the media today, with stories from the Times Online and The Guardian in the UK. Thoughtful House have yet to issue a statement, but it appears that Wakefield’s name has been removed from the staff list, however, his publications are still listed.

The reaction from the Australian anti-vaxers has been to cling even tighter to their poster boy, as one commentator said of the headline “Disgraced MMR doctor..”;

He is NOT disgraced – they should be ashamed….. ……… ……… . (1)

But as Brian Deer said on Orac’s post;

What he did to autistic children is just shocking. And what he’s been saying to people around him over the last few years is now seen for what it was: beyond belief.

One wonders what will become of Andrew Wakefield now. It’s looking very likely that he will get struck off the medical register in the UK and with no journal editors wanting to touch his tainted research, it looks like his career as a research scientist is over too.

Brian Deer said;

I always wondered what the reaction to the GMC verdict would be. As the Neurotoxicology withdrawal (taking with it a big chunk of Liz Birt’s hard-raised money, which Wakefield still controls) shows, no reputable journal editor will now accept his data.

Some people facetiously suggested he relocate to Ecuador and hook up with Mike Adams

(Oh, that was me).

Meanwhile on the home front, the deadline for the closure of the AVN is rapidly approaching (eight days to go). They seem to be getting more and more rattled at the moment, going into chaotic spins and devising conspiracy theories about the “septics” left right and centre.

Emails emerged today where they accused one male blogger of being a front woman for a drug company that runs a number of bullying blogs attacking anybody who want honest information on vaccination.

Even I was included at one stage, being accused of getting material that showed me in a bad light removed from a website, of which I have nothing to do with. Actually I left a comment on a post there last year, which now cannot be accessed due to a server problem. I know so much about I.T., I barely even know what this means, let alone how to remove material.

Also, in desperation and no doubt encouraged by the approaching deadline, the AVN sent another pledge email today offering a case of wine as an incentive to the next person who pledges $1000 (2). One wonders how far $1000 will get them, when they were asking for “..a benefactor or series of benefactors come forward to establish a fund that would guarantee the AVN’s existence for at least the next 2-3 years”, but who said there was method in their madness.

A colleague decided to utilise the powers of Sidewiki to inform people considering purchasing products from the winery who donated the loot, describing why “I cannot in good conscience buy Rosnay products”.

Take a look at the post if you have Sidewiki activated in your browser. Suffice it to say, Jason hit the nail on the head. Here’s an excerpt;

It has come to my attention that Sam Statham of Rosnay Wines is a financial supporter of a group called the Australian Vaccination Network. Sam’s most recent offering was a case of Rosnay Wines to the first donator of $1000 in the AVN’s most recent cash drive. The offer was made seemingly not as a personal donation, but as direct corporate endorsement.

.

The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) is Australia’s largest anti-vaccination organisation. They have been running a campaign of misinformation and fear-mongering since 1994. Many people who now refuse to vaccinate cite the information that they received from the AVN as being partly, or wholly, responsible for their decision not to vaccinate.

I will leave the last word to Brian Deer, who reflected on the downfall of Wakefield on Orac’s post;

Part of me isn’t surprised by this apparent new development. The simple math of Thoughtful House’s board suggests that there will be at least one or two people of calibre and integrity, who know that all the cranksite stuff about a witchhunt, sinister forces and all that shit, are just that: shit. Wakefield has been nailed, absolutely fairly, properly, but belatedly, with no hidden agendas or vested interests.

Apart, that is, from the public interest.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

–
(1) AVN Yahoo!Group message #42270, sent 12.31 am, February 19, 2010.
(2) AVN Yahoo! Group message #42275, sent 5.47 am, February 19, 2010.

Last week, Meryl Dorey, President of the AVN announced the group would close its doors “on or near February 28th” citing monetary issues as the primary reason. This week, after several emails pleading with her members to step up and donate, or at least pledge to donate, she sent out an e-newsletter where she outlined what has been a tough year for her and the AVN.

In it she explains that;

“Approximately 12 months ago, an unremitting campaign of harassment began with a complaint filed by an anonymous complainant against the AVN with the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR)….This whole situation came to a head about 7 months ago when a complaint was filed against both the AVN and myself with the HCCC. ….there have been an unending string of complaints filed against both myself and the AVN every time I’m on either the radio, TV or in newspapers. Without fail, the media will receive complaints stating that they should not be interviewing someone like myself who is not only anti-vaccine (in their words), but under investigation to boot!”

and;

“The people who are behind these attacks are, in my own personal opinion, totally without morals and ethics.”

For a complete and delicious take down of this special pleading email, please head over to @fuzztwin’s post, which precisely and thoroughly destroys her public baa-ing.

The post you see at the top of this blog was the hard-copy version of the article, which also appeared in the online edition of the Daily Telegraph under the headline; “Anti-vaccination group to collapse” (which I like much better as you might have guessed).

Naturally Meryl was very disappointed in this article, telling her email group that;

“I knew I could count on Kate Sikora and the Daily Telegraph to get it all wrong – even when the information was provided to them in writing. One has to wonder how much pharmaceutical advertising the Daily Telegraph takes in every day and whether that would have any influence on the anti-choice, anti-science stance taken by papers such as the Telegraph?”

(Zing! Big Pharma shill accusation)

and

“The people on Australia are done a great disservice by this article and by the Telegraph’s continual refusal to allow science-based data on the dangers and ineffectiveness of vaccines to be published.” (1)

Funny that, I thought it was quite accurate. What was interesting was that according to the article:

“Contacted twice for comment yesterday, Ms Dorey referred The Daily Telegraph to her email.”

So she opted to not even speak to the journalist.

The comments also make for some interesting reading. I’ll bet Meryl would have preferred the one below didn’t get approved, especially since she is desperately trying to shake off the conspiracy theory tag which has recently stuck to her.

Boldarn of N.QLD Posted at 10:36 AM February 16, 2010
As corporate and government lies are exposed increasingly , NWO advocates are panicking and attacking anyone who does not go along with their fascist rules . The mandatory fluoridation of all drinking waters is an important tool of globalists , as it effects the pineal glad ( gland for free thinking ). A fluoridated population is less likely to question anything and is easier to “manage” as NWO policies are rolled out over once free nations . Vaccines play a huge part in Agenda 21 – the NWO population control plan .Good on ya , Meryl Dorey , for your great effort an work ! Please contact me , I am also an activist & would like to send you my free poetry for your use . Peace –Boldarn

I also liked these two;

stewart cooper Posted at 7:49 AM February 16, 2010

Gee, I didn’t know Dick Smith had research level medical qualifications? Do people really listen to this self appointed know all? Witch hunting is alive and well in medieval NSW.

the response being;

Tom c of Sydney Posted at 9:53 AM February 16, 2010

Gee, I didn’t know Meryl dorey had research level medical qualifications? Do people really listen to this self appointed know all? (Hyperlink, mine)

Perhaps Meryl has lost her trust in the media. Maybe because they have ceased taking her information on face value and are beginning to realise she is not someone they should be consulting on issues of vaccine effectiveness and safety. Maybe Meryl’s time in the spotlight is drawing to a close.

Still, with the results of two complaints with the HCCC and the OLGR auditing the AVN this week, there are likely much more serious things for her to deal with.

If you missed the interview that I did with Ian Woolf from Diffusion Radio about the AVN and their impending downfall you can listen to it online here.

—-

(1) Message # 42231, sent Monday February 15th, 2010 11:53 pm

This paper was originally published in October 2009 to the acclaim of the anti-vaxers who commented;

“Neurotoxicology, a highly-respected medical journal, deserves great credit for courageously publishing the first phase of this vaccinated monkey study.”

The study, in macaques reported impaired neurological development in young monkeys following vaccination with a thimerosal containing vaccine.

I commented about this paper on Skeptically Speaking recently, citing, amongst other things, the conflicts of interest statement by the authors as a source of concern. It says;

Prior to 2005, CS and AJW acted as paid experts in MMR-related litigation on behalf of the court retained by plaintiff lawyers. LH has a child who is a petitioner in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. For this reason, LH was not involved in any data collection or statistical analyses to preclude the possibility of a perceived conflict of interest.

As a working scientist, I participate in the peer review process. To me, these conflicts of interests are serious enough to enquire of the editor if the paper should be rejected on these grounds alone. I also can’t help but wonder if the reviewers did any background searches for Wakefield. If they had, my suspicions are this paper would never have been published in the first place.

I certainly hope this means that the studies he is about to publish, as referred to by Generation Rescue below, never see the light of day in a peer reviewed, respectable journal.

Whilst Neurotoxicology is indeed a respectable journal, it is albeit, small fry. With an impact factor of 2.409, it is certainly not a big hitter in the journal stakes. By comparison, The Lancet, which last week, retracted Wakefield’s notorious 1998 paper, has an impact factor of 28.

This Neurotoxicology paper is the one described by Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey in a statement following the Lancet retraction. They said;

“There is no question that the publication of the monkey study will lend substantial credibility to the theory that over-vaccination of young children is leading to neurological damage, including autism.”

According to the statement,

Dr. Wakefield and his scientific colleagues are on the brink of publishing their entire study, which followed the monkeys through the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule over a multi-year period. It is our understanding that the difference in outcome for the vaccinated monkeys versus the unvaccinated controls is both stark and devastating.

And

The fallout from the study for vaccine makers and public health officials could be severe. Having denied the possibility of the vaccine-autism connection for so long while profiting immensely from a recent boom in vaccine sales around the world, it’s no surprise that they would seek to repress this important work.

Although the editors of Neurotoxicology do not explain why they withdrew the paper, it seems likely that the GMC findings describing Wakefield as not only being wrong about the science in the Lancet paper, but also acting unethically with respect to using unnecessary and invasive procedures on children, are likely to have influenced their decision. He was also described as “unethical”, “callous” and “dishonest”.

With this third blow to Wakefield’s reputation in a week, the anti-vaxers have finally conceded that he was wrong about vaccine safety, accepted that he had multiple conflicts of interest which he did not declare and disassociated themselves from him.

Just kidding!

Instead they made a BIG FLOW CHART detailing the conspiracy designed to quash “one of the world’s most respected and well-published gastroenterologists.” Click for a high resolution image.

And they’ve also announced that they will republish the Lancet paper in the online quack-fest that is Medical Veritas. As yet, I have not seen any statements from Jen and Jim but, rest assured, it won’t be long before they start screaming conspiracy.

Sigh.

The General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK has handed down their findings on Dr Andrew Wakefield and two colleagues who are credited with catalysing the Measles, Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine scare in 1998.

Thousands of parents opted out of having their children vaccinated following the publishing of a paper in the journal ‘The Lancet’ linking MMR with gastrointestinal disorders and autism.

Wakefield’s findings resonated world wide firmly establishing the anti-vaccination movement and resulting in outbreaks of vaccine preventable disease.

The enquiry sat for 148 days and was estimated to have cost one million pounds. The GMC’s disciplinary panel of experts ruled Dr Wakefield showed a ‘callous disregard’ for children’s suffering and abused his position of trust.

His conduct brought the medical profession ‘into disrepute’ after he took blood samples from youngsters at his son’s birthday party in return for payment. He also acted dishonestly and was misleading and irresponsible in the way he described research later published in The Lancet medical journal. More seriously, he was charged with causing pain to sick children by unnecessary painful, intrusive diagnostic treatments

Dr Wakefield faces being struck off the medical register after the panel decided the allegations against him could amount to serious professional misconduct, which will be decided at a later date.

Although The Lancet study did not demonstrate the MMR vaccine as dangerous, Dr Wakefield warned parents to have single injections against measles, mumps and rubella. The claim has been widely discredited. Subsequent studies into the safety of vaccines have demonstrated no link between vaccination, the mercury based preservative thimerosal and autism.

But the anti-vaccination movement calls the findings “unjust”, a “smear campaign” and “a sad day for our children.” Generation Rescue, a militant anti-vaccination group in the US, issued a statement of support saying;

“Dr. Andrew Wakefield is perhaps this debate’s greatest hero. He’s a doctor who has held onto the truth, unbowed, through pressure that would break most mortals. Dr. Wakefield’s influence in saving other children from the fate that befell so many children is incalculable.”

Already petitions have sprung up in support of the Dr who they call “a man of integrity, courage and proven commitment to children and public health.”

But sadly, the facts surrounding this case do not reflect this belief. Wakefield defends his decision to use children at the birthday party as a control group for his study. He continues to believe it was not unethical.

“I had fully informed parent and child consent. The ethics committee is there to protect NHS patients, and these weren’t NHS patients.”

Investigations by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer revealed that Wakefield had not revealed serious conflicts of interest when submitting his paper for publication. Deer claims he was paid four hundred thousands pounds by lawyers seeking a link between the vaccine and autism. Further, Wakefield had a patent pending on a single measles vaccine, just like the one he urged parents to seek out the press conference following the publishing of the paper.

In 2004, ten of the twelve authors on the paper withdrew their names from the paper.

“We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient. However the possibility of such a link was raised and consequent events have had major implications for public health.”

The decision as to whether Wakefield is struck off the medical register in the UK is expected to be handed down in the next few months. He currently resides in Texas where he is the director of a alternative medicine clinic, Thoughtful House, which has also been accused of using dubious treatments such a chelation.

Which means sometimes you might not get time to fact-check some of the things written about you before they get published. I often do talks, and organisers always ask me to send a bio or short description of my background which they publish in the programme or on the accompanying website.

Usually they ask me to send my own, which suits me because this way I can ensure it is absolutely accurate and doesn’t contain any inaccuracies.

But here is an example of one which obviously slipped by the person in question without proofreading. It’s only short but there are several inaccuracies which are immediately obvious to me. You can see a link to the web page where this bio originally appeared here.

The most obvious one is “unbiased” from “…offers her unbiased…knowledge…” (see above).

Following are a few examples of Meryl’s “unbiased” views on vaccination.

“There will come a time – I pray to God that it will happen in my lifetime – when those who have pushed vaccines upon innocent, helpless babies – doctors, pharmaceutical companies, government officials – will be proven to have lied and cheated these instruments of death into our children’s bloodstream. When that occurs, the outcry will be heard around the world and there will not be enough hiding places on the globe for these murderers to hide or enough money to pay for compensation. Of course, it will be too late for the babies, like this poor child, to be saved. But we will be able to take satisfaction from the fact that never again will anyone have to be pushed to poison their child because for once and for all, it will be known as poison and we will all wonder how it was we fell for the vaccine lie for as long as we did.”
Meryl Dorey, President, Australian Vaccination Network, AVN Yahoo group, 17 Dec 2008, message #36449

Another example of Meryl’s “unbiased” opinion/information occurred during a recent interview on Lismore local ABC radio where, despite repeated questioning she was unable to state one childhood vaccine that she thinks is “good”.

This is despite the fact the she insists publicly that she and the AVN are not anti-vaccine, but pro-choice.

Following is part of a transcript from the interview she did about her and the AVN winning the Australian Skeptics “Bent Spoon” Award for 2009.

Interviewer: “Which vaccines do you think are good then in Aust..?

Meryl: “I think that all vaccines are up to the parents and…”

Interviewer: “That wasn’t what I asked though was it. Which vaccines are good? This was the point I think the Skeptics were making is that you’ve never actually said, which vaccine is worthwhile, which scientific designed vaccine is good, worthwhile.

Meryl: “It is not, it is not my role, nor is it the role of the Australian Vaccination Network to tell anyone what to they should or should not do when it comes to vaccination. Now the Australian Skeptics have said that the um, Australian Vaccination Network is responsible for a decline in vaccination in Australia that has lead to an outbreak of pertussis and they accuse us of scientific piffle and yet..”

Cat got your tongue Meryl?

You can hear the full audio here.

If you spot any more inaccuracies, and can support them with evidence (no defamatory statements please), then please leave a comment. Perhaps Meryl would appreciate the feedback so that her next bio is not quite so misleading. If only for the sake of her members, and other parents seeking advice on vaccination, who trust they get accurate information from the AVN and Meryl.

——

Thanks to Steve for the tip-off. Audio courtesy of the Vaccination Awareness and Information Service.

This comment was posted to a health discussion group in response to a telemarketer calling to ask for donations for breast cancer awareness month.

“I think they end up being sorry that they ever called me because I don’t just say no, I tell them why I say that I work for a children’s charity that is involved in preventing cancer and that in 50 years, the cancer council and other bodies have done nothing. Cancer is more prevalent today then it was when they started to supposedly research and if I am going to be making a donation, I want it to go to a good cause, not just to line the pockets of some researcher who has no interest in actually seeing their research come to fruition rather than just keeping themselves in a job. They don’t know what to say… But hopefully, it makes them think that maybe there is more to this cancer stuff then they were told?”.

(emphasis mine, I’m off to line my pockets with public donations).