Controversy over the MMR vaccine’s link to the development of autism has been reignited with a senior scientist, charged with investigating the link, claiming that critical findings were left out of a report.
William W Thompson, a senior scientist with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, where he worked since 1998, has released a statement through his lawyers to say that he and his co-authors omitted statistically significant information when examining the possibility of a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.
The claim is based on an article, ‘Examining the Possibility of a Relationship Between MMR Vaccine and Autism’, which was published in a scientific journal in 2004. According to Thompson, the omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before the age of 36 months were at an increased risk of developing autism.
In a press statement through his lawyers, Ohio-based Morgan Verkamp llc, Thompson said: “I regret that my co-authors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics.”
Referring to the alleged African-American male development of an autism link, he continued: “Decisions were made regarding which findings to report after the data were collected, and I believe that the final study protocol was not followed.”
While making it clear he is not a supporter of the anti-vaccine stance because vaccines “saved and continue to save lives”, Thompson nonetheless said he is providing information to Congressman William Posey, who has been advocating greater scrutiny of a possible autism/vaccination link.
Thompson said he intends co-operating with the US Congress and has offered to assist with the reanalysis of the study data or development of further studies.
“My concern has been the decision to omit relevant findings in a particular study, for a particular sub group, for a particular vaccine,” he said.
Thompson added: “There have always been recognized risks for vaccination and I believe it is the responsibility of the CDC to properly convey the risks associated with receipt of those vaccines.”
The decision to go public with lawyers at his side follows the release of a recording of Thompson airing his views about the 2004 report, which has been circulating on the internet. In a statement through his lawyers, Thompson said he was unaware he was being recorded.
Advocating transparency in CDC decision-making and analyses, Thompson said: “There are still more questions than answers, and I appreciate that so many families are looking for answers from the scientific community.”
He said: “Reasonable scientists can and do differ in their interpretation of information. I will do everything I can to assist any unbiased and objective scientists inside or outside the CDC to analyze data collected by the CDC or other public organizations for the purpose of understanding whether vaccines are associated with an increased risk of autism.”
Published: 28 August 2014
