The Panic Virus

by Seth Mnookin; Dan B. Miller

  291 “sine qua non in [Michelle’s] quest for entitlement”: Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 41.

  291 were tainted by their association with Wakefield: Ibid., 42–44.

  291 a former graduate student of Wakefield’s named Nicholas Chadwick: Transcript of record, Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 2282–95.

  291 said that he’d alerted Wakefield: Ibid., 2282–90.

  292 “I attended two of those meetings”: Transcript of record, Snyder v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 843a.

  292 “The final point I want to make”: Transcript of record, Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 2910.

  292 named Michelle Cedillo its “Child of the Year”: “Age of Autism Award: Michelle Cedillo, Child of the Year,” Age of Autism, December 24, 2007, http://www.ageofautism.com/2007/12/age-of-autism-a.html.

  293 “evidentiary records are now closed”: “Vaccine Act Interim Costs,” Omnibus Autism Proceeding, Autism Master File, September 29, 2008, 2.

  293 “interim attorneys’ fees”: Cedillo v. Sec’y Health and Human Services, “Vaccine Act Interim Costs,” Omnibus Autism Proceeding, Autism Master File, November 18, 2008, 1.

  294 “The evidentiary record”: Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 19.

  294 In addition to testimony: Ibid.

  294 the three Masters who ruled on the dual-causation test cases: Ibid., 14.

  294 “far better qualified”: Ibid., 2.

  294 characterized Vera Byers’s testimony: Snyder v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 24.

  294 “reasonably coherent”: Ibid., 31.

  294 “was unwilling to say measles”: Ibid., 18–19.

  294 “I have not required a level of proof”: Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 172.

  295 “This is a case in which the evidence is so one-sided”: Ibid., 173.

  295 The record of this case: Ibid., 173–74.

  297 whom Chin-Caplan accused of being “arbitrary and capricious”: Krigsman and Chin-Caplan, “Autism and Vaccines in the US Omnibus Hearings: Legal and Gastrointestinal Perspectives of the Michelle Cedillo Case.”

  EPILOGUE

  PAGE

  299 Its job was to determine whether Wakefield: Nick Triggle, “MMR Scare Doctor ‘Acted Unethically,’ Panel Finds,” BBC News, January 28, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8483865.stm.

  299 the longest and most expensive in the council’s: Michael White, “Blair, Wakefield, Climate Change—Beware of Scapegoats,” The Guardian (London), January 29, 2010.

  299 wearing a dark gray suit: Fiona Macrae and David Wilkes, “Damning Verdict on MMR Doctor,” The Daily Mail (London), January 30, 2010, photograph accompanying the article.

  299 shouting “Bastards!”: Ibid.

  299 speckled with signs reading: Sophie Borland, “ ‘Dishonest and Irresponsible’: Doctor Who Triggered MMR vaccine Scare Is Struck Off,” The Daily Mail (London), May 25, 2010.

  299 spontaneous chants: Macrae and Wilkes, “Damning Verdict on MMR Doctor.”

  300 “My only concern”: Nick Allen, “MMR-Autism Link Doctor Andrew Wakefield Defends Conduct at GMC Hearing,” The Daily Telegraph (London), March 27, 2008.

  300 Wakefield failed to call on even a single parent: Orac, “Andrew Wakefield: Struck Off!,” Respectful Insolence, May 24, 2010, http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/05

  /andrew_wakefield_struck_off.php.

  300 identified as “Child 12”: Rochelle Poulter, “Statement of Rochelle Poulter—Parent of Child 12 in the GMC Hearing,” n.d., http://www.rescuepost.com/files/uk-statement-rochelle-poulter.doc.

  300 Matthew’s health problems had begun: Macrae and Wilkes, “Damning Verdict on MMR Doctor.”

  300 Soon thereafter, Poulter contacted Wakefield’s research team: “Fitness to Practise Panel Hearing,” 32.

  300 Wakefield himself acknowledged: Ibid., 33.

  301 “not to have MRI or LP”: Ibid., 36.

  301 Despite an employment contract: Ibid., 34, 36.

  301 Wakefield signed the hospital request forms: Ibid., 34.

  301 “contrary to the clinical interests of Child 12”: Ibid., 36.

  301 “I insisted that the hearing be informed”: Poulter, “Statement of Rochelle Poulter—Parent of Child 12 in the GMC Hearing.”

  301 “At all material times”: “Fitness to Practise Panel Hearing,” 4.

  301 “dishonest,” “misleading,” and “in breach of your duty”: Ibid., 7.

  302 “dishonest,” “irresponsible,” and “resulted in a misleading description”: Ibid., 44.

  302 “did not meet the criteria for either autism”: Ibid., 41.

  302 developing an oral measles vaccine: Ibid., 50–51.

  302 “caused blood to be taken”: Ibid., 54.

  302 “paid those children”: Ibid.

  302 “described the incident”: Ibid.

  302 “expressed an intention”: Ibid.

  302 “You showed a callous disregard”: Ibid., 55.

  302 released a terse statement: Jane Johnson, “Dr. Wakefield Has Resigned from Thoughtful House,” Thoughtful House Yahoo! group, February 17, 2010, http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/

  thoughtfulhousecaterforchildren/message/16382.

  302 The following day, Arthur Krigsman said: Ibid., February 19, 2010, http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/

  thoughtfulhousecaterforchildren/message/16427.

  302 “in terms of the local medical community”: Jane Johnson, interview with author, April 22, 2010.

  303 I called Wakefield at his home: Andrew Wakefield, interview with author, May 10, 2010.

  303 he asked if we could conduct the remainder: Andrew Wakefield, interview with author, August 31, 2009.

  303 “Basically it’s about why”: Andrew Wakefield, interview with author, May 10, 2010.

  304 On Monday, May 24, 2010: Sarah Bossley, “Andrew Wakefield Struck Off Register by General Medical Council,” The Guardian (London), May 24, 2010.

  304 he received a standing ovation: Joanna Weiss, “Autism’s ‘Unblessed’ Scientists,” Boston Globe, June 1, 2010, 13.

  304 where he also headlined a rally: “Rally Platform Speakers,” American Rally for Personal Rights, n.d., http://www.americanpersonalrights.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=55.

  304 gave two presentations: “Conference Schedule,” Autism Redefined 2010—AutismOne, n.d., http://conference.autismone.org/documents

  /autismone_schedules.pdf.

  304 posed for pictures with Bob Sears: “Dr. Sears, Dr. Wakefield, and TACA at Autism One,” Age of Autism, May 29, 2010, http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/05/dr-sears-dr-wakefield-and-taca-at-autism-one.html.

  304 “I spent Saturday at an incredible conference”: Jay Gordon, “AutismOne,” Jay Gordon, MD FAAP, May 30, 1010, http://drjaygordon.com/miscellaneous/autismone.html.

  305 the most attention as of late is Ashland, Oregon: “The Vaccine War,” Frontline, PBS, April 27, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/.

  305 the fifth-highest average-per-capita income: “N.J. Has Four of Nation’s 20 Highest-Income Countries,” Associated Press, May 20, 2009.

  305 an exemption rate more than three times: Erin Allday, “Not Enough Bay Area Kids Vaccinated, Docs Say,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 1, 2009.

  305 “in large part because of parents choosing”: “Map: High Risk Schools in Southern California,” latimes.com, March 29 2009, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immunization29-2009mar29-map,0,426776.htmlstory.

  305 the Ocean Charter School: Rong-Gong Lin II and Sandra Poindexter, “Schools’ Risks Rise as Vaccine Rate Declines,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 2009, A1.

  305 Between 2005 and 2010: Jonathan D. Rockoff, “More Parents Seek Vaccine Exemption—Despite Assurances, Fear of Childhood Shots Drives Rise,” The Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2010.

  305 Meg Fisher, the head of the AAP’s section: Joanna Weis
s, “Seeking Common Ground in the Autism-Vaccine Debate,” Boston Globe, February 27, 2010, 11.

  305 six unvaccinated children in southeastern Pennsylvania: Don Sapatkin, “Hib Disease Deaths Put Focus on Vaccine Shortage,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1, 2009, A1.

  306 a mumps outbreak that began: Rong-Gong Lin II, “County Sees Rise in Mumps Cases,” Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2010, A39.

  306 In October, the California Department of Public Health: The California Department of Public Health, “Pertussis Report,” October 12, 2010.

  306 when the pertussis vaccine was just entering widespread use: Jeffrey P. Baker, “Immunization and the American Way: 4 Childhood Vaccinations,” American Journal of Public Health, 2000;90(2): 202.

  306 a columnist for The Boston Globe: Weiss, “Autism’s ‘Unblessed’ Scientists.”

  307 Deth’s testimony as an expert witness: King v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 69–77.

  307 “There were also a number of other specific points”: Ibid., 77.

  307 was the hottest year ever recorded: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “2009: Second Warmest Year on Record; End of Warmest Decade,” n.d., http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/temp-analysis-2009.html.

  307 said global warming is not a problem: Frank Newport, “Americans’ Global Warming Concerns Continue to Drop,” Gallup.com, March 11, 2010, http://www.gallup.com/poll/126560/americans-global-warming-concerns-continue-drop.aspx.

  307 both houses of the Kentucky legislature: Leslie Kaufman, “Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets,” The New York Times, March 3, 2010, A1.

  307 Louisiana has already passed: Ibid.

  307 in 2009, the Texas Board of Education: Ibid.

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