HE鈥橲 down, but Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who made the now discredited link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, is not giving up.
On 24 May, the UK鈥檚 General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that Wakefield be struck off the UK medical register for 鈥渟erious professional misconduct鈥� in the course of his research at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The reasons listed by the GMC include dishonesty in a paper published in The Lancet in 1998 that first suggested the autism-MMR link, undeclared conflicts of interest, and ethical flaws in the way children were recruited and managed during the course of the research.
Wakefield, however, appears unrepentant. As New 杏吧原创 went to press, he was due to address a in Chicago on 26 May organised by a group called the Center for Personal Rights, which 鈥渋ndividual vaccination choice, parental consent to vaccination for children, and freedom to make healthcare decisions for ourselves and our families鈥�.
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He is also due to publish a book arguing his position on autism and vaccines, and has said he will appeal against the GMC ruling.
