Vaccine Debate – Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Dr. James Todd

Many public health experts consider vaccination programs to be a cornerstone of community health.  But that doesn’t mean that all people are comfortable about vaccinations, and especially not for all conditions.

Up next, two versions of an audio interview with  Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. James Todd, and research scientist Cathy Lozupone.  — One broadcast and one is an extended version.  

Listen to KGNU Broadcast about Vaccines and Autism (54 Minutes)

Listen to Extended Version about Vaccines and Autism (not broadcast – 64 minutes)

In the audio interviews above, we share with you a discussion from two points of view, regarding the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine for children, also known as the MMR.  The vast majority of public health officials and scientists who study vaccination consider the MMR safe and important for children.  But rising rates of autism among children have some parents, and health experts, concerned that these increases in autism might be linked to vaccinations, especially the MMR vaccine.   Most experts believe some forms of autism are simply natural, sometimes leading to the genius of a Darwin, an Einstein, Thomas Edison and more recently, the animal expert Temple Grandin.  But there’s another kind of autism where a child loses the ability to communicate and draws into their own world, where they’re hard to reach.  And this sometimes happens after a child has been developing normally, and speaking normally.  Most experts agree that the rising rates of this kind of autism are not simply a matter of more awareness, and thus, more diagnosis.  So, are these rising rates of extreme autism caused by changes in the modern diet?  Or pesticides?  Or plastics?  Or pollution?  All of these causes have been suggested, and there aren’t any clear answers.   One culprit that has often been suggested are vaccinations — especially that MMR vaccination.  And there’s been more concern this year, since the single dose shot options for vaccinating against measles, mumps and rubella in the U-S are no longer available.

With only the MMR shot now available, and concerns about autism high in the U-S, that’s the focus of the interviews we’ve provided here, with three experts on the topic.  They are Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. James Todd, and research scientist Cathy Lozupone.  Wakefield is a doctor originally from England who now lives in the United States.  He believes there’s a connection between MMR vaccines and autism, and he’s controversial.  This year, the United Kingdom officially banned Dr. Wakefield from practicing medicine in that country and it also discredited some of his medical research.  Dr. Wakefield says he was made a scapegoat for political reasons, and he shares his side of the story in a new book, titled, Callous Disregard.

James Todd is Director of Epidemiology for The Children’s Hospital in Denver.  This fall, Todd was named a Champion in Health Care by the Denver Business Journal for his work in pediatric infectious disease and his efforts to increase vaccinations in Colorado children.  And he’s succeeded.  The Colorado Health Foundation reports that in 2002, Colorado ranked 50th in the United States for Vaccination Rates, with only 56% of children receiving all recommended vaccinations.  Now, Colorado is above average, with just over 80% of children getting all vaccinations.  Dr. Todd is a fan of the MMR vaccine.

Cathy Lozupone is a research scientist at CU-Boulder.  She’s interested in looking into a possible link between autism and gut health — in fact, while these three experts don’t agree regarding vaccines and autism, they do agree that children with autism often have digestive problems, and the two conditions might be connected.

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