In a recent interview with CNN’s medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Gates lashes out against the anti-vaccination movement. One of his major bones to pick is with the fraudulent study conducted by British scientist Andrew Wakefield that appeared to show a link between vaccinations and Autism. Dr. Wakefield was employed by a law firm that intended to sue pharmaceutical companies. When allegations arose that his study was biased, Dr. Wakefield was unable to produce similar results.
Everyone can agree that what Dr. Wakefield did is shameful, but to get little Bill Gates all fired up is saying something, as if Apple wasn't giving him enough problems. Hopefully, Gates' star power will officially squash the no vaccine movement popular in holistic circles. Despite being medically wrong, Dr. Wakefield's paper somewhat demonizes autism by suggesting that it is something that you can catch. Autism is a birth defect, not the flu.
Autism effects one in 110 children, and boys are four times more likely to get the disease than girls. The cause of autism is unknown. The U.S. Vaccine Court has rejected more than 5,000 cases where families have contested that vaccines caused their child's Autism.
-Michael Lynch
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