A London researcher was the first to assert that
the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as
MMR caused autism in children. Following this
"discovery," a handful of parents declared that a
mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was
responsible for the disease. If mercury caused autism,
they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system
should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of
untested alternative therapies arose, and, most
tragically, in one such treatment, a doctor injected a
five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical in an effort
to cleanse him of mercury, which stopped his heart
instead. Children with autism have been placed on
stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas,
bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive
enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with
various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids.
Instead of helping, these therapies can hurt those who
are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of
autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs
that have saved millions of lives. An overwhelming body
of scientific evidence clearly shows that childhood
vaccines are safe and does not cause autism. Yet
widespread fear of vaccines on the part of parents
persists. In this book, Paul A. Offit, a national expert
on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets
who have so egregiously misled the public and exposes
the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists,
celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit
recounts the history of autism research and the
exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and
zealots. He considers the manipulation of science in the
popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why
society is susceptible to the bad science and risky
therapies put forward by many antivaccination
activists.
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