Horizon: Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism?

Editor—MacAuley, in his review of the BBC Horizon programme, Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism?,¹ repeats what I assume was the programme's determination—namely, that there was nothing in the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and autism story, and that many children have suffered unnecessarily from the outcome of the widespread publicity.

MacAuley concludes that parents are more likely to have their children immunised if they see what happens when others are ill. This witnessing of suffering presumably alludes to graphic images of children who have contracted some of the diseases from which they might have been protected had they been vaccinated against them. I suspect that the only serious outcomes from non-vaccination would be through infection with measles. Mumps and rubella in children are unlikely to produce images that would be considered graphic enough for television.

Ironically, he uses his vision of how parents might react by referring only to the vision of reality when disease strikes. He seems to forget that many parents have also witnessed the real experience of seeing children who have had a severe reaction to vaccination, and this of course extends beyond MMR.

He should consider that for many years, the medical profession consistently refuted the idea that the vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) could cause brain damage and its consequent disability. In addition he should reflect that government has paid out sums as “awards” to over 1000 children who have been damaged by vaccines.

The world might have moved on, and there are more topical medical controversies, but this story of the MMR vaccination and its problems has not been concluded.