Monday, July 16, 2007

Vampire Doctor: Dr Andrew Wakefield Paid Birthday Kids £5 for Blood Donations



The BBC news site leads on the story that Dr Andrew Wakefield added a £5 to children's party bag takings if he let him extract their blood. All in the interests of science naturally. Dr Wakefield and his chums caused a reduction in MMR coverage from 92% (DoH target is 95%) in 1998, when they published what peers have called "a crock of shit", to 80%. Even the Guardian and other serious papers were taken in by all this. MMR take up has since bounced back to 88%.

This is Wakefield's official CV at 'Thoughtful House' and he is pictured above with feisty new country singer Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. Let's hope the war-opposing star doesn't get it in the neck to go with the hit to her wallet at the dodgy Doctor's fundraiser.

UPDATE: The party bag trick apparently escalated to a "Trip of a Lifetime" to America for kids to get lucky with a risky and, in UK, ethically unacceptable lumbar puncture that no UK hospital's ethics committee would sanction. I'm told Wakefield's blood suckers made out that BUPA and all that had been roped into a government conspiracy to thwart his potty research.

This will come up anon in a case which may last several months. On anon.

MORE: Black Triangle is an excellent source for MMR truth.

2 comments:

Chris Paul said...

Channel 4 had tape of the good doctor explaining how two of the kids fainted and another puked on their mum. Ha ha ha. How we laughed. The audience of California quackers did.

Anonymous said...

I saw that; they positively cackled. My partner is a Clinical Negligence lawyer and says he'll be de-frocked good style for all this nonsense. Though the GMC have managed a few weak performances down the years.