In this YouTube video, Dr. Offit explains the theses of his book, Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a CureAmazon, Columbia to be released on Tuesday:
On August 29, 2008, Dr. Offit was interviewed by Ira Flatow on "Science Friday":
There was only one caller, a woman named Chantele, who insisted that vaccines were dangerous and nothing would change her mind. As Peterme (an expectant father) wrote:
in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, [Chantele] insists that she will not let her children be vaccinated according to the recommended program. Her logic is twisted and inconsistent (she first sites governmental regulations about appropriate amounts of metals in the system, but then later says she doesn’t trust the CDC’s recommendations about vaccinations, because she doesn’t trust the government telling her what to do). Somehow, at some point, she got this notion into her, and no amount of reasoned discussion will dissuade her. What’s most upsetting is that this behavior doesn’t just affect the children of these ignorant parents, but of other children (particularly those children who cannot be vaccinated for certain medical reasons).
Bevan at Dubiousity observed that
Ira [Flatow] does a great job refereeing this conversation between the doctor/professor and the random nut {Chantele], and even points out the nut's obvious logical faults, like how she says that no amount of evidence would change her mind on the issue. But this person's mindset is typical of the anti-vaccination movement at large. They're true believers: nothing will sway them.
Chantele later popped up on the Mothering.Commune boards to say
I was sweating bullets and sitting at work while speaking on the subject no less!!! I wanted to say so much more..including only 63 children who had the measles virus were not vaccinated, but there was no time. AND they hung up on me..so unfortunately yes, my last remark was "I don't believe that!" I've done enough of my own research to know what I know...
Yes, Dr. Offit, you may not get paid to actually speak out on the vaccines (well, we just haven't found the paper trail yet) but regardless, you still get paid the big bucks by pharma!!
Sigh. " I 've done enough of my own research to know what I know". I suppose that Dr. Offit's nine years of medical education, twenty-six years of faculty appointments, and seventy-nine published papers are trumped by the "research" of a medical-underwriting assistant.
Update: More discussion at Leftbrain/Rightbrain
Paul Offit's official website
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