You are either floridly, loudly, uninformedly antivaccine or you are the most grievously misunderstood celebrity of the modern era. Your quote trail is far too long—and you have been far too wrong—for the truth not to be obvious. Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey. Jenny McCarthy hawking something that is not, for once, bad science. By Jeffrey Kluger. Related Stories.
Already a print subscriber? In , McCarthy slammed rumors that he was actually diagnosed with Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, a rare disorder in which children lose the ability to verbalize and comprehend language. In the years since, McCarthy has published multiple books on the subject, and serves as board president of the non-profit organization Generation Rescue, widely considered an anti-vaxx group that links autism to vaccines and promotes medically unproven treatments for autism.
While promoting one of her books, McCarthy told Oprah that she learned about autism from "the University of Google. As recently as May , McCarthy told CNBC that she considers being an advocate for children with autism her most important role in life.
Read more: From autism risks to mercury poisoning, here are 10 lies anti-vaxxers are spreading about the measles vaccine. The false myth that autism and the measles vaccine are linked traces back to a study by the British doctor Andrew Wakefield — a study that has since been retracted, but was widely spread by well-known figures like McCarthy.
Wakefield was ultimately stripped of his medical license for "serious professional misconduct" and found guilty of acting with "callous disregard" for the pain of children. In a statement , however, McCarthy wrote that she believed Wakefield was "being discredited to prevent an historic study from being published," and described him as "one of the world's most respected and well-published gastroenterologists.
Not surprisingly, ABC's announcement that McCarthy was joining "The View" as a co-host sparked a firestorm of criticism from doctors, journalists, and others who argued her elevated platform would enable her to better spread vaccination-related misinformation, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.
McCarthy is a vocal activist for highly dangerous health ideas, including the mistaken belief that vaccines cause autism. While the world suffers outbreaks of measles and pertussis, Ms. McCarthy continues to advocate against vaccines. Having her host a respected show like 'The View' would damage its reputation. Of the 42 patients whose vaccination status is known, 37 were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. More on that in a moment. After dabbling in New Age crystal spirituality, she fell in with an anti-vaccination group once her son was diagnosed with autism.
She soon became a ubiquitous spokeswoman for a dizzying variety of autism nostrums--special diets, supplements, detox, chelation, hyperbaric chambers, etc. In our celebrity-obsessed culture in which TV actors are often called to testify before Congress on subjects of concern to their fictional characters, this was powerful stuff.
We need to help them make better choices, not ridicule them. His study showed that anti-vaccine parents remained unswayed by scientific evidence that vaccines were safe--in fact, it sometimes made them more anti-vaccine. That implies that the best approach may be to step up peer pressure in favor of vaccination, perhaps by making it socially unacceptable.
That could have a real impact in affluent, educated communities--such as Marin and Orange counties--that have had declining vaccination rates. Parents there often think they know better than experts, and their views are reinforced by neighbors and popular but irresponsible local pediatricians.
The counter-trend may already be surfacing, as the real consequences of nonvaccination and the real perils of measles become apparent, but vaccination rates are so low in some neighborhoods that it may have a long way to go.
What about regulators?
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