A few months ago, I saw an article in Huffington Post written by Jim Carrey (you know, the renowned medical scientist, who also dabbles in acting). The article was an autism/vaccine connection screed. As the father of a child who is an autistic, I looked into the vaccine claims years ago, and kept an eye, over the years, on research done in that area. One problem with the claims is no credible scientific evidence has been found which backs them up. Another problem is that, as the result of the loud voices proclaiming this "news", a good many parents have put their own children, and other children at risk by not vaccinating. A third problem is that a certain prominent autism group has been so caught up in the vaccination issue that some prominent scientific officers and board members have felt compelled to leave, which clearly does not "help the cause".
I asked myself when I saw the article by Carrey, married to Jenny McCarthy, another vaccine/autism linker, what is this post doing on one of the most prominent platforms of the so-called reality-based movement? Well, Salon has provided the answer. Links and more below the fold.