Delicensed physician Andrew Wakefield may have faked his study on the link between childhood vaccines and autism in order to cash in on the public’s resulting fear of traditional vaccinations, according to an editorial in BMJ. Specifically, Wakefield stood to profit from the development of “safer” vaccines and diagnostic kits, author Brian Deer explains, citing Wakefield’s discussions with medical school managers about potential business deals prior to the study’s completion. (Hat tip to FierceVaccines)
While Wakefield’s original work was retracted by The Lancet last year, yesterday popular online arts and culture magazine Salon retracted a related story about an alleged link between autism and vaccination, citing “continued revelations of the flaws and even fraud tainting the science behind the connection.” The story, penned by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had already received five corrections since its 2005 publication on Salon‘s Web site, and Rolling Stone, which co-published the article the same year, deleted the story from its Web site sometime last year, according to Retraction Watch.