profession
Physician who linked vaccines, autism loses British medical license
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 7, 2010
Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the investigator whose research wrongly linked autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, has lost his license to practice medicine in the United Kingdom. The General Medical Council, which regulates UK physicians, said in May that it will erase Dr. Wakefield's name from the medical register because "it is the only sanction that is appropriate to protect patients and is in the wider public interest."
The complete decision is available at the council's website (link).
On NBC's Today show, Dr. Wakefield said he will not fight the council's action, calling it "a little bump in the road" that will not silence him.
In January, the council found that Dr. Wakefield subjected children to unnecessary and unapproved medical tests in his research. He resigned in February as executive director of the Austin, Texas-based Thoughtful House Center for Children, which advocates alternative treatments for children with autism and other developmental disorders.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/06/07/prbf0607.htm.
