Autism's False Prophets
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''Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure'' is a 2008 book by
Paul Offit Paul Allan Offit (born March 27, 1951) is an American pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, vaccines, immunology, and virology. He is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, ...
, a vaccine expert and chief of infectious diseases at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...
. The book focuses on the controversy surrounding the now discredited link between
vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.
s and autism. The scientific consensus is that no convincing scientific evidence supports these claims, and a 2011 journal article described the vaccine-autism connection as "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years".


Summary

Offit describes the origins and development of claims regarding the MMR vaccine and the vaccine preservative
thiomersal Thiomersal (INN), or thimerosal (USAN, JAN), is an organomercury compound. It is a well-established antiseptic and antifungal agent. The pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly and Company gave thiomersal the trade name Merthiolate. It has been u ...
, as well as subsequent scientific evidence which has disproved a link with autism. The book discusses possible explanations for the persistence of these claims in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, as well as the proliferation of potentially risky and unproven treatments for autism. The author takes a critical view of several advocates of a vaccine–autism link, including
Andrew Wakefield Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born September 3, 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic who was struck off the medical register for his involvement in ''The Lancet'' MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that ...
, David Kirby, Mark Geier, and
Boyd Haley Boyd Eugene Haley (born September 22, 1940, Greensburg, Indiana) is a retired professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky. Education and career A native of Greensburg, Indiana, Haley graduated from its New Point High School in 1959. Four ...
, raising scientific and, in some cases, ethical and legal concerns. The book also explores divisions within the autism community on the topic of vaccines, as some parents consider the ongoing narrow focus on vaccines a distraction from more scientifically promising avenues of research. In this vein, Offit interviews Kathleen Seidel, a mother of an autistic child who has published investigations critical of those who profit from promoting vaccine–autism claims. Offit also touches on the heated and bitter debate surrounding vaccine claims. He describes receiving death threats,
hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...
, and threats against his children as a result of his advocacy for vaccination. Offit declined to do a book tour for ''Autism's False Prophets'', citing concerns about his physical safety and comparing the intensity of hatred and threats directed at him to that experienced by
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
providers. Author's royalties from the book are being donated to the Center for Autism Research at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...
.


Reception

The book was the nucleus of profiles of Offit in ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' and ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
''. The ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' reviewed the book positively, concluding: "Although arguably the most courageous and most knowledgeable scientist about vaccines in the United States, Offit lives in fear for his life and that of his family." ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' also praised the book as "an invaluable chronicle that relates some of the many ways in which the vulnerabilities of anxious parents have been exploited." ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' wrote that the book "names names and calls nonsense nonsense", and provides "important insight into the fatal flaws of the key arguments of vaccine alarmists." The ''Inquirer'' applauded Offit's focus on slanted and sensationalist media coverage of the vaccine–autism issue, but faulted Offit for not holding scientists themselves sufficiently accountable for their failure to communicate the facts to the public. The ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
'' noted that the book "turned the tables" on those who see a pharmaceutical-industry conspiracy behind vaccination, by pointing out that the advocates of the autism–vaccine link receive large sums of money from lawyers and
lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s. The ''News'' applauded the book's deconstruction of "misinformation" from
Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, '' Imus in the Morning'', was aired on various sta ...
,
Jenny McCarthy Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named their Playmate of ...
,
Joseph Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for V ...
, and
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...
, among others, but found Offit's "sarcasm and brow-beating of those he disagrees with" to be "grating". '' Salon'' reviewed the book as an "enlightening, highly readable, and ... timely" work which "deconstruct the anti-vaccine movement as one driven by bad science, litigious greed, hype and ego." ''Salon'' faulted Offit for minimizing the work that autism advocacy groups have done to raise awareness, create support networks, and obtain research funding; the review noted that Offit focuses instead on aggressive and scientifically "slanted" groups like
Defeat Autism Now! The Autism Research Institute (ARI) is an organization that created a controversial program, Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), in 1995. ARI was founded in 1967 by Bernard Rimland. Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) DAN! advocated for alternative treatments fo ...
and Generation Rescue. The review concluded that the book "effectively pulls back the curtain on the anti-vaccine movement to reveal a crusade grounded less in fact and more in greed and opportunism". ''
Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
'' called the book "forceful" and "an easy-to-read medical thriller about the consequences of greed, hubris, and intellectual sloppiness." The review noted that Offit did not discuss the irrationality of human decision-making in the presence of relative risk and both anecdotal and empirical evidence, and mentioned that Offit did not carefully discuss the role of regression. In conclusion, the review observed that the book has emboldened the media to apply scientific principles, and called for using the book's momentum to shift resources from the autism–vaccination debate to research into causes and treatments. The ''Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders'' said the book "makes an important contribution to popular debates about the etiology and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The book is arguably the most detailed and thorough history available of the current anti-vaccine movement". The review noted one possible weakness: the book gives light coverage to the public's fundamental misunderstanding of the
epidemiology of autism The epidemiology of autism is the study of the incidence and distribution of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A 2022 systematic review of global prevalence of autism spectrum disorders found a median prevalence of 1% in children in studies publis ...
, in that the public fears an "autism epidemic" that may not in fact be occurring. The review concluded with a call to scientists and physicians to follow Offit's lead in communicating to the public even uncomfortable truths about autism. Four months after its release, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that the book had been endorsed widely by pediatricians, autism researchers, vaccine companies, and medical journalists, and was "galvanizing a backlash against the antivaccine movement in the United States." Many doctors are critical of "
false equivalence False equivalence is an informal fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called "com ...
" in media coverage of the vaccine issue, and now argue that reporters should treat the antivaccine lobby with the same level of indifference as
AIDS denialism HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while oth ...
and other fringe theories. Later in 2009, the ''
New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. His ...
'' reported that the book effectively advocated for vaccines and refuted the vaccine–autism myth. It noted that a particular strength of the book is its outline of the scientific method and the basic principles of probability and causality, and its coverage of the difficulty of explaining science to the public, such as the difference between causality and coincidence. It noted as a weakness the book's several diversions into topics such as breast implants. Other largely favorable reviews appeared in '' BioScience'', in ''
Health Affairs ''Health Affairs'' is a monthly peer-reviewed healthcare journal established in 1981 by John K. Iglehart; since 2014, the editor-in-chief is Alan Weil. It was described by ''The Washington Post'' as "the bible of health policy". Abstracting an ...
'', in the '' Journal of Child Neurology'', and in the ''
Journal of Clinical Investigation The ''Journal of Clinical Investigation'' is a twice-monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering biomedical research. It was established in 1924 and is published by the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Articles focus on the mechanism ...
''. In a guest column for ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'', neurologist
Jon Poling Jon Poling is an American physician currently practicing in Athens, Georgia where he has worked at Athens Neurological Associates since 2001. He has also worked at Athens Regional Medical Center as the medical director of their apheresis unit sin ...
panned Offit's book as "a novel of perceived good and evil". Poling, whose daughter was federally compensated for vaccine injuries, criticized Offit for attacking those with whom he disagrees: "In the story, Offit takes no prisoners, smearing characters in the vaccine-autism controversy as effortlessly as a rich cream cheese."


See also

*
MMR vaccine and autism Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism have been extensively investigated and found to be false. The link was first suggested in the early 1990s and came to public notice largely as a result of the 1998 ''Lancet'' MMR autism frau ...
*
Thiomersal and vaccines Thiomersal (or thimerosal) is a mercury compound which is used as a preservative in some vaccines. Anti-vaccination activists promoting the incorrect claim that vaccination causes autism have asserted that the mercury in thiomersal is the cause ...
* Folk epidemiology of autism


References


External links


Columbia University Press web page
for ''Autism's False Prophets''
Excerpt from the book's prologue
{{Autism resources 2008 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about autism Books by Paul Offit Columbia University Press books Medical books Scientific skepticism mass media MMR vaccine and autism