Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander used a hearing of the Health Committee – which he chairs – to debunk the link between autism and vaccines. The discussion on the “Reemergence of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases” just happened to coincide with an outbreak of measles largely blamed on falling vaccination rates.
On Tuesday, Alexander questioned an often-cited study by Andrew Wakefield from a 1998 report in Lancet. He asked Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control what she would tell a parent who ran across the article.
Dr. Schuchat: One thing we know is that vaccines don’t cause autism.
Sen. Alexander: So, you would say to the parent that that article was just flat wrong?
Dr. Schuchat: That’s right.
Sen. Alexander: And that numerous studies have shown that that was wrong?
Dr. Schuchat: That’s right.
Sen. Alexander: And what happened to the author of the article?
Dr. Schuchat: He lost his medical license.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ax2ayOhPBA&feature=youtu.be
Alexander also left little room for debate at the hearing. In his opening statement, he said, “too many parents are turning away from sound science.”
“Sound science is this,” he said. “Vaccines save lives.”