Vaxxed – Die schockierende Wahrheit!?

Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is a 2016 American anti-vaccination film about the alleged cover up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a purported link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The filmmaker claims that it is a documentary "that explores the journeys of parents whose autistic children were plausibly affected by a vaccine [MMR]", however critics derided it an anti-vaccine propaganda film. The film was directed by discredited anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield, who committed scientific fraud under an undisclosed financial conflict of interest, for which his medical license was revoked. It was scheduled to premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival before being withdrawn by the festival.

Background

Vorlage:Further2 In 1998 Wakefield published a study in The Lancet suggesting that vaccines caused autism. In 2010 the study was retracted, and Wakefield's medical license was revoked due to "ethical violations and a failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest" and for his invention of evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism. A substantial body of subsequent research has established that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Wakefield went on to become a leader in the anti-vaccination movement that his discredited study helped create.

Del Bigtree, a producer of Vaxxed, was formerly a producer of The Doctors, a daytime US talk show. The British Medical Journal conducted a study on The Doctors and The Dr Oz Show and concluded with this warning about the shows: "Consumers should be skeptical about any recommendations provided ... as details are limited and only a third to one half of recommendations are based on believable or somewhat believable evidence".

The movie was produced by Autism Media Channel, of which Wakefield is a director.

Narrative

CDC Info Statement for MMR Vaccine, 2012 - Challenged in film.

The film features the so-called "CDC whistleblower" narrative that is based on anti-vaccination activist and associate professor Brian Hooker's paper describing claims by senior CDC scientist William Thompson that he and his co-authors had omitted mention of a correlation they found between vaccination and autism in African-American boys in a CDC study. Thompson's claimed correlations are reported likely to be biologically implausible and probably spurious. The film contains edited excerpts of several phone calls between Hooker and Thompson recorded without Thompson's knowledge. Hooker's 2014 paper on the narrative was subsequently retracted due to "serious concerns about the validity of its conclusions" and in 2015 the CDC had confirmed that any such initial correlation had ceased to exist once they performed a more in-depth analysis of the children in the study.

These sometimes spliced-together unauthorized phone recordings of Thompson, according to the Houston Press, form the "crux of the entire movie... And...that’s it". On the "CDC whistleblower" narrative, Dr. Philip LaRussa, a professor of paediatric medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, said the film-makers "were saying, there’s this silver bullet here, and the CDC is hiding it, and no one else has looked at this issue, which is not the case".

Reception

Documentary director Penny Lane stated: Vorlage:Quotation

A review by the health and science news-site Medical Daily states: Vorlage:Quotation

Independent film news-site Indiewire concludes the film pushes an outrageous agenda, and says: Vorlage:Quotation

The film's review in Variety magazine describes it as a "slickly produced but scientifically dubious hodgepodge of free-floating paranoia" and warns of its: Vorlage:Quotation

Pediatrician Philip LaRussa stated that "Wakefield’s film acts as if his research had not been revealed as fraudulent and he had not lost his medical license" and noted:Vorlage:Quotation

The Houston Press described the film as a "tragic fraud", noting: Vorlage:Quotation

Professor David Gorski described Vaxxed as:Vorlage:Quotation

Premiere

The film had been scheduled to premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival but this was the subject of public outcry and widespread criticism, particularly for allowing Wakefield to distribute his discredited theories. Actor Robert De Niro, who co-founded the festival, initially defended the decision to show the film, writing on Facebook that the film was "very personal" to him due to him having a child with autism, and saying that he hoped the film would open a dialog about the controversy. But shortly before the evening of March 26 De Niro announced that the film would not screen, stating that consultation with other film festival representatives, and members of the scientific community, had led him to conclude that screening the film would not contribute to or further the discussion of the topic presented.

After the film was dropped, it was picked up for distribution by Cinema Libre. The film premiered at the Angelika Film Center in New York on April 1, 2016 to an audience of "a few dozen."

In reaction to Cinema Libre's decision to distribute the film, Todd Drezner, the father of an autistic son and creator of a neurodiversity-themed movie that was distributed by Cinema Libre, wrote an open letter to Cinema Libre criticizing Vaxxed and Cinema Libre's decision to distribute it, writing: "By releasing Vaxxed, Cinema Libre is actively harming thousands of autistic people. While we should be discussing ways to best support autistic people and help them lead fulfilling lives, you would instead have us follow a discredited scientist and dishonest filmmaker down a rabbit hole that leads only to long-debunked conspiracy theories. I am profoundly disappointed."

Other

Dr. LaRussa said: "Well, I think what’s going to happen is it’s going to raise a lot of questions that the CDC is going to have to address, about excerpts of what Bill Thompson is reported to have said to the film-maker’s investigator. The other thing that I think was not addressed in the film is that they conveniently focused on Thompson’s concerns about a study he was involved in. They neglected to mention all the studies that have been done throughout the world that have not shown a link between vaccines and autism".

The Daily Mail later reported, De Niro "made clear he was deeply upset about the decision to withdraw the film" following protests. De Niro has now urged the public to see the film, adding "There is a link and they are saying there isn't... There's more to this than meets the eye, believe me," and as reported by Fox News De Niro clarified: "and there are... other things there. I don’t know, I’m not a scientist but I know because I've seen so much reaction of just 'let's find out the truth'... And for me to get so upset here today, on the Today show, with you guys, means that there's something there".

See also

• Big Pharma conspiracy theory

External links

• Vorlage:Official website
• Vorlage:IMDb title
• Vorlage:Rotten-tomatoes