Medical Reporter Liz Szabos Views on Vaccination vs. Autism

is a medical reporter for USA Today. She specializes in articles on cancer, childrens health, parenting, and environmental health. In the following viewpoint, Szabo examines some of the dangers presented by public acceptance of celebrity endorsements of unproven and potentially hazardous alternative health remedies. Szabo explains that celebrities can have a positive impact on public health by raising awareness about illnesses and preventive medical testing, as former first lady Betty Ford did when her public disclosure of her struggle with breast cancer and mastectomy prompted more women to get mammograms. Unfortunately, Szabo relates, when celebrities promote dangerous misinformation, as she explains actress Jenny McCarthy did when she launched a very public campaign citing a since disproven link between childhood vaccines and autism, the negative impact on public health can be profound. Jenny McCarthy, an American model, actress, and an anti-vaccine activist, presents an action fo llowing a report on vaccination and how it affected her son with a complex disorder in the brain development, autism. McCarthys claims that vaccines cause autism are not supported by any medical evidence, and the original paper by Andrew Wakefield that formed the basis for the claims has been shown to be based on manipulated data and fraudulent research. Vaccination is widely considered one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization. Due to the creation of vaccination about