Lancet's Retraction of Wakefield Paper Like Gasoline on a Fire

Last week, the New York Times printed an editorial entitled A Welcome Retraction.  The article lauds the Lancet for retracting the 1998 study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield which sparked public anxiety that the MMR vaccine might have a causal link to autism. The editorial goes on to share this quaint hope:

What is indisputable is that vaccines protect children from dangerous diseases. We hope that The Lancet's belated retraction will finally lay this damaging myth about autism and vaccines to rest.

In fact, of course, far from laying anything to rest, the retraction served as a galvanizing call to action.  Parents and other supporters of Dr. Wakefield have been active in defending the man and his work through press releases, blogs, media statements and more. Most significantly, the potent team of Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey produced and delivered an impassioned statement which included this accusation:

Dr. Andrew Wakefield is being discredited to prevent an historic study from being published that for the first time looks at vaccinated versus unvaccinated primates and compares health outcomes, with potentially devastating consequences for vaccine makers and public health officials. It is our most sincere belief that Dr. Wakefield and parents of children with autism around the world are being subjected to a remarkable media campaign engineered by vaccine manufacturers reporting on the retraction of a paper published in The Lancet in 1998 by Dr. Wakefield and his colleagues.

McCarthy and Carrey make it clear that they will be actively promoting their perspective in the weeks and months to come.  In fact, the biomedically-oriented Autism One conference planned for May, where Jenny and Jim will be keynote speakers, will also feature Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Look for much more information to come about this conference and its outcomes.  Already, its promotional material is headlined "The World Changes in May."  Promises are made of surprise announcements.  And this rather ominous statement is included on the conference website's front page:

Together we will redefine autism as a biomedical condition that can be treated and prevented. The past has been unkind to autism. The future is ours. We'll see you in Chicago.