Though the reporters acknowledged that “Health Canada and the U.S. FDA say the vaccine is safe. Hundreds of thousands of teenage girls in Canada have received the vaccine’s three doses, the vast majority without incident,” these caveats were largely overshadowed by dramatic and moving accounts of injured girls and ruined lives.
A few years ago such a story might have been ignored, but amid the current climate of vaccination concerns it provoked a firestorm of criticism from doctors and public health officials who claimed it was misleading and would fuel anti-vaccination fears.
The Star dug itself deeper when its columnist Heather Mallick defended the original reporting while acknowledging that “I’ve been trying to teach myself about statistics and science.”
“I’m reading doctor and science writer Ben Goldacre’s new book, ‘I Think You’ll Find It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That,’ about the widespread misunderstanding of research and results,” Mallick said.
Goldacre, a longtime, staunch proponent of vaccination, was alarmed that his name had been invoked in defense of anti-vaccination reporting and took to Twitter to admonish both Mallick and “The Star.”
After doubling down for nearly a week The Star acknowledged that they “failed” in their reporting and did not give proper weight to science. According to a story by Global News Canada:
“The Star’s publisher John Cruickshank said the paper failed the public in the way it presented its story…. Cruickshank took responsibility for the way the story was presented and said he understands why it could have given readers the false impression that Gardasil is dangerous.”
That same day the newspaper published an op-ed endorsed by 63 doctors and public health specialists that stated in part:
Although the article states in the fifth paragraph that “there is no conclusive evidence showing the vaccine caused a death or illness,” its litany of horror stories and its innuendo give the incorrect impression that the vaccine caused the harm. Very unfortunately, this article may well lead readers to doubt both the scientific evidence and the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, and the Canadian Cancer Society about vaccination…. The Star presented the stories of women who have suffered greatly. The article was engaging, dramatic and might have created fear. But study after study has shown that there is no causal link between the events the Star reported and the vaccine. About 169 million doses of the HPV vaccine have been administered worldwide. In any given large population, there will be illness and death.
This sort of story is not unusual. Last year dozens of Colombian teens complained about strange symptoms including headaches, convulsions and fainting in the days and weeks after many of them got a HPV vaccination.
Read more at Discovery News
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