THE contretemps in Britain over the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine
has opened up a whole crate of cans of worms.
At its root is a row about negative results. It started with reports of a
14-year Finnish study which concluded that “causality between immunisation and a
subsequent untoward event cannot be estimated solely on the basis of a temporal
relation”. Just count the issues this raises.
Arguments over vaccination are about fundamental values. Those who believe
that there is no such thing as society, only individuals, won’t be convinced it
was worth taking a (tiny) risk of harming…
