Will the Real Dr. Pichichero Please Stand Up?
Holly Maynard, reporter at WHAM-13 TV in Rochester, NY, is sounding the alarm over the measles. Yes, that possibly life-threatening disease is infecting children and it's the fault of noncompliant parents afraid of a link between the MMR and autism.
In her report, Measles are Back! (HERE) Holly finds "local vaccination expert" Dr. Michael Pichichero of Legacy Pediatrics who puts every mother's fears to rest.
Actually, that's not surprising if his circles of colleagues have the same pharma ties that he does. While "consultant to the World Health Organization" conjures up images of doctors selflessly helping the poorest of the poor in Africa and India, there's a whole lot more to Pichichero than we're told on WHAM.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet,
within minutes of searching, I found the
real Dr. Michael Pichichero. It's
incredible all the drug companies he's
connected with. In fact, I think it would
be easier to name the major ones that
weren't listed.
In Safe Minds' Assessment of the Pichichero
Thimerosal Study,
(HERE) we read,
"The author [Dr. Pichichero] has received
research grants and/or honoraria from the
following pharmaceutical companies: Abbott
Laboratories, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb
Company; Eli Lilly & Company; Merck & Co.;
Pasteur Merieux Connaught; Pfizer Labs;
Roche Laboratories; Roussel-Uclaf; Schering
Corporation; Smith Kline Beecham
Pharmaceuticals; Upjohn Company; and Wyeth-Lederle."
According to the Chicago Trib blog story, Study: Babies quickly excrete vaccine mercury, by Julie Deardorff, (HERE) he's done consulting for GSK Biologicals, Sanofi Pasteur, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and MedImmune.
This doctor is the pharmaceutical industry's ideal researcher. Not only does Pichichero know that the MMR is safe, but as Julie tells us, he's researched thimerosal, the mercury used in vaccines, at the University of Rochester and he knows it leaves the blood faster than methylmercury. And if it's not in the blood, it must be excreted. (Picherichero's work puts him in direct conflict with the research of Thomas Burbacher at the University of Washington, but that doesn't really matter.)
The report from the University of Rochester also said that Pichichero's thimerosal findings worked out well for WHO. We're told, "His research has held considerable weight in the WHO decision to continue using thimerosal in vaccines administered in nations outside the United States"--with big savings, I'm sure.
All this of course is completely absent
from the WHAM report. The public doesn't
get to know that Dr. Pichichero has a lot of
incentive to stand up for the MMR and any
other vaccine parents are worried about!
Anne Dachel is Media Editor of Age of
Autism.