Vaccine expert's autism defense triggers reaction

When vaccine expert Paul Offit released his new book defending vaccines against the attacks of critics claiming a link to autism, he had a new security system installed at his house. Rates of autism and other related neurological conditions have increased to one in 150 children, and a number of parents believe--despite a huge amount of data to the contrary--that vaccines are responsible. And when Offit continues to counter their arguments, the discussion can turn heated.

Offit made a significant amount of money from Rotateq, a rotavirus vaccine he helped to develop along with two other researchers. Now he devotes much of his time to trying to quell public fears about vaccines--at some risk of retaliation. His new book is Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure.

"We put a new security system on our house as a way of celebrating the launch of this book," Offit told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Which I think most authors don't do. Maybe Salman Rushdie."

- read the report from the Philadelphia Inquirer

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