At last, a Government MMR study

A £300,000 study into a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism is being funded by the Government.

The Department of Health hopes the project will end parents'worries over the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella jab.

Scientists are planning to copy the research that raised fears of a link four years ago. Dr Andrew Wakefield, of the Royal Free Hospital in London, triggered a major controversy in 1998 when he revealed he had found a new syndrome of autism and bowel disease in children who had had MMR.

Virologists at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control now plan to replicate his study.

Jackie Fletcher, of the pressure group Jabs, said the investigation was long overdue. 'But I hope it isn't simply going to be a whitewash and we'll end up with a study designed to find the result the Department of Health is looking for,' she said.

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