Vaccine debate continues, despite study

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — With headlines declaring 'Measles Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism' many folks might see this latest study as the nail in the coffin in the great debate.

"This is not the nail in the coffin. This is weak pseudo-science that's funded by industry, that's being exaggerated to no end," said Dr. Jim Meehan.

He's a rarity in the field of medicine, an MD flying against the status quo of a profession where the predominant mantra is vaccines are safe.

"Everybody wants to pretend that it's something else, we don't know what it is, but it's something else, and yet so much of the data points directly to the problem that we have with vaccines," he said.

"You'll find out it was a very good scientific study," said Merlyn Sweet.

Meanwhile, over at Caring Nurses Association, where the fridge is packed with vaccines, the question of vaccine safety is a common one.

"We get those kinds of calls about every shot that we give here," she said.

This happens so frequently, that her response has practically been memorized.

"That there are no studies to demonstrate that any vaccine we have causes autism or even cause an increase in the number of autism cases," she said.

And yet, says the doctor, that's precisely part of the problem, the types of studies being done.

"We're not doing saline true placebo controlled studies, so we don't really know whether these vaccines are safe and effective. And that, I'm telling you, I know that that seems almost heretical, coming from a medical doctor, but man I've been studying this for 15 years, and I'm telling you that we're not doing gold standard science in vaccines today," said Dr. Meehan.

The great vaccine debate, far from over, despite the headlines, for those risking reputation and retribution.

"I spend every day worried about when they're going to try to take my license away," said Dr. Meehan.