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Health

Doctor Writes Anti-Vaccine Post, Everyone Freaks

It was a busy weekend for the Cleveland Clinic.
Image: Philippe Desmazes / Getty

On Friday, a family doctor at the Cleveland Clinic published what could have been an innocuous column about wellness in the new year—but instead was steeped in misleading anti-vaccine claims that the medical establishment has spent years trying to dispel.

The post on Cleveland.com, which was briefly taken down but is now back online, appears to be about toxins that are making us sick. Daniel Neides, a family medicine doctor and the chief operating officer of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness, mentions harmful chemicals in our food, air, and water, but saves most of his attention for compounds found in vaccines. He claims that preservatives and adjuvants, compounds that make vaccines work with minimal live cells by intensifying the response from the immune system, are increasing the incidence of chronic disease and are unsafe to use in children. These claims, of course, have been repeatedly shown to be false.

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"We must wake up and really, truly realize that we are the masters of our domain. If we don't look out for ourselves and each other, we can expect to hear about more cancers, more autism, and more auto-immune diseases," Neides writes.

He continues: "Why do I mention autism now twice in this article. Because we have to wake up out of our trance and stop following bad advice. Does the vaccine burden—as has been debated for years—cause autism? I don't know and will not debate that here. What I will stand up and scream is that newborns without intact immune systems and detoxification systems are being over-burdened with PRESERVATIVES AND ADJUVANTS IN THE VACCINES."

Pushback was swift and fierce. Journalists set about debunking his claims, explaining why thimerosal and formaldehyde, two compounds Neides claimed sickened him when he got a flu shot, do not cause damage. They point out the improvements in air, water, and food quality over the past few decades, and that the incidence of cancer (which Neides claims is a result of these compounds) has been decreasing for years. They note the large-scale studies that have failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. Some called him a fear-monger, others a fool.

Appalled that a doctor would be spreading such misinformation, medical professionals took to Twitter to express their disgust with Neides, and with the Cleveland Clinic:

The Cleveland Clinic quickly distanced itself from Neides. In a Tweet on Saturday and subsequent statement posted to the clinic's web site Sunday, clinic spokespersons note that the institution had nothing to do with Neides' claims. The statement reads: "Cleveland Clinic is fully committed to evidence-based medicine. Harmful myths and untruths about vaccinations have been scientifically debunked in rigorous ways. We completely support vaccinations to protect people, especially children who are particularly vulnerable. Our physician published his statement without authorization from Cleveland Clinic. His views do not reflect the position of Cleveland Clinic and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."

Neides has since backtracked. On Sunday, a hospital spokesperson released the following statement on his behalf: "I apologize and regret publishing a blog that has caused so much concern and confusion for the public and medical community. I fully support vaccinations and my concern was meant to be positive around the safety of them."

Confusingly, Neides published a pro-vaccine piece on the same site just two years ago. It's not clear what inspired his shift. Some articles suggest that this represents a larger rift between the wellness community, which lends credence to homeopathic medicine and detox treatments, and the medical establishment, which systematically debunks those claims. Neides' post may have hastened that reckoning.

And yet some have commented that there are bigger trends at play here, too: that the rhetoric—frustration with and mistrust of the powers that be, including "big business" and the government—is sounding unpleasantly familiar as America's post-truth era begins.