Abstract
From 2001 to 2003, controversy raged in the British media over the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. This vaccine, which is administered to pre-school children, had been linked to cases of autism. No other country using this vaccine has experienced such a scare so the lessons of MMR may be specific to Britain. In particular, it may reflect the agenda-setting power of a small number of national newspapers and the broadcasting organisations that tend to follow their lead. Its wider implications may lie in the mechanisms by which trust in medical expertise can be deliberately undermined to the detriment of public health.
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© 2007 Chas Critcher
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Critcher, C. (2007). ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’: MMR and the Politics of Suspicion. In: Bakir, V., Barlow, D.M. (eds) Communication in the Age of Suspicion. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230206243_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230206243_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-28075-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-20624-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)