A voice for good, listen to the evidence and stay safe

Charles Caleb Colton was a true British eccentric. Born in 1777, he became a writer, an art collector, gambler, and cleric. He collected fine wines and loved fishing and shooting, especially partridges. He once wrote that no one ever committed suicide because of ‘bodily anguish’, although thousands have done so from ‘mental anguish’. Throughout his life, he suffered with poor health. In 1832, on finding out his life depended upon a painful surgical procedure, he ended his life by suicide, rather than having the operation.

Despite how his life ended, his was a life lived to the full. These days he is best remembered for quotes from his writings. One of his most famous quotes is: ‘if you have nothing to say, say nothing at all’. Older readers of this blog might well have thought the quote first came from

Thumper, the fictional rabbit in the Disney film, Bambi. Thumper said, ‘if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all’. It was a shame that last week, the US President didn’t heed this advice and keep quiet.

Sadly, last week, we found ourselves back in Andrew Wakefield territory*. The President, and his ill-qualified Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for reasons known only to themselves, declared that paracetamol caused autism if taken by pregnant women. In the US, paracetamol is traded as Tylenol (here it’s Panadol). Thankfully, our own sensible and upwardly mobile Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, very publicly, vigorously and unequivocally condemned the President’s assertion that paracetamol was in any way dangerous or caused autism.

Science is on Wes’s side. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is on his side. The British Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency is on his side. The National Autistic Society is on his side. Perhaps predictably, The Daily Mail and Nigel Farage sided with the US President. That said, the damage from the US President’s announcement may already have been done. He is a powerful man, an authority figure. As such, and unfortunately, many people are likely to be persuaded that there is truth in his claims.

However, as a once in a while remedy for a headache, cold relief or painful conditions, paracetamol remains a safe medication. Taken in excess, even just a few more tablets than the recommended daily dose, it can cause liver failure and death. It remains an easy to acquire medication for people contemplating suicide. Indeed, back in 1998 the UK government legislated that paracetamol could only be sold in packs of 16 tablets. Whilst someone determined to take an overdose can still purchase larger quantities simply by going to different shops, the legislation definitely had a positive impact. Analysis of mortality rates over an 11-year period, following the introduction of the law, showed significant reductions in paracetamol-related deaths.

Set against this empirical data, it is perhaps worth noting that the important issue is relying on sound, evidence-based data and information. Unfortunately, the US was a major exporter of misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. What was put out was not evidence-based at all. Such misinformation was directly traceable to both the US political discourse and the US media. This led to ‘vaccine hesitancy’, not only in the US, but in other countries across the world. Sadly, this erroneous narrative, completely devoid of any evidence to support it, has continued to have a negative impact on more general vaccination programmes worldwide.

The WHO estimate that vaccines have saved 154 million lives since the mid-1970s, with a hundred million of them being children. The potential damage resulting from this latest announcement from the US President is regrettable, and almost unforgivable. For example, and closer to home, it is becoming harder each year to persuade NHS colleagues to get their flu and Covid vaccinations.

Hopefully, in using my voice for good, I would strongly urge my colleagues and all those who work across the NHS, to respond positively to the evidence and take advantage of the NHS vaccination schemes. Such an action would be a powerful incentive for good, and one that would hopefully drown out the disastrous voices from afar.

*Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent