Paul Offit
Encyclopedia
Paul A. Offit, M.D.
, is an American
pediatrician specializing in infectious disease
s and an expert on vaccine
s, immunology
, and virology
. He is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine that has been credited with saving hundreds of lives every day. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania
, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
. He has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
. Offit is also a Founding Board Member of the Autism Science Foundation
(ASF.)
Offit has published more than 130 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus
-specific immune responses and vaccine safety, and is the author or co-author of books on vaccines, vaccination, and antibiotics. He is one of the most public faces of the scientific consensus
that vaccines have no association with autism
, and has, as a result, attracted controversy and a substantial volume of hate mail
and occasional death threats, but also support for his position.
Offit decided to become a doctor, the first in his family. Offit earned his bachelor's degree
from Tufts University
and his M.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore
. One of his mentors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelpha was Maurice R. Hilleman, the greatest vaccine-maker of the 20th century.
By 2008 Offit had become the U.S.'s leading advocate of childhood immunization
s. He was opposed by vaccine critics, many of whom believe vaccines cause autism, a belief not supported by scientific data. He received a death threat and received protection by an armed guard during meetings at the CDC. His 2008 book Autism's False Prophets
catalyzed a backlash against the antivaccine movement in the U.S. He donated the royalties
from the book to the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
.
, which is a cause of gastroenteritis
, and which kills as many as 600,000 children a year worldwide, about half as many as malaria
kills; most deaths are outside the West. His interest in the disease stemmed from the death of a 9-month-old infant from rotavirus-caused dehydration while under his care as a pediatric resident
in 1979.
Along with his colleagues Fred Clark and Stanley Plotkin, Offit invented RotaTeq, a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine which is currently manufactured by Merck & Co.
RotaTeq is one of two vaccines currently used against rotavirus
, which replaced an earlier vaccine withdrawn after being blamed, perhaps incorrectly, for very rare cases of intussusception
.
In February 2006, RotaTeq was approved for inclusion in the recommended US vaccination schedule
, following its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Premarketing studies found that RotaTeq was effective and safe, with an incidence of adverse events comparable to placebo
and no evidence of association with intussusception. RotaTeq is credited with saving hundreds of lives a day. Offit received an unspecified sum of money for his interest in RotaTeq.
, Offit was the only member of the CDC's advisory panel to vote against a program to give smallpox vaccine to tens of thousands of Americans. He later argued on 60 Minutes II
and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
that the risk of harm for people getting the vaccine outweighed the risk of getting smallpox in the U.S. at the time.
Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Diseases Society of America
, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health
.
Michael Specter
wrote that Offit "has become a figure of hatred to the many vaccine denialists and conspiracy theorists." Specter reported that Offit had often been threatened with violence by anti-vaccine advocates, necessitating precautions such as screening Offit's packages for mail bombs and providing guards when Offit attends federal health advisory committee meetings. At a 2008 vaccine activism rally in Washington, DC, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized Offit's ties to drug companies, calling him a "poster child for the term 'biostitute'." Curt Linderman Sr., the editor of the Autism File blog, wrote online that it would "be nice" if Offit "was dead".
Such vilification has provoked statements in Offit's defense. Peter Hotez
, a professor and vaccine researcher at George Washington University
, has been quoted in a Newsweek
article:
In 2011 Offit was honored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization with the 2011 Biotech Humanitarian Award. Offit donated the award’s $10,000 prize to the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In 2001 Offit was elected to the Institute of Medicine
at the group's annual meeting.
, wrote in Neurology Today about Autism's False Prophets:
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2053517,00.html#ixzz1FEiBtvl9
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pediatrician specializing in infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
s and an expert on vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
s, immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
, and virology
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
. He is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine that has been credited with saving hundreds of lives every day. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. CHOP has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Parents Magazine in recent years. As of 2008, it was ranked #1 in the nation for...
. He has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices provides advice and guidance on effective control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. civilian population. The ACIP develops written recommendations for routine administration of vaccines to the pediatric and adult populations, along with...
. Offit is also a Founding Board Member of the Autism Science Foundation
Autism Science Foundation
The Autism Science Foundation is a non-profit organization which supports research into autism, but opposes more research into the disproven and fraudulent "link" between autism and vaccinations...
(ASF.)
Offit has published more than 130 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus
Rotavirus
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, and is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. By the age of five,...
-specific immune responses and vaccine safety, and is the author or co-author of books on vaccines, vaccination, and antibiotics. He is one of the most public faces of the scientific consensus
Scientific consensus
Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity. Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the...
that vaccines have no association with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, and has, as a result, attracted controversy and a substantial volume of hate mail
Hate mail
Hate mail is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient...
and occasional death threats, but also support for his position.
Life
Offit grew up in Baltimore, the son of a shirtmaker. He went to his father's sales meetings and reacted negatively to the tall tales told by salespeople, preferring instead what he saw as the clean and straightforward life of science. When he was five years old, he was sent to a polio ward to recover from clubfoot surgery; this experience caused him to see children as vulnerable and helpless, and motivated him through the 25 years of the development of the rotavirus vaccine.Offit decided to become a doctor, the first in his family. Offit earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and his M.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
. One of his mentors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelpha was Maurice R. Hilleman, the greatest vaccine-maker of the 20th century.
By 2008 Offit had become the U.S.'s leading advocate of childhood immunization
Immunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
s. He was opposed by vaccine critics, many of whom believe vaccines cause autism, a belief not supported by scientific data. He received a death threat and received protection by an armed guard during meetings at the CDC. His 2008 book Autism's False Prophets
Autism's False Prophets
Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure is a 2008 book by Paul Offit, a vaccine expert and chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia...
catalyzed a backlash against the antivaccine movement in the U.S. He donated the royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from the book to the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. CHOP has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Parents Magazine in recent years. As of 2008, it was ranked #1 in the nation for...
.
Rotavirus vaccine
Offit worked for 25 years on the development of a safe and effective vaccine against rotavirusRotavirus
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, and is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. By the age of five,...
, which is a cause of gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...
, and which kills as many as 600,000 children a year worldwide, about half as many as malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
kills; most deaths are outside the West. His interest in the disease stemmed from the death of a 9-month-old infant from rotavirus-caused dehydration while under his care as a pediatric resident
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in 1979.
Along with his colleagues Fred Clark and Stanley Plotkin, Offit invented RotaTeq, a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine which is currently manufactured by Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
RotaTeq is one of two vaccines currently used against rotavirus
Rotavirus
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, and is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. By the age of five,...
, which replaced an earlier vaccine withdrawn after being blamed, perhaps incorrectly, for very rare cases of intussusception
Intussusception
Intussusception may refer to:* Intussusception * Intussusception...
.
In February 2006, RotaTeq was approved for inclusion in the recommended US vaccination schedule
Vaccination schedule
A vaccination schedule is a series of vaccinations, including the timing of all doses, which may be either recommended or compulsory, depending on the country of residence....
, following its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Premarketing studies found that RotaTeq was effective and safe, with an incidence of adverse events comparable to placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
and no evidence of association with intussusception. RotaTeq is credited with saving hundreds of lives a day. Offit received an unspecified sum of money for his interest in RotaTeq.
Smallpox vaccine
In 2002, during a period of fears about bioterrorismBioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
, Offit was the only member of the CDC's advisory panel to vote against a program to give smallpox vaccine to tens of thousands of Americans. He later argued on 60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II was a weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.It aired on CBS on Wednesdays, then later moved to Fridays at 8 p.m...
and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
that the risk of harm for people getting the vaccine outweighed the risk of getting smallpox in the U.S. at the time.
Recognition
Offit is a recipient of numerous awards, including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. As of 2010, IDSA had approximately 9,000 members...
, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
.
Michael Specter
Michael Specter
Michael Specter is an American journalist who has been a staff writer, focusing on science and technology, and global public health at The New Yorker since September 1998...
wrote that Offit "has become a figure of hatred to the many vaccine denialists and conspiracy theorists." Specter reported that Offit had often been threatened with violence by anti-vaccine advocates, necessitating precautions such as screening Offit's packages for mail bombs and providing guards when Offit attends federal health advisory committee meetings. At a 2008 vaccine activism rally in Washington, DC, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized Offit's ties to drug companies, calling him a "poster child for the term 'biostitute'." Curt Linderman Sr., the editor of the Autism File blog, wrote online that it would "be nice" if Offit "was dead".
Such vilification has provoked statements in Offit's defense. Peter Hotez
Peter Hotez
Dr. Peter J. Hotez is a scientist, pediatrician, and leading advocate and expert in the fields of global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control. He is President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, headquartered in Washington, DC; and will lead the Sabin vaccine development program...
, a professor and vaccine researcher at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, has been quoted in a Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
article:
- Peter Hotez ... says government health officials should take a bolder stand in reassuring the public. Hotez feels as strongly as Offit does about the science (saying vaccines cause autism, he says, "is like saying the world is flat"), but, like other busy scientists, he's less willing to enter the fray. "Here's someone who has created an invention that saves hundreds of lives every day," says Hotez, whose daughter, 15, has autism, "and he's vilified as someone who hates children. It's just so unfair."
In 2011 Offit was honored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization with the 2011 Biotech Humanitarian Award. Offit donated the award’s $10,000 prize to the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In 2001 Offit was elected to the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
at the group's annual meeting.
Publications
Offit has written or co-written several books on vaccines, vaccination and the public, and antibiotics, as well as dozens of scholarly articles on the topic. Isabelle Rapin, a neurology professor at the Albert Einstein College of MedicineAlbert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
, wrote in Neurology Today about Autism's False Prophets:
- This book explores why parents, seeking in vain for a cure and for an explanation of their child's problem, are so vulnerable to false hopes and to the nasty predators who have from time immemorial always taken advantage of the desperate in our society. ... [Offit] became outraged by Dr. Andrew WakefieldAndrew WakefieldAndrew Wakefield is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known as an advocate for the discredited claim that there is a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, autism and bowel disease, and for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of that claim.Four years after...
's 1998 study in the Lancet that blamed the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine for causing autism. Dr. Offit predicted the paper would precipitate a resurgence of measles and its serious complications, and even deaths–a prophecy soon realized.
External links
- Paul A. Offit, MD
- "The Vaccine War", PBS FRONTLINE documentary, April 27, 2010. Extensive interviews with Dr. Offit.
- The Dangers of the Antivaccine Movement, Meredith Melnick, Time Magazine Feb. 24, 2011. Interview with Offit.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2053517,00.html#ixzz1FEiBtvl9