Independent Study Finding No MMR Autism Link Not So Independent

By Brandon Turbeville and Heather Callaghan
Activist Post
Apr. 23, 2015

Looking at their website, it's clear The Lewin Group is some corporate welfare parasite lobbyist group with their hands in almost every hyper-statist government program in existence. They're about as trustworthy an institution as The Carlyle Group. - ChrisFor those who may be critical of the process of vaccination, particularly its safety and effectiveness, it is a known fact that there has never been a study proving safety or effectiveness that was not linked to a pharmaceutical firm or vaccine maker.[1] Indeed, if vaccines were so easy to prove safe and effective, then certainly an entirely government-funded or independent agency would have done so by now.

With the recent mainstream media hype, however, one would be tempted to believe that such an independent study has finally taken place proving that the MMR vaccine is not linked to autism. However, brief research into the allegedly independent "review panel" of the new darling of the month "MMR is not related to autism study" reveals that this is not the case.

For instance, the organization that conducted the study is the Lewin Group, a corporate healthcare consulting firm based in Falls Church, Virginia. The Lewin Group works with a wide range of players in the medical establishment. Most notably major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk among others. It should be noted that at least two out of these three corporations are not only vaccine proponents, they are vaccine manufacturers. The Lewin Group also works with a number of major medical and pharmaceutical associations and organizations like the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America association.

In addition to working with the federal, state and local governments, the Lewin Group works with a variety of foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Heritage Foundation as well as a large number of hospitals, health systems, and healthcare providers. The Lewin Group is especially involved in major medical insurance programs like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Now New York, LA Care Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Wellcare among many others.

In addition to these big connections to pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment, the mainstream media attempts to present the Lewin Group as being free from the influence of their own clients and associates. In addition, the mainstream media conveniently leaves out the fact that the Lewin Group is not independent in as much as it is owned by the nation's largest health insurer, United Health Group.

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