The U.S. government just hired David Geier to perform a controversial study looking into whether vaccines cause autism. Both public health officials and scientists have decried this decision. They argue for Geier’s credibility when the reality is, he doesn’t have a medical degree or a graduate degree. Critics see this appointment as a major victory in the ongoing battle to decrease vaccination efforts throughout the United States.
While Geier’s role in this vaccine-related research is not unprecedented, his legacy is stained with numerous acts of ethical misconduct. Readers, Dr. Mark Geier, his father, passed away just a few weeks ago. Due to his reports of perverse and grotesque malpractice, he had all his medical licenses revoked in every state in which he practiced. The elder Geier was deeply involved with the vaccine/autism litigation. Both he and his son faced intense scrutiny for failing to disclose conflicts of interest in their studies.
Yet in 2011, David Geier himself was criminally charged with practicing medicine without a license. Despite this, he has been selected as an expert witness in numerous vaccine-related lawsuits, although many judges dismissed him due to his lack of qualifications. His previous research practices have faced criticism. The Geiers also broke their research protocols through their somewhat illicit access of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data.
In a routine manner, the CDC provided an ethics waiver to the Geiers to use data from their Vaccine Safety Datalink. Now, through reports and court testimony, we’re learning that they used deceptively illegal tactics — like “dumpster diving” for information. This unfortunate situation has led to widespread criticism of the ethicality of their research results.
On top of all these problems, well-known individuals like RFK Jr. have been spreading dangerous misinformation about vaccines. He has referred to childhood vaccinations as “the holocaust.” This very concerning framing removes the focus from the science debate.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said he was angry about the lies being spread about vaccines. He stated that such narratives are often nothing more than “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
David Geier’s study should be a gift to the anti-vaccine movement. This anti-vaccine movement has not let up, despite the mountains of scientific evidence that prove vaccines are safe and effective. That’s why many public health advocates are shocked by the sordid history behind the Geiers’ research. They worry that it may spread misinformation on vaccinations to parents.
