A pharmacist who told a patient her son’s autism was caused by the MMR jab and recommended he ‘detox’ by taking ‘vitamins’ has been suspended.
Ravinder Walia penned a list of anti-vax individuals and organisations which he gave to the boy’s mother after a GP appointment to collect medication.
A General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) Fitness to Practise Committee hearing heard how Ms Walia had been working at the Village Pharmacy in Windsor, Berks when the unsolicited advice was given.
Identified only as Patient A, the mother entered the pharmacy on May 24 2021 and was about to leave when Ms Walia ‘attempted to engage her son in a conversation’.
The pharmacist drew Patient A back to the pharmacy counter where they spoke for a few minutes.
The hearing was told: ‘[Ms Walia] was speaking about the MMR vaccine and said doctors have proven that it is the reason that people have autism.
‘She was saying the names of doctors and stated that one in every 100 children who had the MMR Vaccination developed autism, compared to people who haven’t had the vaccine.
‘Patient A stated that [Ms Walia] “didn’t mention the Covid vaccination during this conversation. She said that I needed to detox my son from the vaccination and give him vitamins I asked her ‘How do I detox him?’ [Ms Walia] told me to avoid any future vaccinations”.’
A General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) Fitness to Practise Committee hearing heard how Ms Walia had been working at the Village Pharmacy in Windsor, Berks (pictured) when the unsolicited advice was given
The GPC found Ms Walia guilty of misconduct and suspended her for four months, ruling the behaviour ‘constituted a fundamental departure from evidence-based, accepted scientific research’.
The committee heard: ‘Patient A’s evidence was that she did not ask for this information and did not want it; she felt uncomfortable about confronting [Ms Walia] and did not want to be made to feel guilty for vaccinating her son.’
She told the committee that the conversation made her ‘angry’ and ‘upset’, and ‘her hands felt sweaty’, although she believed Ms Walia was trying to be ‘kind and helpful’ when she gave the information.
Patient A reported what had happened to her GP and the owner of the pharmacy.
Ms Walia claimed it was instead Patient A who had started a discussion with her about Covid vaccinations, and that autism was never discussed.
She said Patient A asked her for the note so she could ‘undertake her own research on the matter’, and that the list was of ‘people who had in the past provided misinformation about vaccines in general’.
The committee concluded the events instead happened as Patient A said they did, especially as the list she was given was very specific about autism and the MMR vaccine.
It was, however, unable to prove the pharmacist had warned her from getting vaccinations in future.
The committee said: ‘The Committee had found that [Ms Walia] made a series of comments which were entirely contrary to accepted and established science in relation to the condition.
‘She told Patient A that autism isn’t life-long, you can “de-tox” or take vitamins, and that it is caused by vaccinations.
‘This information was unsolicited, and understandably, it made Patient A feel both upset and angry.
‘In the Committee’s view, sharing and spreading misinformation of this sort constituted a fundamental departure from evidence-based, accepted scientific research and could contribute to a significant risk to public safety.
‘The Committee was in no doubt that the Registrant abused her position of trust as a health care professional, and exceeded the limits of her knowledge and skills when purporting to provide advice in relation to the MMR vaccine and advice relating to autism.
‘Her conduct fell below what is to be expected of a registered health care professional, and would be considered deplorable by her fellow professionals.’
The claim the MMR vaccine could cause autism in children was brought to prominence by British doctor Andrew Wakefield but has been debunked by scientific studies.
