The barrister didn’t look at all pleased with this answer, but he pressed on.
“But what if it could be determined?” he asked and I felt myself staring so hard at the back of his head it was as if I wanted to open up his skull and read his thoughts. Was he aware of some other point of origin, other than the Florida one?
Dr. Ryan shrugged. “I can’t see how. This outbreak wasn’t a blip on the HSE’s radar—in fact with only two patients involved, technically it’s not even an outbreak. And it wouldn’t have been at all, save for this court case. This involves two little girls, Clara and Rosie, attending the same school. To my knowledge, no one else at the school or any other person in the area was infected thereafter.”
I was glad that Dr. Ryan was taking Declan’s advice to always use the girls’ names when referring to them together, unlike the defense barrister, who’d so far spoken of them in more formal terms.
McGuinness nodded, as if he was carefully considering this. “Indeed. And, of course, no national health agencies have been deployed in this regard. I agree with you. But surely it’s not too hard to walk backward in the lives of two five-year-old girls?”
Nevin jumped up once again to object, but Dr. Ryan was already answering. “That isn’t a medical question I can answer. I would suggest you refer that to the girls’ parents.”
“Thank you, Dr. Ryan. We truly appreciate your time this morning,” replied McGuinness, who immediately turned on his heel and walked back to where the Coopers sat with their solicitor.
Matt Townsend had a small smirk on his face, and my mind immediately began to race as I wondered what ace card the defendants’ solicitor evidently believed he had up his sleeve.
40
Following the very damning testimony from Rosie O’Hara’s doctor, Madeleine heard the plaintiff’s side then call Dr. Sebastian Goring, a university professor of some sort who was apparently an expert on infectious disease.
She sighed, settling in once again to having her authority as a parent crushed like a beetle under the heel of a shoe.
“Dr. Goring, what is your experience in handling measles cases and the disease’s effect on the community at large?” Patrick Nevin asked.
The older bespectacled gentleman crossed one leg over another. “I was a family GP for twenty-five years before becoming a clinical professor in University College Dublin. I have spent considerable time studying and treating infectious diseases and also served as a member of an infectious-diseases symposium at the School of Public Health at John Hopkins University, Maryland.”
“Thank you for that. Very fine credentials you have, Doctor.” Goring nodded in response, waiting for the next question. “Can you comment on the impact that the MMR vaccination has made to children and indeed adults in this country?”
“Of course,” said Dr. Goring. “Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1985, the death rate was close to twice what it was from polio. The measles vaccine changed all that. Statistics show that for every one thousand children who get the disease, approximately one will die from it. Among some children who don’t die from the disease, there is a chance of suffering lifelong, debilitating injury.” He paused for a moment, just as he had been coached to do. They wanted to make sure that the judge made the correlation between what had been said and Rosie’s situation. “Yet, there is currently no legal requirement in Ireland stating that you must vaccinate your children, even though results show the MMR vaccine is very effective. The HSE, as well as disease-control authorities internationally—such as the CDC in the US—have determined that the vaccine is more than 97 percent effective for measles. Those who are vaccinated have only a small chance of contracting a mild form of measles, mumps or rubella,” said Dr. Goring.
“Pretty conclusive,” Nevin agreed. “But about this belief widely held by anti-vaccination proponents like the Coopers, that the MMR vaccine causes autism?”
At this question Dr. Goring looked annoyed. “This ‘movement’ of sorts gained credibility in 1998 when a British gastroenterologist, Andrew Wakefield, published a paper in the medical journalThe Lancet. In his paper, this...individual supported a belief based on entirely anecdotal research, that the MMR vaccine caused autism. Very quickly, Britain’s General Medical Council revoked the doctor’s medical license, and in 2010 the journal retracted the study. They announced that it was utterly clear that the statements in the paper were completely false. It was all nonsense. However, the damage was done and, even now, you still have the conspiracy theorists and antigovernment tinfoil-hat wearers who promote this false line of thinking. And also, quite frankly, this line of thinking also persists because idiot Hollywood celebrities continue to propagate this nonsense and spread it to a gullible, starry-eyed public.”
Across the courtroom, Madeleine visibly flinched. It was as if she had been slapped. How dare he? Celebrities hadnothingto do with her decision, nothing at all! She had to stop herself from standing up and telling this blustering ignoramus so.
“So you have all these celebrities practicing armchair medicine—armchairscience—and passing this faulty and highly illogical information on to members of the community who are inclined to believe the tabloid reporting so prevalent in today’s media. I can tell you straight, when people choose not to vaccinate their children because of personal, religious, political or any nonmedical viewpoints, they put their own children and other people’s children at risk.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” said Nevin, clearly worried that the doctor was laying it on a bit thick. “You said choosing not to vaccinate based on nonmedical viewpoints. What do you mean by that?”
Dr. Goring considered the barrister and uncrossed and recrossed his legs. “I mean in situations where if a vaccine was administered to someone that a medical complication would occur. The proteins most often implicated in vaccine allergies are egg and gelatin, with perhaps rare reactions to yeast or latex. The number of people who experience this type of hypersensitivity is relatively low, but when it is experienced, it is quite serious.”
“I see. Like in the situation of Kate O’Hara and her late husband—who were faced with a child who experienced a severe medical reaction when the first round of vaccinations was given. In your view, was the decision not to vaccinate their daughter justified?”
Dr. Goring nodded. “Yes. From my viewpoint as a medical professional, this was completely justified. The allergic reaction that Rosie O’Hara experienced as a baby was quite rare, but it could have been fatal if it hadn’t been recognized and addressed for what it was. Rosie is fortunate that her mother, Ms. O’Hara, is a licensed medical professional who had the scientific and clinical wherewithal and abilities to address it promptly, as well as seek proper care and counsel.”
Listening to the exchange, Madeleine closed her eyes. Not only were her and Tom being painted as “gullible, empty-headed people” readily influenced by celebrity, but now Kate was being compared to Florence Nightingale.
Honestly, could things get any worse?
41
That same afternoon, Madeleine had to face the ignominy of seeing one of her oldest and dearest friends testify against her.
She had no idea how Lucy’s testimony was going to go down, but based on how everything had played out so far, she wasn’t optimistic. Kate’s legal team needed to persuade the judge that Madeleine had knowingly acted in a negligent manner by sending an infectious Clara to school.
Lucy was the smoking gun, the proof they needed that she had done so.
Her friend spoke clearly and confidently as the plaintiff’s barrister asked her to outline their personal history. “I’ve known Madeleine pretty much all my life,” she began, with little trace of nerves. “We’re both from the same town, obviously, and have always been friendly, but I suppose we really only became close friends about nine years ago when we were both on maternity leave around the same time. Me with my daughter, Stephanie, and Madeleine with Jake.”
