ABC Snaps To Attention Over Vaccine Case!!!

[Guest guest]

OLMSTEAD on AUTISM: ABC SNAPS TO ATTENTION OVER VACCINE CASE

By DAN OLMSTED

Below is an e-mail I've been waiting a long time to see -- someone

from the mainstream media trying to get their mind around the fact

that the United States government has conceded that vaccines triggered

autistic regression. By now you've all read about this case and

Kirby's brilliant reporting and analysis of this watershed development

(if not, click HERE for a link to 's A of A and Huffington Post

column and HERE for the text of the settlement). What is so great here

is to see a news outlet scrambling to get the story quickly and get it

right. The author of the memo, Dan Childs of ABCNews.com, sent it to

various interested parties looking for feedback. So far, so good --

that's the way to solicit as wide a range of input as possible. Now to

watch the coverage unfold -- and who's to say whether we'll ultimately

be grinding our teeth once again or popping champagne. But for now,

it's a complete blast to watch unfold, especially for someone like me

who's felt like a resident of Bizarro World for the past three years

as Big Media covered its ears, eyes and mouths while the biggest

health scandal of our lives has unfolded on their watch. Meantime,

pass your thoughts on to Mr. Childs at the e-mail below, won't you?

(And copy us by commenting on this post.)

From: ABC MEDICINE <ABC.MEDICINE@...>

Sent: Tue Feb 26 12:56:31 2008

Subject: Federal Government May Have Conceded on Vaccine-Autism Case

-- ABC News Interest

Good afternoon,

This is Dan Childs, producer of the Health page of ABCNews.com. I hope

this message finds you well.

There has been a buzz lately about the possible concession of a

vaccine-related case by the government. Much of this talk has

surrounded a column posted on the Huffington Post. ...

ABC News is still assessing the validity of this report, but we would

like to be ready to responsibly cover this issue if the report does,

in fact, prove to be true.

In short, the column suggests that the federal government has chosen

to concede to one case in which the plaintiff claims that her child

developed features consistent with an autism spectrum disorder after

receiving her vaccinations. Based on this case, the column further

suggests that something about the vaccines may trigger autism-like

illness in children who are susceptible to mitochondrial disorders.

Depending on what we find out, various ABC News platforms may be

interested in covering this development. I am also interested in

writing a story for ABCNews.com on this topic.

With this in mind, I was hoping that you would be willing to lend your

expertise to come of the questions that we have about this possible

development. Specifically:

1) With regard to the idea that vaccines may trigger mitochondrial

disorders, what evidence are you aware of that would point to this

possibility?

2) If it turns out that the federal government did concede in this

case, what are your thoughts on this move?

Any other comments you have on this are most appreciated.

Please note that your comments will be considered on the record and

available for use in a story on ABCNews.com unless you specifically

request that your responses be used for background purposes only.

Please also be sure to include your full contact information in case

we would like to get in touch with you for further information.

If you receive this message after 10AM on Wednesday, Feb. 27, please

disregard it as the deadline for this story will have passed.

Thanks, and I look forward to talking with you soon!

Cheers,

Dan

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.