Re: interesting item in American Medical News

[Guest guest]

"He, too, recommends cutting back on scientific evidence when discussing vaccine benefits. 'I would go on and on about the benefits of the vaccine and the risk of the disease, and parents would get a glazed look.' " Hmm, so does that work the other way too? If we bombard them with scientific evidence, will they get a glazed look?'Instead, he tries to tap parents' imaginations and urge them to think about what could happen if they forgo vaccines for their children" Ah yes.. Fear, the universal antidote to any problem.."The anti-vaccine people use anecdotes, he said. "But we get the anecdotes beaten out of us in medical school." Yeah, you're taught to ignore them - which is okay if there are only 10. But you are also taught to ignore even thousands or tens of thousands of similar or almost identical "anecdotes". This is called willful blindness.Nevertheless, he noted, "I can tell a tragic story. It has a great impact on parents." So, he's using anecdotes to "have a great impact" (read: scare the bejesus"), when he's "taught" to ignore them completely? What part of il-logic does he not understand?"He asks parents to imagine what might happen if their child grows up to do good works in far-off countries where diseases such as polio are still endemic. If the child is not immunized, he or she could become infected, he relates." Ah hell! If they grow up and go off to a foreign land where polio is still endemic, they can get immunized then for God's sake! Presumably their detoxification and immune systems, and blood-brain-barrier has matured a bit by then. (Of course, the 'herd argument' is that if everyone did that then polio would become endemic here as well.. No way to test that ethically - but no way to confirm it either..)[pullquote] No link has been found between autism and the MMR vaccine. And they used what - only 20 kids? How can you possibly get a statistical valid result - negative or positive, from such a small sample? (Note I haven't read the Thoughtful House critique) And if there is no link, then why do thousands and thousands of parents keep saying there is? Mass dilution? Is telepathy involved? Morphogenic resonance fields? Somehow I think not. 3 live viruses at once (or 4 if CP is added in!) just doesn't seem like a good idea. Most kids don't get the disease all at once, why should they be vaccinated all at once? Especially with the dollop of aluminum that comes with that shot."British journalist Vivienne Parry, who also served on the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, noted that the drop in the MMR vaccination rate in her country has led to outbreaks of disease." And how many died?? Or had life-altering complications like SSPE? (please excuse those who died because society was too lazy to get them adequate medical and palliative care, and basic nutrition that would have allowed them to survive)."People are much more afraid of autism than they are of measles." Damn right they are! Measles last what - two or three weeks at most (aside from the rare complications like SSPE). Autism lasts a lifetime if you're unlucky, or usually at best 2-5 years if they can be treated exceptionally well. And then there's that quiet little idea that autism actually is a new form of SSPE.."Where are the other physicians supporting him [ Offit]?" Now THAT is perhaps a good question. Except I don't see "other physicians not supporting him". Do you? I see Wyeth funding EBCT, Peet parading around looking cute and calling people parasites, and people having great trouble finding pediatrians who will even consider alternative vaccination schedules. It is them who think this is an "all or nothing" thing, not the majority of us."..recasting of the characters in this ongoing drama. Now, the anti-vaccine people are often identified as the only ones who care about children [..] " HA!! LMAO! And where were the NIH studying the possibility that autism was metabolic as well as neurological for the past 20-60 years? Where were the people crusading against Bettelheim and the "refrigerator mother" "hypothesis" when Rimland had already demolished it with the publication of Infantile Autism? Where were the pediatricians, politicans, and researchers while autism grew from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 150 (or even more) in about 30 years? Who cares why (actual incidence or just better diagnosis - although it's kind of hard miss seizures, horrendous GI problems, and all the other "obvious" thinks that go on with classic Kanner autism) - it's a problem."As a result of the suspicion being raised that vaccines are connected to autism, 'we continue to divert resources away from more promising leads.' " For ONCE, Offit says something worthwhile. Start by doing real research on what the ARI and other groups (Yasko, etc) have been doing for years now. Oh, right, he just wrote about "false prophets". Hmm, then where are are real prophets? (or should that be 'profits'?) Not to politicians, especially at the NI(m)H: It's a problem. Grow a spine and do what you should have done 30 years ago and start researching treatments and causes - no matter where that research leads. It's time for a change.Jim

[Guest guest]

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF VACCINES (ICAAC AND IDSA JOINT MEETING) Oh, and one more thing - when the hell is that 'autistic monkey babies' study actually going to be published? That should give them something to chew on.. Of course, they'll just say, "but.. but all the thimerosal is out.." ([stage whisper] Except for the flu shots given to pregnant mothers, and kids as young as 6 months.. and oh, the 'harmless' 3 mcg thimerosal left in some other vaccines including HepB given at birth.. But it's harmless, and it might be less than 3 mcg actually - nobody really checks..)Jim