To vaccinate or not? Groups are split on whether practice could cause autism.

[Guest guest]

To vaccinate or not?

Groups are split on whether practice could cause autism.

Autism advocacy groups remain divided on whether to vaccinate young children

after a study linking a common vaccine to autism was discredited and the

research behind it called fraudulent.

The Lancet, a British medical journal that originally published the study in

1998, retracted it after questions about its accuracy. Another publication, the

British Medical Journal, recently reported that the research behind the study

was tainted.

However, the National Autism Association, whose executive director is from Nixa,

says the investigative article in the British Medical Journal is " yet another

attempt to thwart vaccine safety research. "

" It's making a claim here that there's an elaborate fraud here, which just is

not true, " said Rita Shreffler, executive director of the National Autism

Association.

Another group, Autism Speaks, which is based in New York and is better funded

than the National Autism Association, supports vaccinating children.

" The present state of the science indicates that the proven benefits of

vaccinating a child to protect them against serious diseases outweigh the

hypothesized risk that vaccinations might cause autism, " said Geraldine Dawson,

chief science officer for Autism Speaks.

Questions about vaccine safety frustrate state health officials and area doctors

who see parents opt out of vaccinating children.

" We know that parents have to make decisions all the time that have lifelong

consequences for their children, " said Margaret Donnelly, director of the state

Department of Health and Senior Services. " ... There have been numerous studies

since that (1998) study that have shown no link between that vaccine and

autism. "

Autism, a disease that appears in the first three years of life, affects social

and communication skills. Its cause is unknown.

Among 8-year-old children in 11 states studied by the Centers for Disease

Control, Missouri has one of the highest rates of autism spectrum disorder at

12.1 per 1,000 children. The average rate for the 11 states was 9 per 1,000

children.

In February 1998, The Lancet published a paper written by British physician

Wakefield and 12 co-authors that linked autism to the vaccine against

measles, mumps and rubella in eight of 12 children they had studied.

But investigative reporter Deer of the British Medical Journal discovered

that Wakefield was working for $230 an hour for an attorney who was planning to

sue the vaccine manufacturers. The Lancet paper led to vaccination rates

plummeting in Britain.

In the United States, as many as 125,000 children born in the late 1990s may not

have received the MMR vaccine because of the article. In Missouri, an estimated

89 percent of children 19 to 35 months old received the MMR vaccine in 2009,

according to a national survey.

Deer's reporting led to an investigation in which Wakefield lost his medical

license. Wakefield now lives in Austin, Texas, where he has continued to stand

behind his research.

" It is not unexpected to see poor reporting and misinformation coming from

Deer, the lead reporter of the recent BMJ coverage, " Wakefield said in a

statement. " But to see coverage in other media that cites Deer's shoddy

journalism in the BMJ as a final justification to claim there is no link between

vaccines and autism is ludicrous. "

The National Autism Association and other parent groups recently issued a

statement supporting Wakefield.

" The undersigned autism organizations, representing thousands of parents, are

deeply disturbed by this most recent character assassination of Dr.

Wakefield, " the statement said. " This is an attempt to discredit a doctor who

has been extraordinarily courageous in treating and researching children

suffering with both bowel disease and autism. "

Dr. Steele, a Springfield pediatrician and the chairman of Missouri's

childhood immunization advisory committee, said vaccination rates in Missouri

for the MMR vaccine have remained high because they are required in public

schools.

Parents who don't want their children vaccinated can't use a philosophical

exemption with the public schools as they can in some other states.

Steele said they must have a note from a doctor or an exemption for religious

reasons.

In 2008, more cases of measles were reported in the United States than in any

other year in that decade. Measles is one of the first diseases to reappear when

vaccination coverage rates fall. In Greene County, three cases of measles were

reported in 2010. Two cases of mumps were reported in both 2009 and 2010.

Dr. , a Springfield pediatrician, said she treated a child last year

with the measles. She said the boy had been vaccinated against measles but

apparently caught it from someone who hadn't been vaccinated.

Two of the cases of measles in Greene County were in people 25 to 49 years old,

and one was a child 2 to 4 years old, according to the Springfield-Greene County

Health Department.

" These illnesses, measles, mumps and rubella, don't have treatments, "

said. " They are viral illnesses. A certain percentage of people will go on to

develop very serious consequences. "

Steele said he is frustrated with all the effort and money that has been spent

on trying to prove that vaccines don't cause autism.

" There have been literally millions and millions of dollars spent to prove that

vaccines don't cause autism, " Steele said. " I personally am frustrated by this

because I would rather have the money spent to find out what causes autism. "

[Guest guest]

Dr. Null among others has some insights about whom we should trust....

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=781C36C5752AB4894EED16C5229A6E6D

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=AD7E4A4231545A82E5119F5CB7BAA8D9

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=CDCE1C10F3D2CB099A9A6A92408038BB

Best of health,

Elena

From: jeannne buesser <jbmistletoe@...>

Subject: [ ] To vaccinate or not? Groups are split on whether

practice could cause autism.

ApraxiaNetworkOfBergenCountyegroups,

Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 10:30 AM

To vaccinate or not?

Groups are split on whether practice could cause autism.

Autism advocacy groups remain divided on whether to vaccinate young children

after a study linking a common vaccine to autism was discredited and the

research behind it called fraudulent.

The Lancet, a British medical journal that originally published the study in

1998, retracted it after questions about its accuracy. Another publication, the

British Medical Journal, recently reported that the research behind the study

was tainted.

However, the National Autism Association, whose executive director is from Nixa,

says the investigative article in the British Medical Journal is " yet another

attempt to thwart vaccine safety research. "

" It's making a claim here that there's an elaborate fraud here, which just is

not true, " said Rita Shreffler, executive director of the National Autism

Association.

Another group, Autism Speaks, which is based in New York and is better funded

than the National Autism Association, supports vaccinating children.

" The present state of the science indicates that the proven benefits of

vaccinating a child to protect them against serious diseases outweigh the

hypothesized risk that vaccinations might cause autism, " said Geraldine Dawson,

chief science officer for Autism Speaks.

Questions about vaccine safety frustrate state health officials and area doctors

who see parents opt out of vaccinating children.

" We know that parents have to make decisions all the time that have lifelong

consequences for their children, " said Margaret Donnelly, director of the state

Department of Health and Senior Services. " ... There have been numerous studies

since that (1998) study that have shown no link between that vaccine and

autism. "

Autism, a disease that appears in the first three years of life, affects social

and communication skills. Its cause is unknown.

Among 8-year-old children in 11 states studied by the Centers for Disease

Control, Missouri has one of the highest rates of autism spectrum disorder at

12.1 per 1,000 children. The average rate for the 11 states was 9 per 1,000

children.

In February 1998, The Lancet published a paper written by British physician

Wakefield and 12 co-authors that linked autism to the vaccine against

measles, mumps and rubella in eight of 12 children they had studied.

But investigative reporter Deer of the British Medical Journal discovered

that Wakefield was working for $230 an hour for an attorney who was planning to

sue the vaccine manufacturers. The Lancet paper led to vaccination rates

plummeting in Britain.

In the United States, as many as 125,000 children born in the late 1990s may not

have received the MMR vaccine because of the article. In Missouri, an estimated

89 percent of children 19 to 35 months old received the MMR vaccine in 2009,

according to a national survey.

Deer's reporting led to an investigation in which Wakefield lost his medical

license. Wakefield now lives in Austin, Texas, where he has continued to stand

behind his research.

" It is not unexpected to see poor reporting and misinformation coming from

Deer, the lead reporter of the recent BMJ coverage, " Wakefield said in a

statement. " But to see coverage in other media that cites Deer's shoddy

journalism in the BMJ as a final justification to claim there is no link between

vaccines and autism is ludicrous. "

The National Autism Association and other parent groups recently issued a

statement supporting Wakefield.

" The undersigned autism organizations, representing thousands of parents, are

deeply disturbed by this most recent character assassination of Dr.

Wakefield, " the statement said. " This is an attempt to discredit a doctor who

has been extraordinarily courageous in treating and researching children

suffering with both bowel disease and autism. "

Dr. Steele, a Springfield pediatrician and the chairman of Missouri's

childhood immunization advisory committee, said vaccination rates in Missouri

for the MMR vaccine have remained high because they are required in public

schools.

Parents who don't want their children vaccinated can't use a philosophical

exemption with the public schools as they can in some other states.

Steele said they must have a note from a doctor or an exemption for religious

reasons.

In 2008, more cases of measles were reported in the United States than in any

other year in that decade. Measles is one of the first diseases to reappear when

vaccination coverage rates fall. In Greene County, three cases of measles were

reported in 2010. Two cases of mumps were reported in both 2009 and 2010.

Dr. , a Springfield pediatrician, said she treated a child last year

with the measles. She said the boy had been vaccinated against measles but

apparently caught it from someone who hadn't been vaccinated.

Two of the cases of measles in Greene County were in people 25 to 49 years old,

and one was a child 2 to 4 years old, according to the Springfield-Greene County

Health Department.

" These illnesses, measles, mumps and rubella, don't have treatments, "

said. " They are viral illnesses. A certain percentage of people will go on to

develop very serious consequences. "

Steele said he is frustrated with all the effort and money that has been spent

on trying to prove that vaccines don't cause autism.

" There have been literally millions and millions of dollars spent to prove that

vaccines don't cause autism, " Steele said. " I personally am frustrated by this

because I would rather have the money spent to find out what causes autism. "

------------------------------------