FORBES getting it wrong on vaccines and autism/Is thimeorsal really in the MMR?
Sep 12
This isn’t an editorial from some small town in the midwest. This is FORBES. They’re suppoesd to have some national standing and to speak with some type of credibility. Apparently the reporter doesn’t think she has any obligation to actually know what she’s talking about.
Anti-Vaccine Activists Apparently Immune To Science by Sally Pipes
HERE
But for some reason, parents are increasingly skipping or delaying shots for their children. Government officials everywhere from New York to Idaho have reported that refusals to immunize are becoming more common.
This trend is deeply disturbing. Simply put, vaccines save lives. By failing to inoculate their kids, parents are allowing junk science to put the health of their children – as well as the health of those around them – at risk.
Unfortunately, the mythical link between vaccines and autism has proved remarkably resilient. And it’s all because of one measly 1998 study from British doctor Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield claimed that thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury sometimes present in vaccines, caused autism in the 12 cases he studied. . . .
The irony is that the persistence of the autism-vaccine theory has scientists chasing their tails, wasting valuable time, money, and brainpower on lawsuits and public relations that would be better spent finding the real cause of autism.
The CDC has tried to dispel concerns about the alleged autism link for years. In 1999, the CDC and other public health agencies recommended that thimerosal be removed from all vaccines as a precautionary measure. Vaccines were reformulated; since March 2001, they’ve been thimerosal-free.
If thimerosal caused autism – as Wakefield contended – then you’d expect the incidence of the disorder to decrease. But it’s only increased in the past decade.
My comments:
Sally Pipes is typical of those who write on the autism-vaccine controversy. She hasn’t really investigated this issue at all. According to Pipes, all the science is in and vaccines don’t cause autism.
If Pipes really understood this issue like so many thousands of parents do, she’d know that Andrew Wakefield never published a study and thimerosal has never been used in the MMR vaccine which is a live-virus vaccine and couldn’t contain something as toxic as mercury.
Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, wrote a paper, not a study, about a novel form of bowel disease he observed in 12 children who had developed this condition along with autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. It was their parents who came to him for help. It was the parents who said these children became sick after the MMR. To hear their story, see: HERE.
Those criticizing Wakefield never mention that the British government indemnified the manufacturer of the MMR. The government will be liable for the damages if it’s recognized that this vaccine triggers autism. Lots of people have everything at stake in this issue.
To listen to Wakefield’s side in this debate, see HERE.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
Autism is now an epidemic in the U.S., affecting one percent of children, including almost two percent of boys. Tens of thousands of parents report that their child was born healthy and was developing normally until they received certain routine vaccinations. Suddenly they got sick with things like seizures and bowel disease. Many stopped talking and lost learned skills, ending up with an autism diagnosis. Doctors call this a coincidence and they continue to say that the cause of autism is unknown. The only thing they’re sure of is that their ever-expanding vaccine schedule isn’t to blame and they have over a dozen pharma-funded studies to prove it.
Parents need to educate themselves. See the book, Vaccine Epidemic .
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
Pipes may think that all the science is in and vaccines have nothing to do with autism but a recent investigative report on HDNet TV disproves that claim. This report exposed the fact that while health officials continue to tell us studies show no link, the federal government has paid out millions of dollars for compensation for vaccine injuries that included autism. HERE.
These parents with their severely vaccine-injured children are the real reason this controversy will never go away.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
