Redskins cheerleader disabled by flu shot

[baitism]

Originally Posted by Adam

Link please.

Researcher Fabricated Autism Link in Vaccine
Posted by JeanneSager

The man who launched a decade's-long fear for parents heading to have their children vaccinated has been proven a forgery.

The Sunday Times revealed the results of an investigation today showing Andrew Wakefield, the man who posited that the MMR vaccine was at the root of the increased autism diagnoses, fabricated his research.

Published in 1998 in The Lancet, the study claimed eight out of twelve children vaccinated with the MMR innoculation began showing symptoms that fall somewhere on the autism spectrum within days of getting the shot. It was performed at the same time as another study, for which Wakefield was paid, that was supposed to help parents who believed there was a link between the two put up a legal case. Some of the kids were used in both studies, and Wakefield has often been accused of crossing a clear ethical boundary in performing both studies.

The study has borne numerous attacks over the years - in part because it included just twelve children - but it is the most-often quoted piece of evidence by parents who point a finger at pro-vax parents as risking their kids' lives (this despite studies published in the time period since that have debunked his story). The investigation by the Times is just another nail in the coffin for that line of thinking. The investigation revealed that in most of the twelve cases, the ailments described in Wakefield's published reports were different from their hospital and general practitioner records.

From the Times: "Although the research paper claimed that problems came on within days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was true, and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the children were vaccinated."

I feel for parents of autistic children who are searching for a reason. Autism is very real and equally terrifying, but as a parent who has vaccinated her child, I have always bristled at the inference that I am a bad parent for making that choice - with so little evidence to support their claims.

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strol...n-vaccine.aspx

Vaccines didn't cause autism, court rules

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A special court ruled Thursday that evidence presented in three cases by parents of children with autism did not prove a link between autism and certain early childhood vaccines.

The ruling came from a panel of "special masters" who began hearing three test cases in 2007 involving children with autism -- a disorder that their parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative.

Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- sought compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, but the panel ruled that they had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.

"I feel deep sympathy and admiration for the Cedillo family," Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the case involving 14-year-old Michelle Cedillo, who cannot speak, wears a diaper and requires round-the-clock monitoring in case she has a seizure.

"And I have no doubt that the families of countless other autistic children, families that cope every day with the tremendous challenges of caring for autistic children, are similarly deserving of sympathy and admiration. However, I must decide this case not on sentiment, but by analyzing the evidence," Hastings wrote. "In this case the evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link." Video Dr. Gupta: A look at the life of Michelle Cedillo »

In a statement shortly after the release of the decisions, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it continues to support research "to better understand the cause of autistic disorders and develop more effective methods of treatment." Paging Dr. Gupta blog: What the ruling tells us

However, "the medical and scientific communities ... have found no association between vaccines and autism."

"Hopefully, the determination by the Special Masters will help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism," the statement said.

Autism Speaks, a large autism advocacy organization, called for continued examination of the disorder's contributing factors.

"The causes of autism remain poorly understood. ... We will continue to support authoritative research that addresses unanswered questions about whether certain subgroups of individuals with particular underlying medical or genetic conditions may be more vulnerable to adverse effects of vaccines," the Autism Speaks statement reads, in part.

The Autism Society of America, one of the oldest and largest autism grassroots organization in the country, also called for more research into autism's causes.

"ASA believes that the science of autism causes and treatments need to be more vigorously researched. ... Individuals living with autism need help today, and this case illustrates the need for the medical community to probe further into environmental causes of autism. Like all families affected by autism, these families deserve to be heard and supported in their journey raising their children."

Since 2001, thousands of parents of autistic children have filed petitions seeking compensation from the VICP at HHS. Visit CNNhealth.com, your connection to better living

By mid-2008, more than 5,300 cases had been filed in the program -- and 5,000 of those were still awaiting adjudication, according to the agency. Video Watch Dr. Gupta discuss how court reached its decision.

A litigation steering committee is representing thousands of families that fall into three categories: those that claim that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can combine with thimerosal-containing vaccines to cause autism; those who claim thimerosal-containing vaccines alone can cause autism; and those who claim that MMR vaccines, without any link to thimerosal, can cause autism.

Prior to the release of Thursday's rulings, an attorney for the families, Thomas Powers, said the expected rulings would affect only the families that fall under the first category.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/12...nes/index.html