M
M.A.R.K P.R.O.B
Guest
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5183214§ion=news
Vaccine, Preservative Do Not Cause Autism - Panel Tue 18
May, 2004 21:09
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Neither the measles, mumps and
rubella vaccine nor a mercury-based preservative used in
many childhood shots cause autism, a U.S. health panel said
on Tuesday.
Researchers and parents trying to find out what causes
autism and its possible recent upsurge should look elsewhere
for a culprit, the Institute of Medicine panel said.
"The weight of that evidence is pretty substantial," said
Dr. Marie McCormick, an expert in child and mother health at
the Harvard School of Public Health who chaired the panel.
"The overwhelming evidence from several well-designed
studies indicates that childhood vaccines are not associated
with autism," she added. The same holds true for a mercury-
based preservative called thimerosal which is often used in
vaccines, the panel found.
Autism can affect a child's ability to learn, speak and
socialize. No one is sure precisely how many children have
autism, but some researchers say it could be as common as
one in every 1,000 children.
Because autism is usually diagnosed about when children
receive many recommended immunizations, some groups believe
vaccines are to blame.
A few parents, especially in Britain, have begun to refuse
to vaccinate their children and outbreaks of disease have
been traced to unvaccinated children.
McCormick said the diseases that are prevented by
vaccination were often fatal in the days when they were
common childhood occurrences. "These diseases that we are
talking about are very, very serious diseases and they are
still present in the rest of the world so, they still are a
plane ride away," she said.
SIFTING THROUGH THE EVIDENCE
The Institute's panel, which included experts in pediatrics,
family medicine, statistics and epidemiology, had reported
in 2001 that there was no proven link between vaccines and
autism but said there was not quite enough evidence to be
definitive.
Since then, they have reviewed five large epidemiological
studies done in the United States, Britain, Denmark, and
Sweden that found children who were vaccinated with thimerosal-
containing vaccines were no more likely to have autism than
children who got thimerosal-free vaccines.
They looked at studies that reported links between vaccines
or thimerosal and autism, but found none of them could show
a connection.
They searched for evidence of a biological explanation of
how immunizations or thimerosal could cause autism, and
found none. They listened to advocates and family members
who believe vaccines caused autism, as well.
But some groups said the Institute's report was biased.
"This report went beyond any other report and this is why I
felt it was political," Barbara Loe Fisher, who founded the
National Vaccine Information Center, said in a telephone
interview.
[Comment: Ms. Fisher is out of a job. Now she can find some
real work to do. The thoguht scares her.]
She said she would like to see research done by scientists
with no connections to the "public health community."
[Comment: IOW, she wants a report done by people who do not
know anything about what they are investigating. What a
stupid, moronic idea.]
Other groups also promised to continue to battle to prove
that vaccines cause autism.
"Another flawed report -- government issued or otherwise --
will not stop SafeMinds from continuing its mission to
foster science and educate the public," said Sallie Barnard,
executive director of SafeMinds, one of the groups.
[Comment: Another soon to be out of work whiner. She would
not know science if were stuck in her brain by the shortest
route, i.e. by a proctoscope.]
McCormick stressed that the panel was independent of any
vaccine maker or of the government and was not paid for its
work. She said they considered the possibility that some of
the studies were biased. "We do not feel that the data were
manipulated," she said.
[Comment: Of course, the whiners will find ways to trash
this report in any manner they can. However, now is the time
to stop barking up thiese trees, and begin to look for the
real causes. The die-hard Realmedicine haters will, (all)
naturally, blather on and on about whacko conspiracies,
people being bought off, etc. They have a vested interest in
blaming RealMedicine.]
Vaccine, Preservative Do Not Cause Autism - Panel Tue 18
May, 2004 21:09
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Neither the measles, mumps and
rubella vaccine nor a mercury-based preservative used in
many childhood shots cause autism, a U.S. health panel said
on Tuesday.
Researchers and parents trying to find out what causes
autism and its possible recent upsurge should look elsewhere
for a culprit, the Institute of Medicine panel said.
"The weight of that evidence is pretty substantial," said
Dr. Marie McCormick, an expert in child and mother health at
the Harvard School of Public Health who chaired the panel.
"The overwhelming evidence from several well-designed
studies indicates that childhood vaccines are not associated
with autism," she added. The same holds true for a mercury-
based preservative called thimerosal which is often used in
vaccines, the panel found.
Autism can affect a child's ability to learn, speak and
socialize. No one is sure precisely how many children have
autism, but some researchers say it could be as common as
one in every 1,000 children.
Because autism is usually diagnosed about when children
receive many recommended immunizations, some groups believe
vaccines are to blame.
A few parents, especially in Britain, have begun to refuse
to vaccinate their children and outbreaks of disease have
been traced to unvaccinated children.
McCormick said the diseases that are prevented by
vaccination were often fatal in the days when they were
common childhood occurrences. "These diseases that we are
talking about are very, very serious diseases and they are
still present in the rest of the world so, they still are a
plane ride away," she said.
SIFTING THROUGH THE EVIDENCE
The Institute's panel, which included experts in pediatrics,
family medicine, statistics and epidemiology, had reported
in 2001 that there was no proven link between vaccines and
autism but said there was not quite enough evidence to be
definitive.
Since then, they have reviewed five large epidemiological
studies done in the United States, Britain, Denmark, and
Sweden that found children who were vaccinated with thimerosal-
containing vaccines were no more likely to have autism than
children who got thimerosal-free vaccines.
They looked at studies that reported links between vaccines
or thimerosal and autism, but found none of them could show
a connection.
They searched for evidence of a biological explanation of
how immunizations or thimerosal could cause autism, and
found none. They listened to advocates and family members
who believe vaccines caused autism, as well.
But some groups said the Institute's report was biased.
"This report went beyond any other report and this is why I
felt it was political," Barbara Loe Fisher, who founded the
National Vaccine Information Center, said in a telephone
interview.
[Comment: Ms. Fisher is out of a job. Now she can find some
real work to do. The thoguht scares her.]
She said she would like to see research done by scientists
with no connections to the "public health community."
[Comment: IOW, she wants a report done by people who do not
know anything about what they are investigating. What a
stupid, moronic idea.]
Other groups also promised to continue to battle to prove
that vaccines cause autism.
"Another flawed report -- government issued or otherwise --
will not stop SafeMinds from continuing its mission to
foster science and educate the public," said Sallie Barnard,
executive director of SafeMinds, one of the groups.
[Comment: Another soon to be out of work whiner. She would
not know science if were stuck in her brain by the shortest
route, i.e. by a proctoscope.]
McCormick stressed that the panel was independent of any
vaccine maker or of the government and was not paid for its
work. She said they considered the possibility that some of
the studies were biased. "We do not feel that the data were
manipulated," she said.
[Comment: Of course, the whiners will find ways to trash
this report in any manner they can. However, now is the time
to stop barking up thiese trees, and begin to look for the
real causes. The die-hard Realmedicine haters will, (all)
naturally, blather on and on about whacko conspiracies,
people being bought off, etc. They have a vested interest in
blaming RealMedicine.]