Comments on: Vaccine-Autism Link Case Goes To Court

Precedent-Setting Claim Over Whether Child's Autism Was Caused By Common Vaccines

[ran1988-2009]

I was watching the story on Autism and I began to cry, because I had a son born in 1988 and he died in 1990 and I knew it was from the shots he received. He had a very high fever and I took my child back and forth to the Dr. for 3 to 4 weeks
every other day. When he died he had things that should not have been wrong with him. He was born healthy and until he received his shots had no problems. I knew in my heart that it was something wrong with those shots and I still believe it today. It was like his whole little system was poisioned.

[kheckenlivel]

Dear CBS:

Thank you for covering this very important autism story. As a science teacher and attorney I'm very aware of standards of proof. It seems as if the government is relying on largely discredited epidemiological data (read the NIH review of the government's main report on the autism/vaccine issue), while the parents are relying on biological data from institutions like Harvard, Columbia, and UC Davis.

Autism parents have waited fifteen years for cases like this to get to trial, which to me can only mean that their case must be very strong. If the pharmaceutical companies weren't terrified of what a trial might reveal, they would've been saying "BRING IT ON!" to us when they have been trying desparately to keep us out of the courtroom. Even now we are locked out of the courtroom and have to go to a special VACCINE COURT.

Do they think we're terrorists for wanting to find out what happened to our children?

Kent Heckenlively

[sy2502]

forkaleb, I feel for your situation, but you have absolutely no proof that the vaccine is the cause of your child's disability. NONE! I am sure you want a reason, something to blame, a target for your frustration. But what good can it possibly do your kid to aim for the wrong target? I see how tempting the "Big Pharma conspiracy theory" is to believe, but when study after study debunks it, it's time to let it go already! Not to mention using common sense: honestly, please search the Net on how much mercury is in our food and the environment, and compare it to the minuscule amount in vaccines.

[talkingham]

Symptoms of autism involve various high brain functions that usually aren't readily apparent until about the age vaccines are administered. I'm sure judges are well qualified to understand the science. NOT!

[gordon.couger]

I truly sympathize with anyone that has a damaged child.

Correlation is not causation. Just because a child develops autism about the same time they get a vaccine doesn't show the vaccine is the cause. The father's age, decline in sperm motility, pollution in Texas, scents in the air, plasticizers, other things in the environment and how hard we look for autism all correlate with the rise in autism to some degree as well.

The sad truth is if there was an iron clad link between vaccines and autism vaccinating children would still be the thing to do. Most of you don't remember deaths from measles, Iron Lung wards and cripples from polio, deaths from Whooping Cough. Those are much bigger risks than autism.

Maybe I have warped outlook. I did pretty well on polio. We though I missed it until a few years ago when I started having Post Polio Syndrome. I don't know how much Polio shortens your life but I had 4 friends that gimped along because of it in the 60's. I am 64 and none of them are left now. Of hand I know 2 people that died from tetanus, I didn't know an aunt that died of Whooping Cough when she was 6 lost 4 friends to polio, 5 from heat stroke, 4 from gun shot and 8 in car wrecks over the years. I know of one child that may be autistic that is the grand child of a friend I made 5 years ago. That's not a scientific sample but I think it put the risk in perspective.

GC

[glb1969]

No one here is defending "big Pharma", those who claim some are, are those with no cogent argument and incpacity to understand rational debate and the scientific method.

Over and over and over, those who have been brainwashed by Wakefield and his anti-vaccination brigade of anti-scientists distort the truth in a myriad of ways.

Take the story of forkaleb. While no one here will dispute that it is not a moving and heartbraking tale, in no possible way should that be miscontstrued as a "fact" or "evidence" that vaccinations are the root cause of this childs apparent social deteriation. It is precisely because forkaleb is not acting impartially or scientifically that they cannot understand how this is nothing more than an anecdote. No one could possibly make an accurate and impartial analysis of this situation after the fact, as the multiple possible other variables were not accounted for.

So, to forkaleb and all the other antiscientific brainwashed morons out there, learn some science or stop trying to cause trouble and distract people from the real solution here, science done within the scientific method. All else is just more of the same bunk being repeated over and over here.

[forkaleb]

For those naysayers to the link between vaccines and Autism, clearly you are uneducated as to what has happened. Everyone knows that vaccines can be dangerous and even deadly at times, if you are not at least educated to this fact, take off your rosey red glasses and read the package inserts to some of these recommended vaccines. That is why the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was started. This issue truly can only be understood by parents who's children have been injured or died as a result of a vaccine. Parents like me who fight very hard to recover our children from the damage with little or no support from main stream medecine have to educate ourselves. My child was normally developing until 16 1/2 months of age when I was pushed to vaccinate my child with a DT vaccine which contained Thimerosal. Within days we were back at the doctors as my son was ill, within 2 weeks he stopped speaking the words that he had aquired. Within 2 months he was diagnosed as Autistic. Why my son and maybe not yours? Genetic may predispose, and the insult may be accumulative. This is a much under researched problem due to the politics of the vaccine and big pharma. Educate youself now, stop calling well intentioned, educated parents and scientist ignorant and superstitious. Fail to educate and you shall eat crow!

[sy2502]

Amazing how many so well informed people come out of the woodwork in defence of Big Pharma when the chips are down.
Posted by DRinUK at 01:36 PM : Jun 11, 2007

I don't defend Big Pharma, I defend facts. If you hate Big Pharma so much that you are willing to believe bogus stuff just because it is against them, it's your choice. Wishful thinking doesn't make up for missing facts. Over and over again has it been proven that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Holding on to that notion isn't some kind of heroic stand against Big Pharma, it's plain ignorance.

[drinuk]

Amazing how many so well informed people come out of the woodwork in defence of Big Pharma when the chips are down.

Speaking of FACT Mike Farren. Tell us how many have died and where, let us have Your facts, name them!

Also Farren, finish your comments with regard to Wakefield, tell the readers of the final outcome to the charges and why they were dropped.

You achieve very little credibility and it is quite obvious where you are coming from.

check out www.heartspring.net vaccinations, you may learn something after watching the video.... I doubt though that you have the impartiality to agree.

[sy2502]

There is orders of magnitude more mercury in a can of tuna than in a vaccine, yet nobody points the finger to tuna salad sandwiches. Get your facts people! A quick and easy internet search will give you the amount of mercury found in everyday foods and in the environment versus what's in a vaccine.
This whole thimerosal travesty is the product of ignorance and superstition. What is worse is this charlatan Wakefield, who uses the desperation of parents of autistic children for his personal gain. Of course it is partially those parent's fault if they and their sick children are exploited, since their ignorance makes them easy prey, and in the age of information I would think there is no excuse for ignorance.

[mikefarren]

While you're Googling Andrew Wakefield, you might also Google for just why he was brought up on charges of fradulent behavior by the British Medical Association, and just how many children died of various extremely preventable diseases because of the anti-vaccine panic he single-handedly created and the resulting drop in vaccination rates. Evidence, you say? Well, as far as I can tell, his assertions are completely fact-free, he provides no data to support them. Probably because he can't. Bare assertions, no matter how appealing to the knee-jerk "I gotta have somebody to blame" crowd, aren't evidence.

[glb1969]

DRinUK, I keep hearing anecdotal notations about the "research" this doctor has allegedly put together, but I keep failing to locate this information in a peer reviewed journal or other scientific publication, can you direct me to it? In reality, you cannot because his work is non proven, anecdotally based, and non-scientific, and non repeatable.

Lets stick to the facts and not suppositions by alleged experts with alleged research that supports their conclusions alone, and flies in the face of research done by accredited scientists at accredited research institutions that has been peer reviewed. To do otherwise is to adopt a scenario that goes against the scientific method.

And, in the off chance this Dr. Wakefield is anything less than a charlatan, please have him submit his work for inclusion in a peer reviewed journal. He should know better and know how the system works if he is anything more than a quack.

[Syndicate]

I would think if mercury caused autism then there would me no escape. Ever play light sabers with the mercury vapor florescent lights? One should also look at what the dangers of not being vacinated. I can only imagine what diseases could be caused by the measels virus. They now think MS may be caused by the chiken pox virus and it is the known cause of shingles. I have only one question for the DRinUK: How does mercury poision? How does it work?

[drinuk]

glb1969, One can hardly ignore the evidence of Dr Andrew Wakefield, scientifically challenged or not. Or is it that when you do hear the truth you wish to ignore it.

[glb1969]

Maybe we can finally put the thimerosol myth to bed. Science has defintively proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that mercury is not the culprit. While I certainly feel for those afflicted and affected by autism, the time has come to stop the pointless litigation and finger pointing, and do more studies to attempt to ascertain the true cause. At least this will hopefully silence the scientifically challenged who so far seem willing to ignore all the evidence.

[drinuk]

IWoods8, Go Google Dr Andrew Wakefield, you need look no further for a cause than vaccinations, MMR and all the other junk Big Pharma are making millions from having successfully conned the government into buying. Also check www.sweetpoison.com you may find the site very helpful.

[drinuk]

IWoods8, Go Google Dr Andrew Wakefield, you need look no further for a cause than vaccinations, MMR and all the other junk Big Pharma are making millions from having successfully conned the government into buying. Also check www.sweetpoison.com you may find the site very helpful.

[lwoods8]

I wished that they would find out what has caused this disorder in our children. I have a little boy that has autism and it is bad. He is in 3rd grade but on pre-k level. And just think he is going to go on through life with this. They need to find the problem and fix it or come up with some kind of meds, that will help them to over come this long journey.

[drinuk]

The very first judgement the court should make is that of impartiality. Every single person involved in this case, the Judge, Jury, Lawyers and most importantly the so-called government experts, should have to prove beyond doubt that they have not the slightest involvement with Big Pharma. No Stocks or Shares, No previous consultancy employment and No freebies of any nature, however small. Not to mention Institutional funding to Universities, research centre's or hospitals.

There is a wonderful British guy working in Texas named Dr Andrew Wakefield. His evidence should be in the forefront of this investigation, having said that the guy will need a posse of bodyguards to protect him because there are those who would be pleased if they never heard his name again.

Day after Day we hear of yet another very suspect drug of one type or another, all approved by the FDA. It is they along with Big Pharma would should be standing in the dock today, the incestuous relationship between them is killing and maiming. It surely is time for a total clearout at the FDA.