Comments on: How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders?

Sharyl Attkisson Investigates Vaccine Advocates Taking Funding From The Companies Whose Vaccines They Endorse

[dcarmela74]

Yes, vaccine''s can cause autism. My son was completely normal with language and then had his last set of vaccination''s. Struck a 105 fever within hour''s of his innoculation and lost all of his language and descended into regressive autism from the vaccination. From that point on my child became sicker and sicker with nightly wakening''s cramping in a ball because of all of the damage to his gut, which he never had previously to the *** shot''s! We are complete proof that vaccine''s can cause Autism. How many of these exactly same story''s will it take to make some of you people believe the connection!
All they do is deny it and add more vaccine''s to the schedule for pure profit, I wonder if they give these vaccine''s to their children??? Until it happen''s to your normal child, you''ll probably never believe it!
Thanks for the great coverage on this important issue!

[gmp105]

Thank you very, very much CBS News and Sharyl Atkisson! Finally the truth about these conflicts comes forth. We desperately need full disclosure on these types of financial conflicts. Once people know whose side these "independent experts" are on, they will begin to see through the lies.

We need large-scale, independent, randomized controlled trials to put this issue to rest. The researchers must have no financial ties to industry. The best way to study this is to compare a large group of totally unvaccinated children (which does exist in the US) with an equally large group of fully vaccinated kids. Let''s have the truth.

Why is the AAP and Dr. Offit afraid of this type of study? Every other study on this subject was funded by the CDC and the vaccine industry, and the researchers had severe financial conflicts. We must do this the right way, now!

[autismnewsbe]

"Remember Thalidomide ? they defended that to the bitter end when thousands were affected."

Thalidomide wasn''t approved for use in the US. Get your facts straight, and watch who you''re calling scum.

[autismnewsbe]

"Flu is rarely deadly, measles aren''''t deadly, chicken pox isn''''t either. They are only inconvenient."

A flu epidemic killed over 100 million people in 1918-19. These days, most outbreaks kill the elderly and other vulnerable people. Measles kills over 300,000 people a year worldwide, and can cause pneumonia and brain damage. Small pox pustules can infect, leading to a systemic staph infection that can require hospitalization, and occasionally kills.

Spreading misinformation about an important public health program is more than inconvenient. It''s destructive and, quite frankly, inexcusable. If you don''t know what you''re talking about, you should post elsewhere. I suggest GOPUSA.com .

[lmarkssmith]

Thank you CBS news. I am glad someone finally reported the conflict if interest involving Dr. Paul Offit. Whenever he is quoted in a vaccine story (which is constantly) he never mentions that he is a vaccine patent holder and a paid consultant/spokesperson for Merck. I have written to many newspapers and tv stations about this conflict. The New York Times told me they didnt think his association with Merck was relevant to his advice on vaccines. When the bulk of Offit''s income and funding comes from the Pharmaceutical companies how can that be irrelevant.

[yellow651]

I''m not a medical research expert, but using the Amish as an example of anything but the connection between inbreeding and birth defects seems a little strange. They are a population isolated within a much large population that is almost 100% innoculated. There are no deseases being spread to them in the first place. I would think a better example would be the tribes of Africa or populations in India or China. Are they totally desease free?

[drinuk]

Too many Big Pharma insiders posting on here and talking absolute rubbish. Remember Thalidomide ? they defended that to the bitter end when thousands were affected. The defenders of the industry are simply paid to post on this and every other site, they are taking the dollar from Big Pharma and lying through their high teeth, Scum!

There are serious question marks over both MMR and Gardasil.

[lmarkssmith]

in response to estabwary I have never gotten the flu but a flu shot almost killed me in the Fall of 2005. I would have gotten better after 2 weeks of the flu, 3 years later I havent recovered from the shot. It is unfortunately a common reaction.

[h5mind]

The vaccine argument will never be effectively debated or investigated by the mainstream media-- there is simply too much collusion in big business today. So dismiss what you read, but consider common sense-- those populations which do not vaccinate, such as the Amish, show a much lower incidence for all illnesses, not just the disease vaccine is supposed to prevent. Rates for cancer, immunological disease, allergies, autism, etc have all skyrocketed in recent years in spite of ''modern'' medicines and vaccines. When morality is removed from the equation of what is profitable, all manner of wickedness invariably follows. Unfortunately, we are left to pay the cost with our health, our vitality, and our fortunes. Draw your own conclusions, but be aware that recent legislation prevents the public from suing pharmaeuticals giants for adverse-- even fatal-- reactions to their vaccines.

[kelliann5]

"But that''''s only because the HHS, in a misguided attempt to mollify some parent groups, let an anti-vaccine activist join the working group."

AutismNewsBeat:

Who exactly is this "anti-vaccine activist" that you are referring to that sits on the Working Group?

Kelli Ann Davis

[susanh6]

I can see why some readers here may be upset by the ties to vaccine makers, and I wish they would back off and let the medical community and government agencies do their job.(Meaning the medical folks have to say "not" to the handouts.) BUT that doesn''t change the science, which favors vaccines by a wide margin over the risk of disease. By the way, I have an autistic young adult son who showed signs of autism long before he met his MMR shot.

[autismnewsbe]

David Kirby''s list of those who have concerns that vaccines cause autism is wildly misleading. First, he refers to these individuals and groups as "the medical establishment", and includes politicians, insurance companies, a physician vaccine plaintiff, and a notorious anti-vaccine activist. His most outrageous claim of all is that some members of an HHS vaccine safety working group voice concerns about vaccines and autism. But that''s only because the HHS, in a misguided attempt to mollify some parent groups, let an anti-vaccine activist join the working group. That''s like letting *** Cheney join an ACLU working group on torture, then later claiming the ACLU has voiced doubts about banning torture.

David Kirby is a public relations consultant. He has an agenda, and seeks out evidence, no matter how discredited or misleading it may be, to make his point. He has no place in a serious, evidenceibased discussion of this importance.

[yellow651]

There is a difference between independence and objectivity. You can have one without the other. I''m old enough to remember when the papers were full of stories of children dying of the deseases that the vaccines have now almost totally eliminated. Would you prefer we go back to the higher child mortality rates? I question the hysterical reactions here. I would think your time and money would be better spent on finding even more effective and safer vaccines rather than questioning the motives of those who are manufacturing the drugs that have saved so many.

[drew1503]

Just watch your tv and read the newspaper because that is where the real news is, right? Look up people who own ALL major media in America, it is under 15. It is a business remember, they are out to make money. Those same names appear all throughout this so called conspiracy. Go on and keep thinking the companies that are out to maximize profit are out for your best interest and the same Government who takes ridiculous amounts of money and even CBS says the FDA is "broken" in a previous story. Or maybe we should trust the doctors who spend 3 minutes with us and our children but accept lavish gifts and other compensation from the same companies, yeah no conspiracy here, nothing to see move along. Is America that blind and naive?

[drew1503]

This is not an alien conspiracy theory and throwing out conspiracy word will not deflect the lies that have been told to the world and the American people. Tell me when does the government give you anything for free? Look up Bayer intentionally giving hemophiliacs drugs infected with AIDS, so what do they do? They send them to Europe with the Governments permission. Look up Operation Northwoods, the gulf of Tonkin, the USS Liberty, these are all declassified now and our own Government admits they were false flags.
This is from the London Guardian: Government officials were made aware of some problems with a version of the MMR vaccine in other countries but still introduced it in Britain in the late 1980s, newly released documents show.
The FDA have known since 2003 that HPV virus does not cause cancer, the vaccine does and increases your risk by 44%, it is in the package insert if you care to read it before injecting your child or yourself. EVERYONE has the HPV virus in their bodies and this "vaccine" can activate it. Look at the Amish rates of Autism, do some research and you will find the conspiracy you speak of is REAL and pretending all is ok and the Government that CNN admits lied to the American people over 700 times last year to tell you the truth and protect you, I think you are the one with a conspiracy, not the people with the evidence.

[rlford3]

For those who doubt a link between vaccines and autism, check out the following information provided by David Kirby--

Virtually all of the following individuals advocate, or have at least considered, exploring the possible links between vaccines and autism:

1) Three United States Senators
2) The next President (and possibly Vice President) of the country
3) The Director of the CDC (and her "open mind")
4) The former head of the NIH and the American Red Cross
5) The Chairman of a House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
6) A respected Pediatric Neurologist and Resident at Johns Hopkins University Medical School (Dr. Jon Poling)
7) The HHS Vaccine Safety Working Group
8) The CDC''s Vaccine Safety Research Agenda authors
9) Medical personnel at the HHS Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
10) The Strategic Planning Workgroup of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
11) The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network
12) Leading autism researchers at Johns Hopkins University Medical School
13) America''s health insurance companies

(The full article can be read at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/amanda-peet-vsmedical-sci_b_113817.html)

[cdr0302]

"Unvaccinated children are no healthier than vaccinated - and those being hurt by measles and other totally preventable diseases are far less healthy. Study after study shows - sorry guys, but your child would have gotten autism without the vaccine. It happens all the time to unvaccinated children - every study shows the same result, same percentage of autism in non-vaccinated children as vaccinated children. In the meantime, fear, paranoia, and lies from anti-vaccine people (who also have their own financial interests!) are leaving children vulnerable to deadly diseases, children are DYING because of this hysteria.
Posted by SusanHelit at 09:04 PM : Jul 25, 2008"

Show us even ONE study that compares the rates of autism in vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

[sparkil2]

The CDC wont do that study. The Amish who are for the most part unvaccinated and have almost no autism. There is a health care group in the Chicago area that limits vaccines- their autism rate is very low, along with their astma and juvenile diabetes. We dont say vaccines cause all autism but for some children with a predisposition, vaccines seem to be one the contributing factors.

[cdr0302]

"An unvaccinated child in my child''''''''s classroom sent pertussis home to my family and almost killed my child. My child is autistic and if I had it to do all over again, I would vaccinate without blinking an eye. Posted by YBotherAtAll at 10:01 PM : Jul 25, 2008"
The vaccine only prevents the vaccinated person from producing the pertussis toxin, which results in clinical infection, but it DOES NOT prevent the vaccinated person from carrying and transitting the pertussis bacteria to other people. In other words: the vaccine only protects the person who has been vaccinated from being sick. Vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike BOTH carry and transmit the b.pertussis bacteria.

[toldyouso12]

Excuse my skepticism. I find that impossible to believe, but I guess if you are fully convinced of a massive global conspiracy, then I suppose why not pull ALL governments, doctors, and scientists into the mix. That makes perfect sense.

I''''m wondering...all these people in on this conspiracy...do they not give their children vaccinations? That works out to millions of co-conspirators world-wide that have not vaccinated their children.

I can''''t wait to hear somebody address this little inconvenient tid-bit.

Posted by rjbates69 at 12:12 AM : Jul 26, 2008


It can''t be global. Many vaccines, antibiotics that we routinely use are not allowed to be administered that way in Europe, the reason is the fear of superbugs from over use of antibiotics (they are proving to be correct on that point) and some American vaccines and the way we produce them (using SPF chicken eggs or bovine fetal serum instead of FCS is not allowed in Europe. Then again, some of our vaccines are considered unnecessary and counterproductive in the long run.

[rlford3]

CBS and Sharyl Attkinsson--
Thank you for this very important news. It is about time the quote machine for seemingly every previous major news story on vaccines--Dr. Paul Offit--has been exposed for who he really is--a vaccine industry insider. Of course, I think he lost ground with most reasonable people when he said he thought it would be safe to administer 10,000 vaccines at once to infants!