EJsGirl said:
Precisely.
From the new book, Bad Medicine: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O, by Christopher Wanjek:
“Those who argue against vaccination have, unfortunately, lost the sense of how miserable life was before vaccines – how entire families were wiped out, how a husband and wife had ten children knowing that seven would likely die before reaching adulthood.”
(And that’s only one of many quotes related to the topic – I recommend the book highly.)
I think the lawyers are upset because an anonymous amendment to an unrelated bill is pretty sneaky. I’ve heard lawyers pursuing these types of cases recommend filing them with the vaccine compensation program as a way to wait to see whether evidence will develop to support a lawsuit.
Well, as discussed in another thread, http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=144382&highlight=vaccine there are two issues:
I always thought that attaching riders to bills was how the down and dirty (emphasis on dirty) of politics was played. Isn’t that why all Presidents want a line item veto? It is slimy but that is politics.
As to the whether or not it should have been done … it merely added the preservative to the items covered as part of the vaccine under the Vaccine Compensation program. Really how it should have been in the first place. It does not seal any records.
A lawyer upset because something is sneaky? Kind of funny.
Although many people here might think of me as the “pen guy” my current field of work and study is the treatment of individuals with mental and physical disabilities. Of the numerous clients I have worked with, a significant number suffer from Autism or related disorders such as Asperger’s Syndrome.
From the Autism Society of America:
“Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.”
Autism normally manifests itelf in the first three years of life and occurs in approx 1 out of every 500 people (which makes Autism more common than Down’s syndrome). Autism also affects four times as many boys as it does girls.
The jury is still out as to whether or not vaccinations play any role in the onset of autism, the MMR vaccine is typically given at the same time autism manifests itself so the correlation may simply be coincidental.
We do know that the numbers of individuals with autism is rising, the reasons for this are unknown and may be attributed to better and earlier diagnosis or other environmental factors. Other disorders and diseases such as ADD and asthma are also on the rise.
There is a genetic predisposition for autism:
“It is universally accepted that there is a considerable genetic element in the incidence of autism. The occurrence of so many families where multi-incidences of autism and related spectral disorders exist is compelling evidence. However, this is probably not the whole story. Even the strongest proponents of genetical research are now beginning to talk in terms of “genetic fragility or predisposition”. If, as seems highly possible, the incidence of autism is increasing, then factors other than the purely genetic must be implicated. Increasing reported levels of autism have been reported from many parts of the world but, as has been pointed out on a number of occasions, this may reflect no more that increasing awareness of the disorder and changing diagnostic criteria (Gillberg 1998a; Wing 1996).”
I work with a 40 year old man who was only diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome five years ago. What I find very interesting is that although his other siblings lead “normal” lives, his 2 brothers both seem to display autistic tendencies in varying degrees.
Another factor in diagnosis is that individuals with Autism may be easily mis-diagnosed as suffering from other disorders or learning disabilities. It is much easier to identify an individual with Down’s or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome syndrome because both affect the mind and the body. Autistic children can often be seen as poorly behaved or hyperactive with criticism being placed on the parents for failing to raise them properly.
Another theory is that there are a large number of un-diagnosed individuals suffering from Asperger’s syndrome who are getting along in normal society, we may look at them as being shy or eccentric or as people suffering from other mental illnesses. Bill Gates is one of my favourite examples as he meets the diagnostic criteria for a person suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. Temple Grandin is an animal behaviouralist and sufferer of Asperger’s syndrome. She lectures worldwide on this topic and she is also sure that Bill also suffers from the same disorder.
One cannot argue that vaccinations save lives and many of the fervent anti vaccine camp were not alive when many of these diseases caused untold deaths and disabilities.
At one time nearly everyone on the planet would have been exposed to smallpox in their lifetime, 90% of those people would develop symptoms and 30% of those people would die.
Measles still causes 770,000 deaths per year (worldwide) although the incidence of measles in countries that have adopted a vaccination program is very small. The U.S. had 40-50 cases of smallpox in 1999 and most of these were imported from countries without vaccination programs. It is the leading cause of vaccine preventable death. Measles is particularly dangerous as pregnant women contracting the disease have a high probabilty of having children born with severe birth defects. The mortality rate of measles is small in comparison with the high numbers of people who will suffer permanent disabilities such as blindness and brain damage.
Until the 1950’s Polio crippled thousands of children in North America, since the advent of vaccination polio is nearly extinct where vaccination programs are in place. The last reported cases of Polio in Alberta were a result of a small group of individuals who were opposed to any kind of vaccination contracting the disease from abroad.