Vaccine Court Awards Millions to Two Children with Autism

From Huffington Post's David Kirby.

The federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, better known as "vaccine court," has just awarded millions of dollars to two children with autism for "pain and suffering" and lifelong care of their injuries, which together could cost tens of millions of dollars.
The government did not admit that vaccines caused autism, at least in one of the children. Both cases were "unpublished," meaning information is limited, and access to medical records and other exhibits is blocked. Much of the information presented here comes from documents found at the vaccine court website.

For the Herd's Sake, Vaccinate

Dr. Steven Weinreb, a high school friend, had an oped in The New York Times yesterday. It makes a lot of sense. I realize there are so many families who truly believe that vaccinations gave their child autism. But maybe they should think again.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- I have chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Three months ago, I underwent an allogeneic stem-cell transplant, in which my wise, 52-year-old white blood cells were replaced by bewildered, low-functioning cells from an anonymous European donor. For the next seven months or so, until those cells mature, I have a newborn’s immunity; I am prey to illnesses like chickenpox, the measles and the flu.
These diseases are rarely fatal, unless you’re a newborn or someone with a suppressed immune system like me. My newborn buddies and I do have some protection, however: the rest of you.

Vaccine Debate Troubles Parents

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- For some people, vaccinating infants and children against preventable disease is a part of childhood, like baby teeth and tricycles.
But critics say vaccines cause more harm than good. Vaccinations can have dangerous physical side effects, they add.
Such conflicting messages can create a dilemma for parents as they wonder what to believe.
A national survey released in June of 376 households found that 80 percent of parents are uncomfortable getting their children vaccinated. Still, 95 percent said they would get the vaccinations.

MacNeil's 'Autism Now' Series Renews Debate on Link to Vaccines

It's been nearly 16 years since Robert MacNeil stepped down as co-anchor of public television's much-celebrated "NewsHour." Who would have thought his return to the show in recent days would bring not just a measure of acclaim but also a charge that the famously evenhanded newsman has been "reckless and irresponsible"?
That's been the response to MacNeil's six-part "Autism Now" series on PBS, an assignment that brought the retired newsman back into the fold to help him, and others, better understand people like his grandson, Nick, who is autistic.
Here's MacNeil's response from last night's PBS Newshour.

Supreme Court to Consider Vaccine Case

The safety of vaccines is at the heart of a case expected to be heard on Tuesday by the United States Supreme Court, one that could have implications for hundreds of lawsuits that contend there is a link between vaccines and autism.
At issue is whether a no-fault system established by Congress about 25 years ago to compensate children and others injured by commonly used vaccines should protect manufacturers from virtually all product liability lawsuits. The law was an effort to strike a balance between the need to provide care for those injured by vaccines, some of them severely, and the need to protect manufacturers from undue litigation.

Autism Speaks Softens Message on Vaccines

From an interesting Web site - leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk

Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy group, recently made its clearest public statement yet that minimizes the link between vaccines and autism.
Mark Roth discussed a recent statement from the Autism Speaks website by Dr. Gerri Dawson, Autism Speaks’ chief science officer. He quoted Dr. Dawson as stating:
“So … given what the scientific literature tells us today,” she says, “there is no evidence that thimerosal or the MMR vaccine cause autism” and “evidence does not support the theory that vaccines are causing an autism epidemic.”

Autism Rate Now at 1 Percent of All Children?

From David Kirby of The Huffington Post
A pair of federally funded studies on autism rates is about to make news -- big news -- and it isn't good: It would appear that somewhere around one percent of all US children currently have an autism spectrum disorder. The rate is even higher among six to 11 year olds and among boys, according to data from at least one of the new studies.
If you are an expectant parent, or planning to have a child soon, you might want to sit down before absorbing these staggering statistics, recently released by the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), which is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
According to data from the 2007 telephone survey of parents of nearly 82,000 US children, the odds of a child receiving an ASD diagnosis are one in 63. If it is a boy, the chances climb to a science fiction-like level of one in 38, or 2.6% of all male children in America.

Top Federal Autism Panel Votes for Millions in Vaccine Research

Huffington Post article on a decision made last month that has received little or no media attention.

The Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) has voted to recommend earmarking millions of dollars in research funds from the Combating Autism Act of 2006 to study the possible role of vaccines in the causation of autism. The panel also proposed spending an additional $75 million to study a wide variety of other environmental factors in autism, possibly including parental age, infections, heavy metals, neurotoxins, occupational exposures and "other biological agents."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/top-federal-autism-panel_b_155293.html