jenny mccarthy wants your kid to get measles: autism, vaccines, and stupid idiots

They recanted: good.

That it took them eleven years to do so: bad.

That Wakefield even did that in the first place: wtf people.

You know, though, that is what I love about good scientists: their humility. I mean, can you imagine a religion or a politician coming back 11 years later and being like, "oops lol that was wrong, sorry"?

Dr. Wakefield is probably Jessica's son.

Let us not forget these brave men and women who held their ground against relentless Illuminazi pressure for eleven years.

Some sanity returns:

Thousands of parents who claimed that childhood vaccines had caused their children to develop autism are wrong and not entitled to federal compensation, a special court ruled today in three decisions with far-reaching implications for a bitterly fought medical controversy.

The long-awaited decision on three test cases is a severe blow to a grass-roots movement that has argued -- predominantly through books, magazines and the Internet -- that children's shots have been responsible for the surge in autism diagnoses in the United States in recent decades. The vast majority of the scientific establishment, backed by federal health agencies, has strenuously argued there is no link between vaccines and autism, and warned that scaring parents away from vaccinating their youngsters places children at risk for a host of serious childhood diseases.

The decision by three independent special masters is especially telling because the special court's rules did not require plaintiffs to prove their cases with scientific certainty -- all the parents needed to show was that a preponderance of the evidence, or "50 percent and a hair," supported their claims. The vaccine court effectively said today that the thousands of pending claims represented by the three test cases are on extremely shaky ground.

Awesome

Problem is that it won't necessarily change much in the believers' minds, at least. Vehemently held paranoid beliefs tend not to be arrived at thru rational thought, and as such tend not to be changed by such minor things like facts or actual reality.

In other words, it ain't gunna change the folks who call into Coast to Coast AM about this.

it'll just intensify their persecution complex, probs :(

Oh, no question -- it'll all be seen as part of the 'conspiracy' or whatever. But something like this is still good to see.

conspiracy theories are gonna abound now

xp

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/02/safeminds-response-to-autism-omnibus-court-decision.html

Ugh I was reading a women's mag the other day and it had this several-page article on young up and coming slebs doing good work, charity etc. Amongst people working with the UN and whatnot was this fucking cow, with an article going on about her work against vaccines "due to an additive in them that is believed to cause autism".

The fact these falsehoods get so casually spread about in the general media and lauded as someone doing good is so disappointing.

that comments section is filled with straight up RETARDS

/pipecock

"yes, i am doing my part by ruining science and the health of children in general"

i hope this particular conspiracy theory is more 9/11 truthers and less jfk w/r/t how much it permeates mainstream opinion

I think having actual findings out there that are like 'srsly this will not curb autism, it will just help your kids get deadly diseases' will stop people who were on the fence about it & maybe make the crazies seem like they are indeed crazies.

oh goody comments! there weren't any when i posted that

Wow, I'm generally jaded about net.cranks but the ageofautism.com commenters really do makes the Above Top Secret forums look like William F. Buckley

Oh the temptation to go there and post "dont come crying to anyone when your child dies of a measles complication". So... want ... to.

Do we trust them now to take care of our kids? PLUEEZ.

PLUEEZ

Where does this "surge in autism" come from anyway? I dont know *anyone* with autistic kids, but I know plenty of self-diagnosed geek twits telling anyone who'll listen that they're aspie.

Age o' Fautuism

trayce i doubt that comment would get past their mod police, i imagine they only allow certain types to get past (imo)

i.e. ones that support their opinion

haha if you posted an antagonistic comment i'm sure you'd get an email in reply saying "YOUR I.P ADDRESS HAS BEEN LOGGED!!!!!"

There is no surge in autism, I believe there is a general rise in cases but this does not coincide with the introduction of MMR.

and your field of expertise is....

Blog reading!

The Internet, M.D.

; D

everyone's area of expertise is anecdotal evidence

lolz =)

Yeah TBH we're as bad as they are cos we go on what we read but at least its the bloody Lancet.

http://www.mwscomp.com/mpfc/tfgumby.gif

Brain specialist, yesterday.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with considering first-person accounts as long as you bear in mind there are 8 billion of them.

i read the abstract of a paper that suggested the 'general rise' in autism has to do with the public awareness of the importance of folate levels in expectant mothers, the widespread supplementaion of which led to more full term births of infants with certain brain disorders??

BAHAHA Trayce.

"No, the brain in your HEAD."

Oh man, elmo, that means my 'Folic Acid is for Everyone' shirt is responsible for all this.

I don't know what distinction you're making, but I think the documented rise in diagnoses is what people are referring to when they say "surge."

(Obviously there are whole discussions to be had about whether it's not better diagnosed -- as in "caught more often" -- or overdiagnosed or whether there's actually a higher incidence.)

^^ sorry, that was to ledge

lol see for those anti-vaccination rocket scientists it's much easier to point to something as tangible as an INJECTION of a FOREIGN SUBSTANCE

We talked about that upthread, how autism is diagnosed at an age where the only real child-related events people can point to are gestation, birth, and vaccination

Yeah I am assuming its not that theres more autism but rather more "oh this is autism" diagnoses rather than "oh the kids retarded".

rather rather rather

Obviously there are whole discussions to be had about whether it's not better diagnosed -- as in "caught more often" -- or overdiagnosed or whether there's actually a higher incidence.

― nabisco

overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed overdiagnosed

I don't know what distinction you're making, but I think the documented rise in diagnoses is what people are referring to when they say "surge."

ok, I was presuming 'surge' is used to imply a specific, large, and unprecedented rise, since the introduction of MMR; instead of a gradual rise since, like, whenever, probably.

I do not see a way to lower profits for Pharma anymore. I see this is a gold mine for both Pharma and the vaccine court's fund. I see a mad rush of parents that may have been on the fence, to the doctor for "catch-up" shots. The vary same thing that put My Liam over the edge. I can not express my sadness.

Posted by: Matt Flynn | February 12, 2009 at 05:08 PM

Matt's link goes to this http://www.sophisticatering.com/