Opinion Talk

By Ted P

March 20, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this

More research is needed. Recent finding that genes may have a larger roll needs to be explored. Could the vaccines some how “trip” the fragile gene into autism?

By hegelian

March 20, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this

Delete the needless ones from the regimen. Reduce the total from about 35 or 40 down to about the 5 or 10 most necessary. Never give more than 1 shot at a time. Wait until 2 or 3 years old before giving the first one. That will give the little ones immune system time to build.

By IKnow

March 20, 2008 12:23 PM | Link to this

http://www.generationrescue.org/vaccines.html

The link above offers three separate vaccine schedules for parents to consider.

The only solution to ending the autism epidemic is to change the national vaccine schedule.

As Mr. Kirby demonstrates, however, our health authorities are in denial and CYA mode. The schedule will not change until the CDC has new leadership.

In the meantime, I would advise a parent to take matters into their own hands. If this information were readily available 4 years ago, I don’t believe I would have a son today with autism.

Mr. Kirby, I can’t quantify how many parents you have helped keep their child from the autism trigger, but it numbers in the 6 to 7 figures. Bravo!!

By Mark

March 20, 2008 12:23 PM | Link to this

We have a public health bureaucracy that is running out of control with little regard to its true mission and the consequences of its behavior. Thanks David, for shining a light on this problem.

By IKnow

March 20, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this

http://www.generationrescue.org/vaccines.html

The link above offers three separate vaccine schedules for parents to consider.

The only solution to ending the autism epidemic is to change the national vaccine schedule.

As Mr. Kirby demonstrates, however, our health authorities are in denial and CYA mode. The schedule will not change until the CDC has new leadership.

In the meantime, I would advise a parent to take matters into their own hands. If this information were readily available 4 years ago, I don’t believe I would have a son today with autism.

Mr. Kirby, I can’t quantify how many parents you have helped keep their child from the autism trigger, but it numbers in the 6 to 7 figures. Bravo!!

By P. Rose

March 20, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this

There is only one vaccine schedule I am willing to follow. None! For Gods Sake, there are more problems with vaccines than just causing autism as if that isn’t enough. It has to be pretty obvious to all by now that CDC, NIH, FDA, Public Health Departments are in bed with the pharmaceuticals and the plan is to mandate any and all vaccines for our children. These idiots will stop at nothing, no amount of lawsuits will stop them. There is only one way and that is to refuse to vaccinate. There will never be a safe vaccine. As soon as they take one toxic substance out, they will add another. Here we are 15 years into to fight about the neuro toxicity of thimerisol. Is is out yet, NO! they are still denying it.

By Anne Dachel

March 20, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

The CDC has long ignored the explosion in the autism rate. As the numbers went from one in 10,000 in the 1970s to one in every 150 children today, they told us it just wasn’t happening. All the sick children were the result of “better diagnosing” by doctors and no real cause for alarm. They can’t tell us what causes autism. The only thing they know for sure is that it isn’t the vaccines.

Is it any wonder that Dr. Gerberding plans to ignore the Poling case too?

Anne McElroy Dachel
Chippewa Falls, WI USA

Member of the board of A-CHAMP http://www.a-champ.org

By FEDUP

March 20, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this

To those of you who are in denial, deny this: mercury exposure did not raise your kids’ IQ.

THIMEROSAL Hazard symbol: T+ = Very toxic
Criteria: Inhalation, swallowing, or absorption through the skin in very small amounts can cause considerable damage to health, and may sometimes be lethal. In the event of serious evidence of severe, possibly irreversible damage to health by single, repeated, or prolonged absorption. Precaution: All contact with the human body must be avoided. If you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately!

Symptoms of exposure to this class of compounds includes aphthous stomatitis, catarrhal gingivitis, nausea, liquid stools, pain, liver dis- order, injury to the cardiovascular system and hematopoietic system, deafness and ataxia. Exposure may be fatal. Headache, paresthesia of the tongue, lips, fingers and toes, other non-specific dysfunctions, metallic taste, slight gastrointestinal disturbances, excessive flatus and diarrhea may occur. Acute poisoning may cause gastrointestinal irritation and renal failure. Early signs of severe poisoning include fine tremors of extended hands, loss of side vision, slight loss of coordination in the eyes, speech, writing and gait, inability to stand or carry out voluntary movements, occasional muscle atrophy and flexure contractures, generalized myoclonic movements, difficulty under- standing ordinary speech, irritability and bad temper progressing to mania, stupor, coma, mental retardation in children, skin irritation, blisters and dermatitis [173]. Other symptoms include chorea, athetosis, tremors, convul- sions, pain and numbness in the extremities, nephritis, salivation, loosening of the teeth, blue line on the gums, anxiety, mental depression, insomnia, hallucinations and central nervous system effects [301]. Exposure may also cause irritation of the eyes, mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract [269].

By Wendy Fournier

March 20, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this

The CDC’s continued denial of the autism epidemic and refusal to address vaccine safety is disgraceful. How many more families will they destroy? How many more children will they dismiss as collateral damage before they finally admit that they are knowingly poisoning the children of this county - the children that it is their responsibility to protect? CDC and Julie Gerberding are miserably failing in their duties. Vaccine safety should be stripped away from CDC immediately and their Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices - which is chock full of members with financial interest in vaccines - should be disbanded. Ask your reps in Congress to support Congressman Dave Weldon’s bill (HR1973) to establish an independent agency for vaccine safety and get these pathetic, bought and paid for pharma reps away from our children.

By Gatogorra

March 20, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this

It’s unprecedented that this information is finally reaching the mainstream press. Had I heard a single whiff of the controversy before our twins were born in 2003, they wouldn’t currently be statistics. I’m only glad that people who are now planning to have children have an opportunity to head off disaster because of the few but outspoken advocates for children’s health who set the record straight about vaccine risks, such as David Kirby. New parents beware: short of losing a child outright (SIDS is linked to hypervaccination as well), there is no more grotesque heartbreak than seeing a child cognitively and physically disintegrate in your arms. Life is never the same. Though some paths of recovery from vaccine injuries are quite miraculous, it’s extremely difficult to bring about and I would rather that other parents were able to enjoy their children as they were meant to be. Better to read about it all in a book than to have to go through it— and David Kirby and others have provided this option. Don’t take it for granted.

By Maurine Meleck

March 20, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this

Tens of thousands of members of the autism community know that vaccines caused their childrens’ autism and we are NEVER going away until the government admits (what it already knows) that there is a connection between vaccines and autism. It’s way past time for the everyone to recognize what has happened to our children in the last 20 years and how they were poisoned. Let’s stop more autism and let’s take care of the children who already so sick. We need everyones help. Support Congressman Weldon’s bill and stop this charade by assuming that vaccines are safe because the CDC said they are.

By Melissa Dixon

March 20, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this

Kids were poisoned by the thousands. The government knows it. There’s an old saying. “Murder will out.” Sooner or later, the truth always comes out, and at long, LONG last, the dam is finally starting to burst on this horrible medical travesty. Future generations will be ashamed and horrified at what has been done to an entire generation of children. David Kirby is a hero. Support the Weldon bill. Demand accountability from our government. Give money to autism advocacy groups such as the HEAL Foundation. Raise hell!

By Mike Dow

March 20, 2008 1:21 PM | Link to this

I refuse to believe that Julie Gerberding is grossly misinformed which would mean that she is either stupid or evil…or both. Many parents were pleased when Dr. Gerberding announced she was finally going to seperate the vaccine “watchdog” department away from the vaccine “promotion” department of the CDC, only to suck it into her own office where sleeping dogs are allowed to lie. The CDC has too many conflicts of interests and it is time for Dr. Gerberding to go!

By Lucille Willoughby

March 20, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this

Why do humans think that they can get something for nothing? Or that tinkering with Nature will have no consequences.

I suspect one of the reasons for the high incidences of autism may be the simple fact that our children aren’t dying like they used to. Rubella, measles, polio, whooping cough, typhus, scarlet fever, mumps, smallpox, chicken pox, all of these diseases are either extinct or nowhere near as deadly as they once were. As cruel as it sounds, these diseases took out a percentge of the population that was either naturally weak or otherwise impaired immune systems. Perhaps autism is the price you have to pay for an infant mortality rate that is close to “zero”, not because the vaccines create the condition, but because they all children who would have otherwise died of rubella or mumps to age enough that the condition is noticable. It’s like the spike in Alzheimers—as technology (and not genetics)allows more and more of us to live well into our 90s, if not 100s, we’re seeing more of this disease. Is it simply because there is more Alzheimers, or is it simply we’re no longer dying too young for the disease to manifest itself?

Whatever Man wrests from from one hand, Naure eventually takes back from the other.

By CHARLES A HOOVER

March 20, 2008 1:41 PM | Link to this

The CDC has for years ignored the pleas of parents from coast to coast begging them to openly and without prejudice investigate the vaccine autism connection. This has not happened. Children vaccination rates will decline and the CDC has no one to blame but themselves.

I’d like to think of this as the “Verstraeten Phenomenon” in honor of the CDC epidemiologist who first identified that there was an autism-vaccine connection but whose data was twisted to hide the truth.

Charlie

By WeWillPrevail

March 20, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 - 1860)

I think that as soon as we can get through the violently opposed stage…we can move on to healing our children and preventing future harm both in the U.S. and to all those unsuspecting, well-meaning countries around the world that purchase/use our vaccines and follow our vaccine schedule.

By Garbo

March 20, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this

What should be done? The people responsible for the cover-up of vaccine damage to infants and children should be rode out of town on a rail, sent to jail, and forced to sell their pharma holdings and donate the proceeds to families affected by autism, that would be a good first step. And the required vaccine schedule should be limited to highly transmissible, deadly public epidemic-type diseases like polio, not lifestyle diseases like Hep B or HPV, or childhood diseases like chickenpox that are largely harmless. And the flu vaccine, which doesn’t really work on either old people or children and this year doesn’t seem to work on anyone at all because the formula doesn’t match the disease, should be abandoned altogether. It’s dangerous and it’s ineffective. All remaining vaccines, whether for children or adults (including deploying soliders) should be made safer by removing dangerous neurotoxic adjuvants like mercury and aluminum. No combinations of vaccines should be given concommitantly unless they have been specifically tested together for unexpected interactions.

By joe harris

March 20, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this

The NIH needs to practice what is written on thier building like they once did, when they had integrity.

“The right to search for truth implies also a duty.

One must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true.” Albert Einstein (engraved on National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C., location of NIH & IOM)

By Keith

March 20, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this

It seems now that through the vaccine court and HHS documentation that public health officals are aware of what has and can happen with a one-size-fits-all multiple vaccine schedule.

If they continue to insist on doing this to the public and more are harmed -

can criminal charges be filed?

By joe harris

March 20, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this

Please understand, this massive mercury poisoning is very embarrasing to the medical establishment. The truth is comming out, the jeanie is out of the bottle. There will be no putting it back in.

By Keith

March 20, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

Now that the HHS and Vaccine Court documentation has verfied injury and public officals are aware..

if the public health officals at the CDC and Vaccine Advisery boards continue their program of a one-size-fits-all application of multiple vaccines

…where can criminal charges be filed?

By Denial IS Easy

March 20, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

Are you “Lingering in Denial”?

Why are US vaccine ingredients toxic poisons on the Material Safety Data Sheets? Why must doctors dispose of them as biological hazards but it is OK to inject them into humans?

Humans don’t have a shortage of thimerosal/mercury or aluminum…

Before you object, do your own research and don’t blindly follow what you are being told by a government that has had some issues with telling the truth…

And by the way, if you continue to believe the CDC, there are several gifts from the government for you - flu shots with mercury and aluminum -can you say Alzheimers and Parkinsons?

By Garbo

March 20, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

The spike in Alzheimers, the spike in ALS, the spike in asthma, the spike in autism, the spike in lupus, the spike in MS, the spike in Crohn’s disease, the spike in deadly food allergies, these are not just coincidental. These autoimmune diseases have similar underlying features. Maybe they are all triggered by environmental causes, whether vaccines or environmental pollutants like lead, mercury and pesticides. Our kids are the proverbial canaries in the coalmine. We may not be able to control with any certainty what’s in the air or water, but we can darn sure control what gets injected into their bodies. Lucille, it’s one thing to say that sick or weak kids would have died of other diseases anyway, but you are ignoring the fact that ALL of these kids are presenting with a very similar array of medical symptoms. It’s not random, they aren’t succumbing to different illnesses — they are all presenting with the same illness. This number of 1 in 150 autistic kids isn’t made up out of thin air, and it didn’t start back in the 60s and 70s when I was young and vaccinated, it started to present as an epidemic in the 1990s when the vaccine schedule was expanded. It’s not a passive coincidence — something is being done TO them to make them sick. All parents want is the truth — the CDC should open their files, including the original data sets of the Verstraeten study and the incidence reports in the VAERS database, to all researchers.

By W. John Martin, MD, PhD.

March 20, 2008 2:03 PM | Link to this

Dear Readers, I have previously presented information that autism is caused by congenital infection with structurally altered viruses that lack the relatively few components targeted by the cellular immune system. Such viruses have been grouped under the generic terms stealth and stealth-adapted.

Kind regards, W. John Martin, MD, PhD. Institute of Progressive Medicine, www.s3support.com, s3support@mail.com

By Wilsonny200

March 20, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this

Does anyone know if the CDC has been asked for a formal reply to the issues raised in this OpEd? Is anyone out there going to try, I wonder?

By Tim Kasemodel

March 20, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this

Any drug advertising is required to list its side effects and those who have any underlying disorder which would mean that drug is “not right for you”. Catch any “Abilify” ad for a great example. Vaccines are apparently exempt from this requirement.

The health agencies charged with our protection encourage us to be understandably cautious when taking any oral medication. Yet they expect us to be brainwashed into believing that any injected vaccines are as safe as water, for everybody.

We willingly bring our children, born and unborn, to our trusted doctors for vaccinations to keep them as healthy as possible. I only ask that they show as much concern for conditions that may make any vaccine “not right for this child” as they do for the prevention of childhood disease. The only way to do that is to step back and re-evaluate the childhood vaccines schedule.

Parents around this country are “understandably cautious”. This is not about irrational fear, it is about common sense.

It is time for a little common sense in Atlanta. And time for change.

By cynditk

March 20, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

Thanks David Kirby for standing up for justice and speaking for the thousands of parents who wouldn’t otherwise be heard!

By TheProbe

March 20, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this

Based on my reading of the comments, the children were born with defective genes, as their parents are clearly defective.

What a bunch of morons. Incredible. This country is doomed.

By Sean Brown

March 20, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this

God bless David Kirby. This man has stood up for our families and our children for years and we owe him so much. David has brought this nation to the brink of acknowledging a truth that was originally destined to be swept under the rug by our own CDC.

Right now it feels like a warm, sunny, summer day and we’re gathered at the carnival where Julie Gerberding is seated on the wooden platform at the Dunk Tank. Mr. Kirby is on the lawn, warming up his pitching arm and his 110 mile per hour fast ball. Our families have all gathered round underneath a shady tree to watch this spectacle, enjoying our wheat/gluten/dairy/casein/food dye/preservative/sugar free picnics, while we anxiously await Mr. Kirby’s next pitch. You can feel the excitement in the air as our hero glares at the red bullseye painted over the dunk tank’s release arm. Imagine a hush coming over the crowd (one would have to imagine this because, well, our kids are autistic and have no concept of the word hush). The next pitch is due and, as we all know, Mr. Kirby hasn’t missed yet.

Again, David, “Thank You!” With your help we can hopefully recover some of those warm, sunny summer days we’ve lost to autism. Once we do, let’s take the kids to the carnival.

By John Best

March 20, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

Nine years ago, the CDC’s Thomas Verstraeten told us that vaccines caused autism. Thanks to that information, some of us are curing our autistic children.

Since we already know the truth, Gerberding should stop trying to hide it and fund treatment for all people with autism today. Autism sucks, let’s get rid of it.

By Kim Stagliano

March 20, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

David, thank you. As the mother of three children with autism, we need your voice. The CDC, AAP and virtually every mainstream doc in America has written off our children as a “genetic anomaly.” Several swear words come to mind, none printable in a family blog. SOMETHING has caused the autism epidemic. CDC darn well better crawl out from under their rock and start turning over rocks. In the meantime, lets keep throwing “rocks” with op-ed pieces like yours. Thank you to the AJC for the bravery to print your piece. NYT? What a joke.

Kim Stagliano Managing Editor: ageofautism.com Huffington Post Blogger kimstagliano.blogspot.com

By Action NOW

March 20, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this

Remember when Tylenol was poisoned - how fast that company pulled it off the shelves - did a complete recall?

Why can’t the CDC, FDA, NIH, AAP be that ethical? Where is their urgency? Have they forgotten “First, do no harm”?

We need the truth about vaccine safety.

Six small steps for humankind. Please.

By Leslie Weed

March 20, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this

I am the mother of a beautiful 10 year old daughter who is impaired and silenced, poisoned by the bolus overdose of mercury (before the reduction) via vaccines she received. The United States has been hit with the greatest medical crisis among young children in modern history. We are experiencing a full fledged EPIDEMIC. If autism were contagious the black helicopters would be hovering and the sirens would be sounding! Autism is not from the neck up, these children are sick, they have underlying illnesses, auto-immune diseases, oxidative stress and are neurologically impaired. All the underlying illness and neurological damage these children suffer from point directly to neuro-toxins in the vaccines specifically mercury. To mandate over 30 vaccines on an over crowded vaccine schedule wreaks havoc on our most venerable and is extremely unsafe.

As a parent of a child swept up in this epidemic, I am outraged at the total lack of effort or response from “health” organizations, the CDC, HHS and AAP. Julie Gerberding, leading the CDC (deemed to “protect”) has coldly sat idle in the wake of this horrific tragedy. Ms. Gerberding has turned her back on families and children refusing to investigate the sick children themselves. Gerberding needs to quickly be replaced with someone who will protect our children and champion this cause.

The government agencies try to pacify parents by insanely throwing millions of dollars into genetic research. It is like trying to find a gene for a lung cancer patient, while that person is struggling holding on to life, and offering them no help. We need to treat the illnesses these children have while they are sick, and investigate the root cause which is obviously triggered by toxic environmental exposures. Many children are receiving bio-medical treatment and are recovering. Why isn’t some one looking at these recovered children. It is time for the medical community, pharmaceutical/vaccine manufacturers, and the government agencies to fess up to this atrocity and clean up this toxic mess they have created. The future of our children and this nation depends on it.

Thanks David Kirby, you are a great voice for my daughter.

Leslie Weed HEAL Foundation Healing Every Autistic Life

By joe harris

March 20, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this

A simple Google search will net you a wealth of research, that heavy metals and toxins as ingrediants in the vaccines for example: just ethyl-mercury in Parts Per Billion comming in at 32,500 PPB. liquid toxic waste is a wopping 200 PPB it would take a fool to defend 32,500 PPB, and it can cause mitochondria dysfuntion, it would take a fool to dispute this. You see they deplete the glutathion in the mitochondria. we now know, the mechanisim that caused the depletion of our childs glutathion, it was as we thought.”Vaccinations they contain at least four neuro-toxins: mercury, formaldehyde, MSG and aluminum hydroxide. All of which can and have caused mitochondrial disorders ” my son, like thousands of others have Labs proving mercury toxicity” I wish people could understand the synergy effect of the two salts mixed, murcury by it’s self will kill cells, then these bright bunnys added aluminum, they seem to work togather and become super toxins, and the killing factor then becomes x 10 now thanks to China, we can add lead to that. Any one know what three salts mixed, causes in nuron cell death ? reason, some children that are effected start chewing everything, all toys for how long? have contained lead and those children seem to be effected, and are the most damaged now we can factor in a study on testostarone: A Yale School of Medicine study shows for the first time that a high level of testosterone, such as that caused by the use of steroids to increase muscle mass or for replacement therapy, can lead to a catastrophic loss of brain cells. WOW! with all this nuron cell death, it’s a wonder that our kids can even think, Oh! yes thats right some can’t any more. and that’s courtsey of FDA, CDC, AAP, and now the so called prestigious IOM, Seems their sacrificing their good name, for the greater good AKA keeping filthy rich corporations that poison children from paying for the damage done to american children and to the children of the world . .

By ThoJ

March 20, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this

Having watched Mr. Kirby for some time, I can only say that I will wait to actually read the documents myself and hear the explanations myself. Mr. Kirby’s interepretations have been off in the past. Way off. This piece has far too little substance and far too much of Mr. Kirby’s interpretations.

This page has been linked to by a few of the groups promoting the idea that autism is vaccine injury. It should soon be flooded with similar calls for action.

One side note—it is a laugh-out-loud moment for those of us following this story to see Mr. Kirby scold anyone for mis-statements about how the court works. His own statements on the internet have sewn a a long trail of misinformation.

By Ricci King

March 20, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

Many thanks to David Kirby for his courage, vigilance, and journalistic integrity, with regard to writing about the relationship between immunizations and the increase in the cases of autism in the United States. And thanks also to the AJC for printing Mr. Kirby’s editorial.

As Mr. Kirby states, the Poling case is not unusual. In addition to the dozen or more autism related cases that have already been compensated in Vaccine Court, thousands of other families are reporting the same chain of events that led to Hannah’s autism in their own children diagnosed with autism. Mr. Kirby is providing a much needed voice in this matter, as when parents come forward to speak on behalf of their children, they are ridiculed or ignored by the medical community and our government. The CDC, and particularly Dr. Julie Gerberding, has maintained an ambivalence that has led to an unnecessary and preventable explosion of children suffering from autism. It is impossible to calculate the mental, emotional and financial devastation that the rise in autism has caused U.S. families, and our nation as a whole.

To add to the insanity of the matter, parents who sought to do what is best for their children, and followed the vaccine protocol, are labeled “anti-vaccine” when they come forward to describe the events that led to their child developing autism. Are parents supposed to be comforted that there are now only “traces” of mercury reported to be in childhood immunizations, along with aluminum, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, and a host of other toxins? Is it unreasonable to ask that research into the safety of the vaccine schedule be undertaken, since there is absolutely no research to determine the safety of giving the multiple vaccines that children today are receiving? Why would a new mother, who was instructed throughout her pregnancy to avoid eating fish, due to potential mercury contamination, trust a government who tells her that it is okay to inject her baby with “traces” of mercury?

Our current vaccine schedule is like a science experiment gone bad. We need to admit it, and stop making innocent children sick. But before we do anything, we need to send Julie Gerberding packing.

By Robin Nemeth

March 20, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

It is not just the government officials with the CDC who are guilty. It is the main stream media, which has refused to cover this for at least a decade, on the news, in between pharmaceutical commercials, while more and more children have been destroyed. It is the ‘philanthropic’ organizations like Autism Speaks, which have raised millions of dollars that they’ve used only to fund science that looks at genetics, and to silence anyone who tries to say ‘thimerosal’. It is the vaccine makers, marketing executives, nurses and doctors and others who are profiting, as we speak, from the administration of thimerosal toxic flu vaccines.

What did Americans think was going to happen when a whole group of people was denied the opportunity to seek redress in a court of law for harm that was done to them, without first going through the no fault ‘Vaccine Court’?

Money paid in vaccine damage settlements does not come out of vaccine manufacturer profits. It is paid out of a fund created through excise taxes that were levied on the vaccines that poisoned your children. Yes, you, as an American, got to pay to poison your own child, when you paid for those mandated shots. As long as the people who did this are not held accountable, more and more people will be destroyed while the people responsible profit. I would like to see congressional investigations. And then, something on the order of the Nuremburg trials. No fines, please. The guilty parties belong in prison.

Robin Nemeth

By joe harris

March 20, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this

this is to ThoJ answer any of my post, are you fool enough to defend 32,500 PPB when 200 PPB is liquid hazardious waste. And must be cleaned up by people in space suites. Maybe they the CDC FDA AAP and IOM think of our children as toxic dumps sites well that day is soon comming to an end do you hear the anger and wisdom comming from these post …

By Sue Swanson

March 21, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

* I sent the letter below to Dr Chip Harbaugh, a spokesperson for the AAP, last week. I have not yet received a response.*

Dear Dr. Harbaugh,

I am sure that you don’t remember me, but my two oldest children were patients of yours nearly 20 years ago at Children’s Medical Group. I saw you the other day on CNN as a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics talking about the vaccine/autism controversy. I am very interested in this issue, since my youngest child, an adorable 10-year-old boy, has mercury and lead poisoning, immune system dysfunction, many GI problems, and autism. (I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find that he also has a mitochondrial disorder, but we haven’t tested that – yet.)

I remember you as a very reasonable person, so I was hoping to hear some words of wisdom from you on vaccine safety. Unfortunately, instead you said quite a few things that are completely untrue, to which I must respond.

1) You stated that “thimerosal has not been used in childhood vaccines since 2001”. Although the CDC recommended that vaccines made after 2001 be mercury-free, there was never a recall on them. Routine scheduled vaccines with thimerosal and an expiration date of 2004 remained in use in doctors’ offices. The tetanus and flu vaccines continue to contain thimerosal. In 2006, our pediatrician recommended a tetanus vaccine for my oldest son, so I requested the mercury-free Decavac. Although the pediatrician insisted that they ONLY use mercury-free vaccines in her practice, the nurse “accidentally” brought out a multi-dose vial of tetanus vaccine that was clearly labeled “contains thimerosal”. Obviously, we declined. The CDC is now recommending the mercury-containing flu vaccine for not only infants and pregnant women, but all children up to age 18. This is unconscionable in my opinion, especially because the flu vaccine is of limited effectiveness. Most other vaccines still contain “trace amounts” of mercury, since thimerosal is used in their manufacture and then removed.

2) You stated that “the rise in autism is due to better diagnosis by pediatricians”. My son with autism regressed following his 18 months vaccines, after a long history of ear infections and ever-more-potent antibiotic treatments, just like Hannah Poling. His pediatrician tried to prevent us from seeking a second opinion from a developmental pediatrician, saying that his problems were due to hearing loss from the ear infections. We argued with her “Don’t deaf kids point and otherwise try to communicate?” but we were told that since he was a 5th child, the older children must be communicating for him. I ended up diagnosing his autism myself, by reading the DSM-IV criteria for autism and realizing that my son met EVERY ONE of the items on the list. He was later officially diagnosed by a pediatric neurologist, who spent 5 minutes with him and wrote “Dx: Autism” on her prescription pad. His pediatrician finally admitted “Well, I had only one semester of child development in medical school.” Do you honestly think this type of person has suddenly become able to diagnose previously hidden cases of autism? Today, anyone meeting my son, including the average 5 year old, knows immediately that something is very wrong with his functioning. This is NOT something that would have been missed 10, 15 or 20 years ago. I now have many friends and neighbors with children on the autism spectrum, but my son was the first person with autism I had ever met. There IS an epidemic, and its proportions are frightening.

3) You stated that you have patients “with mitochondrial disease and autistic-like symptoms, but NOT autism”. What definition of autism are you using? Since autism is defined by its behavioral symptoms, it is impossible to have “autistic-like symptoms” without having autism. That would be like saying a child has “ADHD symptoms” but not ADHD. Perhaps your point is that your patients’ autism has underlying biomedical causes. Have you considered the hypothesis that ALL autism has underlying biomedical causes? My son doesn’t have autism; he has mercury and lead poisoning, immune system dysfunction, many GI problems, and possibly vaccine-induced mitochondrial disease, resulting in autistic-like symptoms.

When a plane crash occurs, the FAA does not claim “This is an isolated incident. We are sure that all planes are safe.” They say “We will investigate the cause of this crash and determine how we can make flying safer for all.” In the case of a child whose autism was caused by her vaccines, why then do the CDC and AAP claim “This is an isolated incident. We are sure that all vaccines are safe”? These organizations should be saying “We will investigate this case and the thousands of other similar cases to determine how we can make vaccines safer for all.”

Until our government agencies stop lying to us about vaccine safety, my family members will never receive another shot. In the meantime, I will be spending all of my resources trying to treat my son’s vaccine-induced autism, and trying to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in other children.

Sincerely, Sue Swanson Brett’s mom

By Cindy Keenan

March 21, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this

Many thanks to David Kirby and AJC for this editorial. At a time when most journalists prefer to roll over as Gov’t lapdogs, it’s especially important to provide a forum for those brave enough to be true watchdogs. On behalf of our vaccine-injured children, I’m grateful for your journalistic integrity.

By LE

March 21, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

For a different perspective, check out this

By Suzanne

March 21, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this

Keep running David Kirby’s articles. He’s the only journalist out there doing anything on this important topic, and he’s calling the government on their lies and deceptions on the vaccine/autism link.

By Cole Joplin

March 21, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

As a former resident of Atlanta, I have to say how proud I am of this paper right now. It takes courage to stand up and say something is broken, and we need to fix it. The medical establishment and the CDC are not there yet. The method of vaccination is so core and established, it’s virtually a religion beyond the possibility of abuse. That is very unscientific. Fighting the growing number of affected families is not working. It also appears completely cold and unsympathetic. It should disturb anyone when they see physicians literally fighting to stop autism research. It literally looks like George Wallace in the doorway.

I have news for the doctors reading this: there is a tipping point of shear numbers of people, where your words will be tuned out, and doing nothing about autism is unacceptable. We are are getting closer to that point everyday. What will you do if the autism rate hits 1 in 50, or 1 in 10? We don’t need evangelists to say the problem isn’t there. We need scientists to collect all available evidence, and solve the problem.

By New mom

March 21, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

I wish I had studied vaccines as much as I studied carseats, cribs, strollers, etc. before my son was born. The “general” media dances around the subject. I challenge any AJC reporter (or any reporter at that) to research more, question more and report more. But I also know the media companies get major advertising $ from Big Pharma. So I won’t be surprised if the responsibility continues to fall on journalists like Mr. Kirby.

By CED

March 21, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this

Nothing in the vaccine business will change until people just stop vaccinating their kids. You can picket, hold up signs, try to fire people at the CDC, try to have laws change. News flash! It’s a big evil for-profit machine that brainwashes decent people. Nothing will change until parents simply educate themselves independently of their doctors and simply refuse these toxins. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait until your friend also refuses with you.
Just look at the last 50 years of medicine. Smoking was good for you. Lobotomies were great for mental disorders. Safflower and margerine were good for you. Formula for babies was great. Taking kid’s tonsils out was routine. Vaccines will soon go down in that history, and the machine will come up with something else to screw us up.

By wow

March 21, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this

The AJC isn’t standing up for anything. They’re sensationalizing a highly specific case that is NOT generalizable to most cases of autism. The piece by Kirby was an op ed, and Kirby’s claims are tenuous at best. Don’t just believe what Kirby says because it’s what you want to hear. Think for yourself for once!

Also realize that there are plenty of scientists out there studying autism and trying to find better treatments and understand the disease better. It becomes very difficult to do that in the face of the quackery that’s out there, the things that people want to believe despite there being no scientific evidence.

By Kids Doc

March 21, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this

From what I can read of his background, David Kirby is an investigative journalist. He is not a science writer. Before he writes an essay attempting to get into the nitty-gritty details of mitochondria and how immunizations may affect mitochondrial function, he should probably have consulted at least a biologist if not an expert on mitochondrial disorders. Based on the information he provides in this opinion piece, he shows no understanding of how mitochondria function. Along with the ID tag indicating Kirby’s background, there should probably be a disclaimer reminding readers that not only is he an investigative journalist, he has no scientific background. And people on the fence should pay close attention to the fact that he has written a book on this subject, and increased interest in this issue equals increased book sales equals David Kirby making money off of his wild claims and fearmongering. Now Kirby wants every infant tested for mitochondrial diseases before vaccines are given. If that was as easy, inexpensive, and high-yield as the routine newborn screening that is done in the hospital, it would already be part of the screening panel. But it isn’t. Mitochondrial diseases, as well as immunosuppressive diseases, are rare and extremely difficult to diagnosis, which is why children suspected of these diagnoses eventually end up being evaluated by specialists. And for parents who balk at seeing their small, fragile infants receiving injections, consider having numerous vials of relatively large quantities of blood drawn from their small, fragile veins to test for a disorder that is not common enough to screen for. In response to Kirby’s claim that vaccine stimulation of Hannah Poling’s immune system caused her current neurological status, this is the same individual who has previously claimed that thimerosal in vaccines weakens the immune system and the weakened immune system results in autism. “Gerberding was either grossly misinformed, or lying.” As others have pointed out elsewhere, this comment could just as easily, and more appropriately, be applied to Mr. Kirby. For Generation Rescue, SafeMinds, and other organizations and individuals who are urging parents to forgo immunization, here’s the Pepsi challenge. Put your money down and offer to reimburse the full medical and therapeutic costs accrued by any family whose child is affected by a vaccine-preventable illness. Mumps-related deafness, pertussis-related anoxia, polio-related paralysis, measles-related encephalopathy, Hib and pneumococcal meningitis, all are waiting to strike children when immunization rates to go down low enough. We saw one unimmunized child end up hospitalized in the recent San Diego measles outbreak, and thanks to the anti-vaccine propagandists, the real tragedy may just be beginning.

By AutismNewsBeat

March 21, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this

To Sue Swanson,

If you are familiar with the DSM-IV criteria for autism, as you say you are, then you should know that a child can present with some autistic symptoms, but not enough to qualify for a clinical diagnosis. Overlapping symptoms are nothing new. A person with a closed head injury, for example, can present with autistic-like symptoms. Acid reflux can be a symptom of indigestion or cancer. My left leg just went to sleep - does that mean I have a spinal cord injury?

By Ginger Taylor

March 21, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this

Thank you to the AJC for presenting a forum for openly questioning what is going on with the vaccine program.

We have gone way past the point of balance with vaccines. Too many, too close together, given to early, in combinations that have never been safety tested to kids with out screening them to see if their immune systems can handle the burden.

Parents are now at the point of screaming to the CDC, “Stop! Look at our kids! You are hurting them!” But the CDC arrogantly hears nothing and continues to add more vaccines.

Time for some common sense questions.

When I didn’t have Hepatitis of any kind, did my now autistic son really need three doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine before he was 18 months old? Did he really need the second and third shots after the first one gave him fevers, uncontrollable crying and GI problems? He is not at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and he is not an IV drug user, so why does he need it all all until he is old enough to even have sex?

Polio was eradicated from the US in 1979, did my baby really need three doses of the polio vaccine before he was 18 months old?

I understand that around 90% of kids vaccinated gain the immunity the first time they get a shot. Why am I not given the option of testing to see if he even needs more than one done of a vaccine?

There is no medicine (or even food for that matter) that is safe for everyone, but US vaccine policy has decided that they will just ignore that truth and prescribe the exact same medical regimen for vaccinations for every child, knowing full well that some will be permanently injured and a few will even die from it? (Check the injuries covered under the vaccine injury compensation program, one of them is ‘death’)

If the CDC, HHS and AAP have so little regard for the well being of my son as to blanket him with viruses and toxic additives with out checking to see if he might be at greater risk from the vaccines than from the actual diseases, then why in the world should I have any regaurd for them?

By Holly

March 21, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this

I’ll never trust the CDC or AAP ever again. I thought once the DPT was changed to the DPaT, vaccines were safe. Then I learned Oral Polio was being replaced with Inactivated Polio vaccine to prevent SV40 contamination giving kids brain cancer. I thought in 1999 the mercury was removed from the vaccine but that was just a suggestion. Then in 2001 my daughter has (8) seizures from the 7 shots she received at her 4 month well baby visit. Only then did I learn there were manufacturing problems at Wyeth’s PREVNAR plant. Our life has been holy hell since my daughter’s seizures and autism. My unvaccinated baby at 5 years old now has never had a sick visit. Go Figure.

By Genius

March 21, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

As usual David Kirby brings up several good points and as usual we are treated to fear mongering hysteria and name calling like this- “We saw one unimmunized child end up hospitalized in the recent San Diego measles outbreak, and thanks to the anti-vaccine propagandists, the real tragedy may just be beginning.’”

Surrounded by God knows how many thousands of developmentally delayed and autistic children and the anti vaccine safety people expect everybody to get teary eyed about one child being hospitalized.

Vaccine safety would be a top priority at the CDC if it was functioning properly and the article correctly points out that it is not. Parents should be concerned and informed. If vaccination rates fall it will because vaccine producers and our government failed to provide a safe product-forced it on millions and then lied their asses off to avoid responsibility for the damage they are responsible for. Blame will lie directly with them and their apologists. Gerberding must go. Vaccines cause autism.

By Ginger Taylor

March 21, 2008 12:01 PM | Link to this

Kids Doc,

Take a minute and read your post again, this time from the point of view of a parent.

Can you see how obvious it is to me, parent reading your post, that your priority is the eradication of a specific disease even it if comes at the expense of my individual child?

Can you see how ridiculous it is to a parent that you should argue to them that they should vaccinate their child, even if they believe it will harm their child, because that is what is best for everyone else’s children? “Put your baby at risk for permanent brain damage for the good of society!”

Do you really think that any responsible parent who cares a whit about their child will say, why yes! I think vaccines may cause autism, but if my child having to be institutionalized will save just one child from getting chicken pox, then it will all be worth it!”

I have said this before and i will say it again… my child is not an acceptable loss in your war against communicable diseases.

He is not a soldier, he is a baby. His right to be free of toxins that cause brain damage does not go away because we are worried that one kid in San Diego had to go to the hospital.

And one more tip, telling thousands and thousands of parents of children with severe, life long, neurological disorders that they should continue to vaccinate and encourage others to do it, because ONE child in San Diego went to the hospital with measles, and made a full recovery, is an insult that you don’t seem to comprehend. You are basically saying, “to heck with your weak children, our strong children might get sick”.

Not to mention the fact that you have judged Kirby with out reading his book (he has ongoing relationships with many medical professionals that he consults) and have declared only medical professionals are allowed to attempt to understand and make assertions about biological processes?

Do you see the arrogance in your message to parents like me?

Do you really think talking to parents like this is going to earn their trust and earn you more patients and win more people to vaccination?

Wait… one more thing. Go to pubmed, type in “thimerosal” and “mitochondria” and read the first couple of studies that come up. You will note that thimerosal causes mitochondrial dysfunction. Perhaps you should do a little more reading up on things before criticizing David Kirby.

By Kari Nelson

March 21, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

Kudos to David Kirby for telling it like it is!! As a parent of a vaccine injured child,I know the heartbreak of losing your child in the mercury fog. For those of you that have not been there,you are lucky! All we want is the truth!!

Kari Nelson

By UndertheRadar

March 21, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this

Wilsonny200 writes:

“Does anyone know if the CDC has been asked for a formal reply to the issues raised in this OpEd? Is anyone out there going to try, I wonder?”

Question 1: In the Works.

Question 2: Yes.

The CDC will be held accountable for their reckless remarks and lack of transparency on this issue….this is just the beginning.

By Theresa Wrangham

March 21, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

To Kids Doc,

FYI, SafeMinds doesn’t advocate for parents to forego immunization. SafeMinds advocates the use of mercury-free immunizations that are now available in ample supple and live up to the promise made 8 years ago by Federal agencies to use mercury-free vaccines in place of mercury containing vaccines. Political machinations keep that promise from being fulfilled, not shortages.

Vaccine induced autism just became a publicly documented reality for this nation and there is nowhere to run. There is no excuse for mercury’s continued use in our vaccine supply, and no reason to continue to expose our children to this dangerous neurotoxin.

The grave conflicts of interest that continue within CDC on the matter must also be resolved to restore confidence in the nation’s immunization program. One has only to read the transcripts from the Simpsonwood retreat to understand that a cover-up took place in the reporting of no-link and that there are vested interests involved in continuing that mantra. As far as fear mongering goes, Doc, you should perhaps refer to the CDC’s risk communication plan, which acknowledges that they have no problem in fear mongering to increase uptake of immunization before casting your stone at Mr. Kirby.

Additionally, please do not suppose that the costs associated with caring for autistic individuals is meaningless and of any less concern than the ones you have troubled to outline in your Pepsi challenge. Harvard studies would indicate otherwise, so perhaps you also need to be willing to take the Pepsi challenge – that price tag is about $3 million per child.

By the way, it is also reasonable to ask for testing of the vaccine schedule – it’s never been done. Yet parents who believe that testing is a good idea vs. letting their child be a guinea pig for OJT science are called unreasonable (that’s being kind, the name calling is usually worse); that is “Priceless”. Acknowledgement that a one size fits all approach is not in the best interest of our children, is also reasonable.

While herd immunity is endlessly spouted, I say, my child is not a lamb to be led to the slaughter, or a guinea pig for science. She is an individual deserving of respect and choice in medical treatment. Where she has been unnecessarily injured by medical treatment, she is entitled to reparation. Where thousands have been injured, policy must change to prevent future unnecessary injury. Until that happens, the immunization program will continue to suffer from parents, for a variety of reasons, opting out.

Maybe the CDC needs to work on their image problems, because the strategy of forcing us to immunize really isn’t working out. So perhaps some honesty and common sense should be considered, as trust is earned, not coerced.

Mr. Kirby raises valid points and is to be applauded for giving our community a much needed voice in this process. My family is grateful.

By Kids Doc

March 21, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

Genius, If you are what you say you are, you might be aware that Kirby’s piece was an opinion, not an “article”. Separate sections of the newspaper. An article reports news, an opinion provides a writer’s opinion. Unfortunately the AJC chose to publish a misinformed and dangerous opinion piece. In other news which I am sure will be taken as evidence of the vast governmental-medical conspiracy, the CDC did actually send out an alert on an increased incidence of seizures with Proquad, and then advised that children receive MMR and Varivax separately so as to minimize the risk of seizures. I don’t believe any physicians honestly and truly believe or state that vaccines are 100% safe and/or effective. But they have a pretty darn good track record when you look at infectious disease morbidity and mortality. Ginger Taylor, answers to your questions. Your infant may have been at risk for Hep B from IV drug use or sexual transmission, but he was at risk for transmission from being bitten by an infected child (or adult, for that matter), or from receiving a contaminated blood transfusion in the event that he required blood due to accident or surgery (you do believe that surgery is effective and that people who are bleeding out from accidents should receive transfusions?) Polio was eradicated from the United States, but we see large numbers of immigrants arrive in our country from places in the world where they are not fortunate to have been vaccinated against polio (or have refused vaccination thanks to paranoid fearmongers in their societies). The idea is that until polio is eradicated worldwide a la smallpox, it’s a good idea to eliminate the chance that your child will be affected. You actually do have the right to request that your child’s antibody titers be tested after the first immunization, or any subsequent immunization. Physicians who see children adopted from other countries do that routinely to make sure that the immunizations these children are recorded as having received were actually effective. And then you can retest your child’s antibody titers at regular intervals to make sure that he/she maintains that immunity. Keep in mind that these are blood tests, not stool or hair samples, so you’d be bringing your child in for blood draws every so often, which I’m sure they’ll appreciate (although you’ll be valiantly saving them from the horrors of being “lost to autism”. Cool, I just noted that Genius refers to people who support immunization programs as anti vaccine safety! Sorry, I hate to tell you that people who promote and provide vaccinations are anything but anti vaccine safety. Wake up and welcome to the real world.

By wow

March 21, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this

Along with Kids Doc’s comment, if your child is unvaccinated, be careful where you travel. I believe measles is still endemic in many parts of Europe, and Polio has been on the rise in many locations as well. Also keep in mind that if your unvaccinated child does catch one of those disease, they could spread it to infants that would be vaccinated (but aren’t old enough yet). So while your kid may survive whatever they picked up just fine, it’s possible, maybe even likely, that infant won’t. And YOU become responsible for that infant’s disease/death.

By Jeff Stone

March 21, 2008 12:52 PM | Link to this

This debate about vaccines and their impact on autism rates will not end until a vaccinated vs. unvaccinated study(s)is done. The CDC has said it’s not possible. Generation Rescue did a simple one without any problem. Nothing is going to change with the current HHS and CDC appointees at the helm. I hope that the next administration either convinces Congressman Dave Weldon to become head of HHS or allows him to vet the nominees. Then the study would be underway by next year at this time.

By Tim Kasemodel

March 21, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

Kids Doc,

I am not sure how our advocating a re-evaluation of how the vaccine schedule is implemented (timing, single vs. multiple, one size fits all, etc.) and eliminating exposure to neurotoxins could be such a provocative issue, or a threat to the immunization program.

Stating vaccines have a “darn good track record” is interesting considering that the VAERS could be seen as unreliable. My own son had a reportable reaction to DTaP that we reported to our Pediatrician (recorded in his file) but were discounted and went unreported to VEARS.

You say David Kirby wrote a “misinformed and dangerous opinion piece”.

Rather than go on long diatribe about how important vaccines are (Mr. Kirby has never advocated they are not) please address specifically what you deem to be incorrect or dangerous about his opinion?

If you want to show Ginger Taylor that you are not arrogant and me that you can have a reasonble discussion, bring forward any facts that support your assertions that Mr. Kirby’s OpEd is misinforming and dangerous.

I realize you are not obligated, but no reply would be very telling.

By Alison

March 21, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this

There are 9-12 possible other autism/vaccine-related concessions. We need the Poling documents released. We need access to the Vaccine Safety Datalink. We need congressional hearings on why this epidemic has been allowed to rage on. We need the CDC and FDA to be held accountable. We need the statute of limitations extended in the Federal Vaccine Court with a look back so that all injured children have a right to make claims and seek justice.

By genius

March 21, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this

Kids Doc writes. “Kirby’s piece was an opinion, not an “article”.”

Word mincing like that is not going to sway anyone’s opinion and represents childish debate tactics. You don’t have to be a genius to know most “articles” in the press are opinion whether they are labeled as such or not. My use of the term “anti safety crowd” is for adults with a sense of humor. It points out how absurd statements like “anti-vaccine propagandists” are. I see similar labels commonly used to diminish and distort vaccine safety advocates positions. It figures you wouldn’t get it. Nothing in your post changes a single solitary thing regarding the failures of vaccine producers and our government to properly test, make, and administer vaccines. Kirby’s article points them out nicely. And if you a kids doc you should know it.

By genius

March 21, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this

Kids Doc writes. “Kirby’s piece was an opinion, not an “article”.”

Word mincing like that is not going to sway anyone’s opinion and represents childish debate tactics. You don’t have to be a genius to know most “articles” in the press are opinion whether they are labeled as such or not. My use of the term “anti safety crowd” is for adults with a sense of humor. It points out how absurd statements like “anti-vaccine propagandists” are. I see similar labels commonly used to diminish and distort vaccine safety advocates positions. It figures you wouldn’t get it. Nothing in your post changes a single solitary thing regarding the failures of vaccine producers and our government to properly test, make, and administer vaccines. Kirby’s article points them out nicely. And if you a kids doc you should know it.

By Skeptic

March 21, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this

Several studies involving tens or hundreds of thousands of children have been done, in several countries, and all came to the same conclusion: there is no vaccine-autism correlation. None. Absolutely zero.

This is an incredibly specific case, involving an extremely rare, preexisting, GENETIC condition. Are vaccines 100% safe for everyone? Sadly they are not. Is it worth taking on that small risk to avoid exposure to some of the most dangerous diseases of all time? Yes!

Scientists all over the world have concluded that vaccines have nothing to do with autism. Why are you all belaboring the point?

By Genius

March 21, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this

Kids Doc writes. “Kirby’s piece was an opinion, not an “article”.”

Word mincing like that is not going to sway anyone’s opinion and represents childish debate tactics. You don’t have to be a genius to know most “articles” in the press are opinion whether they are labeled as such or not. My use of the term “anti safety crowd” is for adults with a sense of humor. It points out how absurd statements like “anti-vaccine propagandists” are. I see similar labels commonly used to diminish and distort vaccine safety advocates positions. It figures you wouldn’t get it. Nothing in your post changes a single solitary thing regarding the failures of vaccine producers and our government to properly test, make, and administer vaccines. Kirby’s article points them out nicely. And if you a kids doc you should know it.

By Beverly Barton

March 21, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this

There’s no link. There’s no link. There’s no link. End of (non) story.

By wow

March 21, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

@ Tim Kasemodel: For starters, in the Poling case, the concession was not that the vaccines caused autism. The concession was that the vaccines cause fever (a widely known side effect) that aggravated an underlying disorder, resulting in autistic symptoms. It is just as likely that the next time she had an ear infection or strep throat or a stomach bug that caused a fever, the same thing would have happened. However, this kind of thing obviously can’t be directly tested in humans.

Secondly, Kirby advocates testing for this type of defect. There is no simple, minimally invasive test. The testing undergone by the Poling girl involved MRIs, muscle biopsies, etc. It is unreasonable to even suggest screening for such a defect. If there were a simple blood test available, perhaps.

Kirby suggests testing or altering the vaccine schedule and suggests that this “would reduce the rate of autism, seizure disorders and even asthma in some children.” There is no evidence to suggest this or even any theoretical model explaining why this would occur.

There is no medical or scientific difference between “dysfunction” and “disorder”. This is semantics.

There is no evidence the Poling girl’s mitochondrial dysfunction was or was not environmentally acquired.

Kirby says, “But the government has acknowledged that low cellular energy can increase the risk of immune system overdrive, and regression into autism.” First of all, I’d like a reference for that (and no I don’t normally expect op-ed pieces to be referenced). However, biologically, it’s more likely that low cellular energy would inhibit the ability of the immune system to function, as a large amount of energy is required for an immune response.

Kirby says, “But did Hannah have a “normal” immune system? Are other kids out there also metabolically primed for overstimulation from too many shots at once? Should their vaccines be spread out?” There’s no way to test for any of these things. And if a child is immunocompromised, they are not going to fare well when they encounter any type of pathogen.

And those are just the things that stood out on first glance. I’m sure I can give you more.

By wow

March 21, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this

Yea Beverly! A nice, concise explanation if I’ve ever seen one!!! :)

By Another ASD mom

March 21, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this

Thank you Mr Kirby for continuing the exposure of the danger of vaccines. What I find interesting is if vaccines were so safe - why would there be an Omnibus Hearing or Vaccines Injury Compensation Fund (another tax on tax payers - no fault to pharma.)

Vaccines SHOULD be safe. The public should demand more safety studies. Children deserve the safest products.

My child was not so lucky. He is not one of the few. He is one of the many.

By Sandy Gottstein

March 21, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this

Thank you David for always being willing and able to tell it like it is.

And the ethics of mandatory vaccines? As I once said in a speech, “Public Health will say that these vaccines must be mandatory or these diseases will spread. But if the vaccines work, anyone choosing them will be protected. If they don�t prevent the spread of the disease to the vaccinated, what is the point? It hardly seems right that those who don�t want to be vaccinated should be required to be vaccinated, because vaccines don�t always work.

And to whatever extent vaccines are being required because the �immune suppressed� ca