Robert Kennedy's Anti-Vaccine Craziness

[True Earthling]

Robert Kennedy is obsessed with the notion that vaccines cause autism. He’s particularly obsessed with the discredited idea that thimerosal, a preservative used in some vaccines, causes autism. Now Kennedy is about to publish a new book on this topic, and he’s promoting it both in the press and, as described in today’s Washington Post, in the halls of Congress. He’s recently had personal meetings with U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Bernie Sanders to try to convince them to take action based on his claims. Why is it that a scientifically unqualified anti-vaccine advocate can get a private audience with a U.S. Senator? Because he’s famous, that’s why.

But on the thimerosal issue, Kennedy has gone completely off the rails. He authored a Salon.com and Rolling Stone article (jointly published) nearly ten years ago that claimed not only that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause autism, but that “the government” knew about it and had been covering it up. Kennedy wrote then that
“The story of how government health agencies colluded with Big Pharma to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public is a chilling case study of institutional arrogance, power and greed.”
Alarming-sounding stuff. The article is full of dramatic claims like this one. The only problem is, it’s all false.

Even worse, Kennedy is using his fame to spread anti-vaccine misinformation, which has contributed to an alarming rise in the number of infectious disease outbreaks here in the U.S., including major outbreaks of measles and whooping cough. Though I doubt he will listen to me (he’s ignored everyone else), Kennedy needs to take a hard look at the harm he’s causing to defenseless children, the elderly, and cancer patients, and anyone else with a weak or compromised immune system. His advocacy of bad science will cost lives, if it hasn’t already.

http://genome.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/robert-kennedys-anti-vaccine-craziness.html

[PSPS]

1. Nobody has more respect and admiration for the Kennedy family than I do.

Having said that, I have thought about this too. I suppose having your family members, including your own father, assassinated might have an effect on your view of the world.

[RobertEarl]

14. Link, or slink

One link that says injecting mercury into kids is a-okay?

RFK only cares for the kids. Not money, not big pharma. Just kids. He knows, as does anyone that injecting mercury into children is NOT good. He is seeking the truth. Anyone in his way is trying to deny the truth. That's why they slander him.

Already mercury has been removed from some vaccines. TRUTH.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

17. ::sigh::

Thiomersal =/= elemental mercury.

It does not accumulate in the body like elemental mercury.
It was NOT used in child vaccines at the time of the now debunked study.

He is a woo peddler, through and through. The residents of NYC can tell you a thing or two about assholes pushing anti-vaccine bullshit.

[RobertEarl]

21. Gee, no linlks

Thiomersal was used in child vaccines.

Show me proof thiomersal is good for kids.

The slandering never stops, does it? No links, just more fucking slander. Shameful.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

24. Here's your fucking links...

You're the one making the claims, you should be the one providing the links.

I'm refuting your bullshit with facts.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/patient-ed/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-thimerosal-color-office.pdf
http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/vaccine-ingredients/thimerosal.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2014/05/15/vaccines-thimerosal-mmr-mercury-not-associated-with-autism/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2376879/

And, lastly, this one for the science-impaired:
http://howdovaccinescauseautism.com/

Now peddle your woo elsewhere. I hear InfoWars and NaturalNews are accepting of that sort of thing...

[RobertEarl]

27. Which one says it safe?

I am not an anti-vaxxer. I am against Thiomersal being injected into kids.

Injecting Thiomersal into kids is fucking woo. The only reason it is in vaccines is it makes vaccines cost less.

RFK and I are together on this. Our only interest is in the kids welfare.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

28. READ THE LINKS!

You ask for links, then don't read them?

You want to be an expert? Read the fucking links.

RFK is a douchebag. His interest is WOO.

[RobertEarl]

32. Hair-on-fire slander is woo!!

[font size=10] WOO!

[Dr Hobbitstein]

57. Pointing out that he is peddling woo

is NOT slander. It's fact.

Thiomersal was removed from childhood vaccines in 1999.
RFK Jr. published his retracted Salon article in 2005.
The now-retracted and debunked study (that resulted in a Dr losing his license due to the nature of the study) that RFK Jr based his paper on was released and debunked in 2000.

He's on the wrong side of science, and he's using his position as a means to peddle said woo. He is no better than Jenny McCarthy. How in the hell members of DU are supporting this sort of anti-science is beyond me.

[NuclearDem]

63. You still don't understand what woo is.

[sabrina 1]

37. RFK is a douchebag?? RFK is a highly respected Democrat. And this is a Democratic forum.

He sure has pissed off the crooked Corporations with his exposure of the harm they do to our environment, their disgusting and cruel 'pig farms' etc.

I agree with him. Children should not be used as guinea pigs for Big Pharma. Put it this way, I am not anti vaccination but when it comes to who to believe on a particular issue, let me think, a rude, angry anonymous poster on the internet, or Robert Kennedy?

Pretty easy decision.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

56. RFK Jr was who I was referring to...

And he's NOT a highly respected Democrat. He's a conspiracy theorist.

And you're damn right I'm rude. When someone asks for links and I supply them, then they ask me to tell them what's in the links, I get pissed. I also get pissed when so-called liberals/Democrats/progressives peddle bullshit conspiracy theories that get thrown around on sites like NaturalNews and Infowars.

It would figure that you would be here peddling the same woo, however.

[sabrina 1]

61. I know who you are referring to, I am a Democrat. As I said, he has pissed off

the anti-Environmentalist Corporate Profiteers enough that they are attempting to smear him and all they are accomplishing, with Democrats at least, is to pay more attention to what they are up to.

And there is the personal attack, as expected. You need to calm down, people are going to question your claims. Throwing a temper tantrum, smearing a great Democrat, isn't going to win any points on a Democratic forum.

Post the 'woo' you accuse me of 'peddling'. You don't get to lie about DUers without being asked for proof.

I notice btw, that 'peddling' seems to be one of the words recommended for use when Big Pharma is being questioned. And they will be, especially here. If they are doing nothing wrong, there is no need to be angry, is there?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

70. You are defending the woo that RFK is peddling...

Hence, you are peddling the same woo.

Big Pharma is just your scape goat. You seem to like to defend a LOT of fucked up positions here...

RT and Anti-vaxxers? Jeez.

Great Democrats don't push forward positions that cause the suffering and death of children. That is reserved for assholes.

[Octafish]

44. No. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a heroic figure. And you don't even know why.

In fact, most citizens of the United States of America have no clue, thanks to a mass media that serves as a propaganda organ for War Inc.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022194573

So, writing "RFK is a douchebag. His interest is WOO." only serves to advance the interests of War Inc.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

68. Hero's don't promoted DANGEROUS ideologies

that cause children to suffer. Assholes do that.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/04/01/nyc-measles-outbreak-spreads-to-lower-east-side/


That right there negates EVERYTHING he may have done that was good.

He's nothing more than a conspiracy theorist, and dangerous because of his status.

FUCK RFK, JR!

[Octafish]

88. That's as vile a thing I've heard anyone say.

Never once imagined I'd read it on DU.

[Rex]

89. This place is full of extremists that hate on democrats and democracy

and then hide behind some shallow reason that nobody is buying.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

92. I hate on neither Democrats nor Democracy...

But I do have issues with anti-vaxxers. It's dangerous what they are pushing...

VERY dangerous. Diseases that we've almost wiped out are now making a resurgence thanks to nuttery like this.

[Rex]

94. It is a sport among a few DUers to pick on the Kennedy family with glee.

Sad to see you being one of those, but at least you don't use a Kennedy avatar.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

91. Really?

It's vile that I said he's promoting a dangerous ideology?

He's promoting an ideology that is causing deaths and suffering needlessly.

I'm almost 100% sure Democrats don't support that.

[Rex]

93. You can call him all the names ya want to, but don't pretend to be a democrat.

Thanks.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

97. I don't pretend.

I walk the walk, sir. I've donated my time, my money, and have spent countless hours banging my head against the wall while arguing with conservatives...

Why ANY Democrat would support someone who promotes an ideology which has this kind of dangerous implication on modern society is beyond me.

Democrats promote ideologies that HELP people, not kill them.

[zappaman]

100. +100

[sabrina 1]

104. This is why I love these 'discussions'. People reveal so much about themselves

in their struggle to try to influence people. Thanks, I like to know where people are coming from.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

106. Science and Democracy, my dear...

Science and Democracy...

[SidDithers]

108. +1...nt

Sid

[SidDithers]

58. Exactly...

but DU's resident conspiracy theorists aren't going to like you calling out one of their heroes.

Sid

[True Earthling]

26. Another link

Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa071434

RESULTS
Among the 42 neuropsychological outcomes, we detected only a few significant associations with exposure to mercury from thimerosal. The detected associations were small and almost equally divided between positive and negative effects. Higher prenatal mercury exposure was associated with better performance on one measure of language and poorer performance on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing levels of mercury exposure from birth to 7 months were associated with better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination and on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing mercury exposure from birth to 28 days was associated with poorer performance on one measure of speech articulation and better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination.
Full Text of Results...

CONCLUSIONS
Our study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years.

[RobertEarl]

31. Very good

See, instead of hair-on-fire slander, there actually is a study that does detail some risks.

""Increasing mercury exposure from birth to 28 days was associated with poorer performance on one measure of speech articulation and better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination. ""

I will await RFK's findings on this, thank you.

[True Earthling]

33. For a good explanation of the study and further illumination on the topic of Autism/mercury...

I suggest you read the blog of Derek Lowe, one of the most respected scientist/chemist bloggers on the net who regularly writes about bad science...

Derek's take on the NEJM study...
http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2007/09/27/thimerosal_again.php

Yet another study has shown no link between the former vaccine additive thimerosal and neurological problems in children. This one evaluated over a thousand seven-to-ten year olds for a long list of outcomes, and came up negative. No strong correlations were found, and the weak ones seemed to spread out evenly among positive and negative consequences.

This is just the kind of data that researchers are used to seeing. Most experiments don't work, and most attempts to find correlations come up empty. The leftovers are a pile of weak, unconvincing traces, all pointing in different directions while not reaching statistical significance. For a study like this one, though, this is a good answer. The question is "Does thimerosal exposure show any connection to any of these forty-two neurological symptoms?", and the answer is "No. Not as far as we can see, and we looked very hard indeed."

Derek Lowes archive of postings on Autism pseudoscience...

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/autism/

[RobertEarl]

34. Very good, again

See? No need for hair-on-fire slandering. Leave that to the Tbaggers.

We shall see what RFK has to say about this. As stated in your quoted article, there have been many studies that were useless. And this one appears quite honest: "Not as far as we can see..."

Much better than just tossing out slander just to make a ruckus. That's a change from most of those slandering RFK.

RFK is up against a huge monolithic, profit-centered medical establishment, and he's been at it a while. I tend to want to hear what he has to say as opposed to hearing some anonymous slanderers, know what I mean?

[Recursion]

54. Why does what RFK, jr "has to say about" this study matter?

Is he a biochemist and just never mentioned it?

[SidDithers]

2. DURec...

On this topic, he's a fucking loon.

Sid

[smirkymonkey]

4. Yeah, I would have to agree with you there.

On this particular topic, I think his influence is particularly dangerous.

[geek tragedy]

7. Just a loon in general. A dangerous one. nt

[SidDithers]

9. He still has his fans, though. Misguided as they might be...nt

Sid

[sabrina 1]

105. He has no fans on the Right that is for sure, but he definitely has the respect of most

Democrats here. One of the most important environmentalists in this country. Which is why the Rightwing Corporate tools absolutely despise him. Do you know who he is? What he has done? You surely are not trashing a Democrat on a Dem forum, especially one as highly respected here as Robert Kennedy? Seriously?

[MohRokTah]

10. Sadly, it makes him a poor spokesperson for any topic.

Being an antivaxer means I'd prefer not refer to him as a source on anything.

[SidDithers]

15. Yup. He's pretty much destroyed his credibility with this misguided crusade...

Too bad. He's been an excellent advocate for the environment.

Sid

[MohRokTah]

16. He's been a good advocate for a few other issues.

He pissed it all away on a tinfoilhat expedition, though.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. +1000. nt

[TBF]

72. Sid and I don't agree on much -

but we agree on science. It's sad to see someone who is otherwise respected fall for this nonsense. Turning back the clock on vaccines is inviting diseases like mumps, whooping cough, chicken pox and polio back into the community. this is very dangerous.

[RobertEarl]

3. Lies

Not you, OP, but the words you copied from that site.

I am glad RFK has them scared. They've reason to be. If RFK is right, the lawsuits will destroy big pharma that used mercury in vaccines.

Did you know they have pretty much quit using mercury (thimerosal) in some vaccines?

[SidDithers]

5. "If RFK is right". RFK is not right. He's wrong..

Badly, horribly, completely and utterly wrong.

RFK's got nobody scared. Anyone who knows their ass from their elbow is laughing at him.

Sid

[RobertEarl]

6. RFK has them scared. He's doing damage

That's why all the slander is being launched at him.

Covering for big pharma and medical mistakes is a republican mantra, RFK is not afraid of them. His only concern is for the children.

[SidDithers]

8. It's not slander, it's the truth...

He thinks mercury in vaccines causes autism. His dumbass Deadly Immunity article was so rife with errors, and needed so many corrections, that Salon retracted it.

http://www.salon.com/2011/01/16/dangerous_immunity/

After claiming to be such a science guy, I'm surprised you didn't know all this.

Sid

[RobertEarl]

11. Truth is

They have removed mercury from many vaccines.

Big pharma is freaking out over the science because it will cost them trillions of dollars if it is found that mercury is bad for kids, which it is. Duh!

[SidDithers]

13. Nobody is "freaking out" over anything RFK Jr. has had to say about vaccines...

He's been so widely discredited that only fools and the ignorant still consider him an authority on this topic.

Sid

[NickB79]

51. "They have removed mercury from many vaccines"

And how have the autism rates responded to this?

Have they plummeted as one would expect, if it were the causative agent?

[randome]

64. 'Trillions of dollars'???

Your own credibility on this issue sinks ever lower.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[RobertEarl]

66. You're right

I should have just said close to a trillion.

How much is a child's health worth? In my view each is worth a million at least. So 1,000 injured children would be a trillion at a million each. So 2,000 injured, well, then it would be trillions. But let's stay conservative and just say a trillion.

[SidDithers]

67. 1000 injured children at $1 million each would be $1 Billion...

So 2,000 injured, well, then it would be billions. But let's stay conservative and just say a billion.

Sid

[RobertEarl]

69. Damn, Thanks, sid, you're right

Good to have everyone checking on me. Now if we could just make sure the kids were too, like RFK is wont to do.

Who knows tho, after all is said and done it could be a trillion.

[SidDithers]

73. Health agencies around the world are making sure the kids are healthy...

That's what public health agencies do.

The World Health Organization, in 2008, endorsed the use of thiomerosal in vaccines, because multi-use vials are a much better option for vaccination programs in developing and third-world countries.

http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/Jun_2008/en/


The American Academy of Pediatrics, who I'm sure you'll agree are very concerned about keeping kids healthy, wholly supports the position of the WHO. Their actual statement was:

Had the evidence that is available now been available in 1999, the policy reducing thimerosal use would likely have not been implemented. Furthermore, in 2008 the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the use of thimerosal in vaccines

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Endorses-WHO-Statement-on-Thimerosal-in-Vaccines.aspx


RFK Jr. has his head up his ass. He's like a climate-change denier on this topic, stubbornly refusing to accept that he's wrong despite overwhelming evidence.

And so are his defenders.

Sid

[RobertEarl]

74. Well, then, since you put it that way

Back to a trillion in possible damages.

Given that damages may be as much as a trillion, it is completely plausible that the industry has purchased the science that declares nothing to see. History is rife with such findings. GM and ignition switch is the most recent, and we all know about all the finding that nukes are safe and man made radiation is good for you bullshit.

Mercury is a known toxin. Putting it into small, developing bodies... well, anything can happen.

We'll wait to see about RFK's new book coming out and go from there. As it stands, all in all, something is happening here and the science says it ain't exactly clear.

Given that damages could run to a trillion, only an idiot would say that they can totally trust what the current Thimerosal in Vaccine
science claims. Again, mercury is toxic.

Have a nice day, Sid, and thanks for correcting my math. That was almost embarrassing.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

82. Elemental mercury is a toxin...

Thimerosal is NOT elemental mercury.

Elemental mercury stores in the body. Thimerosal does not.

Why do you give credence to a guy who never studied science, but discredit actual scientists?

[NuclearDem]

12. *has them laughing.

There, fixed that for you.

[Codeine]

20. You pretty much come down on the wrong side

of everything, dontcha?

[PowerToThePeople]

45. in my view

he appears to come down on the correct side of everything. Strange...

[sabrina 1]

38. He sure has all the right people angry at him. Not informed enough on this topic

to make any contribution, but reading this thread tells me a lot.

[RobertEarl]

39. You noticed?

They roll out this anti-RFK slander every once in a while, just to get their blood flowing, I guess. I see no other reason for it.

[sabrina 1]

47. I can think of a few.

[Rex]

90. YEP.

If only they would post their true convictions...but we all know they won't because they love posting here and making DU suck.

[jopacaco]

18. Why is the autism rate increasing?

I don't agree with Robert Kennedy's anti-vaccine crusade. My big concern though, is that the current autism rate is around 1/68. It has been going up at an incredible rate, 30% in 2 years according to the CDC. When I first started teaching 30 years ago, the rate was 1/2000. Why is there no sense of urgency as to the cause? This is a crisis that is not being addressed adequately.

[eridani]

23. They've been removed from the category of weird kids who deserve to be picked on--

--to somewhere on the autism spectrum.

[True Earthling]

30. What Autism Epidemic?

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2011/05/04/what_autism_epidemic.php

There's a new study out looking at the prevalence of autism across different age groups across the United Kingdom. Since autism shows up in childhood, if the rate of its occurrence had changed over the years, that would be expected to be preserved in the population as you move up in years. But it doesn't.

It absolutely doesn't. Despite report after report of an "autism epidemic", what this study supports is the idea of an increase in diagnosis, not in the underlying condition. None of the adults surveyed who fit the autism criteria had any idea that they did so: they never knew that they were autistic, and had never been diagnosed. (I've no doubt, though, that they or their neighbors were aware of their seemingly eccentric personalities). These people also turned out to be generally socially and economically disadvantaged, which given what they've had to work through, I can well believe.

But there was no change related to age group. The demographics were what you find in current children: about 1% of the total population, males much more common than females. No change. No sign of an epidemic. But it won't change a thing for those people who are convinced that one exists; they'll already be out there today telling everyone about the flaws in this study, its biased nature, its gaps and omissions. Dark forces will be alluded to, huge conspiracies - and if you doubt that, just watch the comments to this post, because I'll probably attract some of these people, too.

Epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders in adults in the community in England.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21536975

[Recursion]

55. Is there any evidence it is? (nt)

[NuclearDem]

62. Is it actually increasing, or is diagnosis increasing?

Big difference.

[Cal Carpenter]

22. Not because he is "famous"

"Why is it that a scientifically unqualified anti-vaccine advocate can get a private audience with a U.S. Senator? Because he’s famous, that’s why. "

No, it is because he is a member of a political and financial dynasty.

[Omaha Steve]

25. I found out I'm allergic to thimerosal by accident

I was in the specialists office. She did several patch tests. Thimerosal had a major reaction. It is made from mercury.

My grandson had a reaction from an immunization shot. He got epilepsy from it.!!!

[UTUSN]

29. So he & Jenny McCarthy can start a new franchise n/t

[tavernier]

35. Welcome to the Prairie of Prax.

[pinto]

40. What is "brain fever"? I see no diagnosis mentioned. Most encephalitis is viral or bacterial induced

[zappaman]

41. When it comes to this subject, Kennedy is a moron.

A Democrat...but a moron.

[PowerToThePeople]

42. When he talked about this on Air America

He got me interested in thinking about this topic

I have always requested thimerosol free vaccines for my boy, and the doctor has always been able to supply them. Maybe it was not needed. He is no worse off because I refused to put thimerosol into his body.

[Archae]

43. Sometimes even the most steady guy or girl can have a particular quirk.

Or obsession.

I used to know a guy who by all the usual standards, was normal.
Worked hard, took care of his family, etc.

BUT...

He believed Santa Claus was real. North Pole, flying reindeer, the works.
Because "He saw the sleigh fly off his roof!"

I asked him if it might of been a rather vivid dream, I get those once in a while.
Nope. He believed in Santa Claus and no one could tell him otherwise.

Kennedy is like this.
Someone told him vaccines cause autism and no one can tell him otherwise, even with science.

[cui bono]

85. An adult who believed in Santa Claus? Who had kids?

So did his wife have to wait until he fell asleep and eat the cookies and leave presents under the tree?

Or did he grow up thinking he was a bad boy who didn't make Santa's list? Did he move from his parents' house into a home with his wife with no time living alone? Or did his parents break into his house and do Santa's cookie eating and present leaving? I hope he never lived in a dorm in college!

[Archae]

87. I have no idea.

This was a guy who I knew, who believed in something that was obviously bullshit.

And he believed it fervently, like how fundies believe in a universe less than 10,000 years old, or RFK Jr so fervently believes autism is caused by vaccines.

[Prophet 451]

46. Geez, DU has changed

Used to be that the denizens of this site were reliably on the side of science. Now, we have anti-vaxxers and global warming denialists.

[alp227]

48. Not to mention anti-GMO hysteria, too.

But years ago, it was easy to mock Republicans on science because of the creationist manufactroversies of the 2000s (intelligent design, anyone?)

[JDPriestly]

52. We have a whooping cough epidemic in California.

A four-month old baby that is dear to me got it. Fortunately, she had already had her first immunization so her case was not severe.

Had she been infected a month earlier, she would have had to go to the hospital, and she could easily have come down with pneumonia.

Everyone should be immunized unless they have a very, very good reason like an allergy for not being immunized.

[SheilaT]

53. As the mother of a child with autism,

Asperger's Syndrome to be specific, I can get highly worked up at the suggestion that vaccines cause this. Let me say it plainly: my son was different from the day he was born. He was unlike other babies and children in profound ways. He did not change when he got his vaccinations.

One reason parents of autistic children live in denial and try to blame vaccinations is that they just aren't willing to recognize that thei8r children always were different. Especially if it's your first child, it can take a long time to recognize what is going on.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

83. My 8 year old is also on the spectrum...

She was diagnosed Asperger's right before it was enveloped under ASD. She was always different as well. It was always little things with her, and as she grew older, those little things became more pronounced.

When I was a young idiot, I was opposed to her getting vaccinated (thanks to reading the wonderful articles of RFK Jr). Her pediatrician talked me into the vaccinations when my daughter was about 5 mo old. Since then, I've been a proponent of vaccination. I was working in the health food industry (Wild Oats/Whole Foods), and there was so much woo peddled around in that field, that when I finally left it, it was like a veil lifted.

[msanthrope]

103. I could have written this post...thank you for it. nt

[womanofthehills]

59. $2 billion paid out for vaccine injuries to kids

by the Federal Vaccine injury program
http://www.reviewjournal.com/vin-suprynowicz/2-billion-paid-out-vaccine-injuries-kids

Here is a link to US Dept of Health - "What you Need to Know About the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/84521booklet.pdf

[RobertEarl]

60. Interesting, thanks

$2 billion paid out? That's a lot.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

84. And NONE of that is about autism.

Which is the woo RFK Jr is peddling.

The whole thing exists to shield vaccine manufactures from frivolous lawsuits. Most of the money paid out were for claims that had NO scientific backing. Now, there is a list of complications that must be met before any money is awarded.

Someone was able to successfully argue that a HepB vax gave her MS. Of course, there's ZERO linking the two, but you know... Courts are scientific bodies. Or not.

[Nye Bevan]

65. Anti-vaccination nutcases like this guy and Jenny McCarthy have blood on their hands.

http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com/Anti-Vaccine_Body_Count/Home.html

The United States Anti-Vaccination Movement is composed of a variety of individuals ranging from former doctors who should know better, to semi-celebrities who have no medical training, to anti-government conspiracy theorists who distrust anything that the government says. They all hold onto the mistaken belief that autism is caused by receiving childhood vaccines.


Most anti-vaccination believers claim that the compound Thimerosal led to an increase in autism cases. The Measles/Mumps/Rubella vaccine is their usual target. However, Thimerosal was never used as a preservative in the Measles/Mumps/Rubella vaccine. No vaccine licensed since 1999 has contained Thimerosal as a preservative, except a few multi-dose container vaccines such as some (but not all) HIB and Influenza vaccines. Autism has not declined since 1999, thereby disproving this connection. However, this has not stopped anti-vaccination believers from claiming that it was the MMR vaccine itself that caused autism or that it was vaccines in general that caused autism. All of these ideas have been disproven in multiple scientific and legal examinations of the evidence. The primary scientific reason for the increase in autism diagnoses is due to more disorders being included in the Autism Spectrum and doctors getting better at diagnosing the characteristics of autism.


In 2007 there was an increase in celebrities promoting anti-vaccination rhetoric. Because of their celebrity status they appeared on several television shows and published multiple books advising parents not to vaccinate their children. This has led to an increase in the number of vaccine preventable illnesses as well as an increase in the number of vaccine preventable deaths.


The Anti-Vaccination Movement has a body count attached to its name. This website publishes the total number of vaccine preventable illnesses and vaccine preventable deaths that have happened in the United States since this 2007 increase in speaking out against vaccines.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

71. Agreed...

Any celebrity using their stature to promote this is a dangerous person.

I'd love to see some of these people affected by the anti-vaxxers bring up civil suits against RFK and Jenny McCarthy. Sue the fuckers for every penny they have. Take away their status and podiums.

[SidDithers]

75. And anti-vaxxers should be banned from DU...

just like the chemtrailers are.

Sid

[La Lioness Priyanka]

79. i would support this notion WHOLEHEARTEDLY. nt

[Dr Hobbitstein]

80. Agreed.

Sid, I've been around DU for a long time*.
On thing I've noticed is that I could ALWAYS count on seeing your posts as a voice of reason.
It seems the opposition to reality has been much louder than it was before...


*I was originally a lurker around 02-03, then joined in 04 while I was in college, although I RARELY posted. After college, I spent two years with no internet access, and long since forgot my college email (not to mention what user name I had), so I went back to lurking until 2011, when rejoined under a different name.

[SidDithers]

95. Thanks for that...

Sid

[cui bono]

86. DU allows anti-abortion people on here.

And people who don't believe in a govt by and for the people.

[Drunken Irishman]

76. I don't give anyone a pass on stupid - a Kennedy or not.

RFK Jr. is advocating for an agenda that puts lives at risk. He's dangerous - even more so than Jenny McCarthy because he actually comes at this from a respected background and is seen, I'm sure, as more than just a yapping, mindless entertainer.

[HockeyMom]

77. Y Chromosome is most common factor

I worked for many years with Autistic children, including those from large families. Several of their MALE children in these families were Autistic, but NONE of their FEMALE children were. In all my years of working with children, and adults too, it seems GENDER was a far more common factor than vaccinations.

I am not a fan myself of vax (my Senior self included), but I will honestly say that Vax doesn't seem to be the cause. Otherwise why would SONS but not DAUGHTERS be equally prone to Autism when BOTH were vaccinated?

[TBF]

78. Strong argument there. nt

[Marrah_G]

81. I know 4 kids with Autism

Not just in the spectrum, but actual autism. The strange part is that the first are identical twin girls. The second are my cousins and they are identical twin boiys, part of quadruplets, the girls in the quad are non identical twins.

[Rex]

96. Some here make it a sport to hate on the Kennedy's with impunity.

I'll leave it up to you to decide on why.

[REP]

98. I don't know why being the descendent of a rum-runner confers automatic respect

This isn't a monarchy and merely being a Kennedy doesn't mean credibility or even respectability. Some have earned it; this one hasn't.

[barbaraj]

99. Kennedy

is not anti vaccine, he's anti injecting mercury, and he didn't write the book until after the fact. The fact is thimerosal was phased out in vaccines, starting with the manufacturing of thimerosal free vaccines in 2001 and the final batches of thimerosal laden vaccines leaving the shelves sometime between 2003 and 2004. I understand he will not go as far as to say thimerosal caused autism in his book. Few , if any, of those involved in the thimerosal issue are anti vaccine. The subject of thimerosal is more of a note in history at this stage, and a hope to remove it from the two doses of flu vaccine given to young babies and pregnant women as a "just in case" it is responsible for neurological outcomes, including autism, speecn delay, seizures, etc. Those such as Kennedy are calling for a safer product, the safest money can provide, they should not be grouped with the "anti vaccine" people, they are not. It's more of a product safety issue. As for studies showing an increase in autism since the removal of thimerosal, they really don't exist. The latest study in the US by the CDC covered children born in 2002, the study was recently released giving the impression these kids were given the newer vaccines, that was not the case. At that time the manufacturing wasn't a year in, and these children got the same full doses as the children born in 2000. Let's hope the next group, those born in 2004 show a reduction, because if it continues at the rate it has been, one in two will be our number for 2025..interesting and sad math.

[AngryAmish]

101. Why can't we just flush this nutter once and for all?

He is the living embodiment of regression to the mean.

[Warpy]

102. Being a Kennedy is no guarantee of sainthood or even rationality

I saw them out and about enough by the early 70s to get that.

Unfortunately, Robert really has gone off the rails. He's absolutely refused to acknowledge two facts: first, the research has not only been done, it's been done to death and there is no link; second, there was no corresponding drop in autism cases once thimerosol was remoed from mandatory childhood vaccines. In fact, the rate went up.

It's always sad to see someone with so much access to media be so blind. It's a very bad combination. I hope something wakes him up soon or that he gets another, less damaging thing to obsess over.

[SidDithers]

107. Kicking...

Sid