Re: REGRESSIVE AUTISM AND MMR VACCINATION

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
john <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>REGRESSIVE AUTISM AND MMR VACCINATION
>By RFD Columnist, F. Edward Yazbak, MD
>http://www.redflagsweekly.com/yazbak/2003_nov01_1.html
>
>It is clear that there are many problems with several anti-Wakefield
>studies. It is unfortunate that so much faith was put in their
>conclusions. The Wakefield hypothesis remains valid and ongoing
>results and replications are encouraging.

If it's so clear, why didn't Yazbak give us any details?

>The blind acceptance of the anti-Wakefield studies has resulted in a
>dangerous situation. The health authorities and the research
>community, by accepting their conclusions at face value, are
>essentially saying that a vaccine-autism connection does not exist and
>that scientists should stop looking. If the authorities are wrong in
>their assumption and if Dr. Wakefield is correct, even greater harm to
>our children may be occurring.

And if Wakefield is wrong, which the bulk of the evidence says that he
is, then the money spent on the studies of MMR would be wasted, and
should better be spent elsewhere.

>In the UK, believing these same flawed studies that deny an MMR-Autism
>link has just resulted in the cancellation of legal aid funds
>necessary for a class action suit. The research that would have been
>revealed in Court has thus been snuffed. Only £10m ($15m US) more was
>needed to see the parents' legal case through to conclusion; this
>amount represents the approximate cost for lifetime care for only four
>children suffering from severe autism.

Yazbak must be a very wealthy man if he can refer to "only $15m US".
That seems like a lot of money to me.  Not to mention that the notion
that court proceedings would reveal the truth is, in general, a
fantasy.  Perry Mason, this isn't.

>Meanwhile a whole generation of beautiful children is being lost.

Thank goodness he doesn't go in for hyperbole.

  -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net 
     These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
       "If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants
           were standing on my shoulders."  (Hal Abelson, MIT)