Free Republic

For more than a decade, families across the country have been warring with the medical establishment over their claims that routine childhood vaccines are responsible for the nation's apparent epidemic of autism. In an extraordinary proceeding that begins today, the battle will move from the ivory tower to the courts. Nearly 5,000 families will seek to convince a special "vaccine court" in Washington that the vaccines can cause healthy and outgoing children to withdraw into uncommunicative, autistic shells -- even though no link has been found by a large body of evidence and expert opinion. The court has never heard...

April 10, 2006: The U.S. Navy wants to save money by building its amphibious ships to merchant ship standards. This is something Europeans are already doing with some of their smaller warships. The thinking is that these ships, when hit by an anti-ship missile, are not going to be any better protected by the more expensive (double welds on seams, etc) techniques usually used for warships. The navy already has pre-positioning ships, built to merchant ship standards, that would enter war zones along with amphibious ships. This "convergence" building strategy would allow for greater economy in procuring materials and parts,...

Gian Paul Gonzalez stands with his mother, Catherine, outside of Grace Bible Church in North Haledon. Gian Paul Gonzalez was 11 years old when his mother told him a story that forever changed his life.They were discussing miracles, and whether or not they ever happened. Gian Paul, now an All-New Jersey Athletic Conference forward on the Montclair State basketball team, said he doubted that they did, and Catherine Gonzalez told her son that he needed to sit down and hear about the miracle that was his own life.When Catherine was first pregnant with Gian Paul in late 1982, she...

The only serious harm associated with the mumps-measles-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the risk to the health of children who don't receive it, an international team of investigators announced today."In particular we conclude that all the major unintended events, such as triggering Crohn's disease or autism, were suspected on the basis of unreliable evidence," said Vittorio Demicheli, M.D., of the Servizo Sovrazonale di Epidemiologia here and his colleagues in a systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international non-profit and independent organization, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide. It...

ALESSANDRIA, Italy, Oct. 19 - The only serious harm associated with the mumps-measles-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the risk to the health of children who aren't vaccinated, pronounced an international team of investigators today "In particular we conclude that all the major unintended events, such as triggering Crohn's disease or autism, were suspected on the basis of unreliable evidence," said Vittorio Demicheli, M.D., of the Servizo Sovrazonale di Epidemiologia here and colleagues in a systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration. "Mumps, measles and rubella are serious diseases that can lead to potentially fatal illness, disability and death." Dr. Demicheli and...

A mumps epidemic has taken hold in the UK -- primarily affecting people in their early 20s who did not routinely receive the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which was introduced in 1988, but also striking under-vaccinated children. Number of Cases Recorded Soars 35-Fold in Two Years Britain is in the grip of a mumps epidemic, public health experts announced yesterday. Doctors have reported more than 2,300 cases of the illness in Scotland alone since the beginning of the year. That is nearly 36 times the number of cases recorded in the first four months of 2003, before the latest outbreak began,...

A major study of over 31,000 children has found no link between the MMR vaccine and the development of autism. The MMR vaccine has been surrounded by controversy since 1998, when a small British study led by Dr Andrew Wakefield, which suggested a link to autism, was published in the highly respected medical journal, The Lancet. Since then, not one epidemiological study has found any evidence of such a link. Furthermore in 2004, the editor of The Lancet, Dr Richard Horton said that Dr Wakefield's study should never have been published as it was 'flawed'. Despite this, some parents still...

A GP who faked blood test results to allay parents’ fears about the effectiveness of separate measles, mumps and rubella jabs given to child patients was today jailed for nine months. Dr David Pugh, 55, had admitted faking four test results at the private clinic he ran near Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, in February 2003. He pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery at Cambridge Crown Court in November. Sentencing had been adjourned until today. Pugh, a GP for 31 years, comes from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, but in recent months has been living in Runaway Bay, Queensland, Australia. Thousands of families, concerned at...

If you didn't see this programme, find someone who taped it. Not only will you learn something about the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) health scare, but it will also give you the opportunity to watch one of the most exciting examples of investigative television journalism you will ever see. This episode of Dispatches was utterly compelling both in its presentation and in its lack of emotional blackmail. Presenter and journalist Brian Deer seems to have singlehandedly eaten away at the MMR story. His clear and simple presentation of this, his latest chapter—describing an enormous clash and conflict of interest between...

Experts Argue Over Findings, but Specialist Sees Possible MMR Link to Autism LONDON -- The first lesson a doctor needs to learn, says Andrew Wakefield, is to listen to his patients. And so when Rosemary Kessick brought in her son William in 1996, Wakefield listened carefully. She described how William had deteriorated at age 15 months from a healthy developing toddler into a withdrawn, incommunicative child who screamed throughout the night, and how his bowels seemed on fire with constant diarrhea and pain. All of this had started, she said, within days after William received the MMR -- an injection...

Panel Says More Research on Possible Connection May Not Be Worthwhile The Institute of Medicine, a highly influential adviser of the government on scientific matters, said yesterday there is no credible evidence that either the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal cause autism. The conclusion came in an 81-page report requested by two federal agencies to address the doubts raised by a small but vocal group of parents who question the safety of childhood vaccines. A 14-person panel of experts urged more research on autism but said further pursuit of possible links between vaccines and the devastating...

An examination of scientific studies worldwide has found no convincing evidence that vaccines cause autism, according to a committee of experts appointed by the Institute of Medicine. In particular, no link was found between autism and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or vaccines that contain a mercury preservative called thimerosal. The committee released its eighth and final report yesterday in Washington. Some parents of autistic children immediately protested. Mark Blaxill, the father of an 8-year-old girl with autism, said the committee's conclusions were premature. Studies are under way that should not be dismissed, said Mr. Blaxill, who is a director of the...

Ten of the 13 scientists who produced a 1998 study linking a childhood vaccine to several cases of autism retracted their conclusion yesterday. In a statement to be published in the March 6 issue of The Lancet, a British medical journal, the researchers conceded that they did not have enough evidence at the time to tie the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, to the autism cases. The study has been blamed for a sharp drop in the number of British children being vaccinated and for outbreaks of measles. "We wish to make it clear that in this...

Ten scientists who worked on the research that triggered the MMR scare now say that there is no association between the triple jab and autism in children. Thirteen co-authors wrote the paper published in The Lancet in 1998, led by Andrew Wakefield, who has been at the heart of the controversy ever since. One of the scientists could not be traced and one other, Peter Harvey, together with Dr Wakefield, did not sign the researchers' retraction. The 10, working for or attached to the Royal Free Hospital, London, or its medical school at the time, said in a statement yesterday:...

CDC Vaccine Data Leads Scientists to Shocking DiscoveryMonday February 9, 9:20 am ET CHILDREN 27-TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AUTISM WITH EXPOSURE TO MERCURY- CONTAINING VACCINES, FINDINGS REVIEWED AT TODAY'S IOM MEETING IN DC WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Institute of Medicine will hold a one-day meeting to review important new research on the link between thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. One of the larger studies under review comes from the CDC's own Vaccine Safety Datalink. Under independent investigation, CDC's data concludes children are 27-times more likely to develop autism...

<p>LONDON — A leading medical journal said Saturday it should not have published a controversial 1998 study that claimed a link between childhood vaccinations and autism (search).</p> <p>The editor of the Lancet, Dr. Richard Horton (search), said Dr. Andrew Wakefield and a team of British scientists who conducted the study on the triple measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine didn't reveal that they were being paid by a legal aid service looking into whether families could sue over the immunizations.</p>

U.K. measles outbreaks pose risk to U.S. By Steve Mitchell Medical Correspondent Published 10/31/2003 5:35 PM WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- As the United Kingdom braces for an impending measles outbreak this winter due to low vaccination rates, U.S. health experts say this raises concerns the deadly disease could spread to the United States, particularly considering immunization rates in some states have fallen to dangerously low levels. The drop in measles vaccinations also heightens fears of outbreaks of two other diseases: rubella and mumps. This is because the measles vaccine generally is administered in conjunction with mumps and rubella inoculations...

Children of God for Life - August Update * MMR Titre test may show booster not needed... * Judie Brown, Jay Carpenter, MD, join CoG for Life Board... * Tainted smallpox vaccine will not be used in US... * Volunteers Needed for Pro-Life Project ... * Japan's efforts to license ethical rubella vaccine in US - update... * Merck Boycott having an effect ... * Choose Life plates and frame available for all cars... *************************** MMR Titre test may show booster not needed... If your child received the MMR as an infant and is due for a booster we...

Mothers lose MMR appeal 10.55AM BST, 30 Jul 2003 Two mothers have lost their appeal against a court ruling forcing them to give their daughters the controversial MMR vaccination. The court maintained the ruling that the two girls should be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) in accordance with the wishes of their fathers, who are not married to the mothers. The MMR jab has been clouded in controversy since a medical study published in 1998 raised fears about the safety of the triple vaccine and a link to autism or bowel disease. An independent review of medical...

Two mothers trying to stop their daughters being compulsorily vaccinated - including the controversial MMR jab - have lost their battle at the Court of Appeal. The fathers of the girls, who are not married to the mothers, launched the legal action after the mothers refused to allow the children to have the jabs. The women took the case to the Court of Appeal after Mr Justice Sumner ruled last month that the girls, aged five and 10, should have the medical treatment. Now three appeal judges have again ruled against the mothers, one of whom is considering taking the...

Story Number: NNS021112-11 Release Date: 11/12/2002 4:07:00 PM From Third Fleet Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The crew of USS Constellation (CV 64) quickly responded to a main machinery room fire Nov. 8, preventing any serious injuries or degradation to the ship's ability to continue its deployment. The fire, which broke out in one of Constellation's four main machinery rooms, was caused by a fuel oil leak. The affected space was immediately evacuated and installed fire fighting equipment contained the fire until the ship's fire parties and damage control teams extinguished it. Only minor injuries occurred and damage assessment...

I am forwarding this note out below as a tribute to baby Laura and all the other children who have been injured or killed by a vaccine so that parents can learn another side to the vaccine story. When I was almost 8 months pregnant with one of my daughters, I had volunteered to go to the Travis County Morgue with Karin Schumacher who for years before she went to Law School ran the NVIC newslist. Karin asked me to help her go through autopsy reports of infants listed as SIDS deaths and look at vaccination information. I will never...

Experts say a measles epidemic in Italy, which has killed three children, is a lesson to parents about the importance of vaccination. It is estimated more than 24,000 people could have been infected with measles. It is estimated more than 24,000 people could have been infected with measles. The three children who died were aged six months, four and 10. There were 981 reported cases of measles in the Campania region of southern Italy between January and May this year. Of those affected, 358 had to be hospitalised. Thirteen developed encephalitis, which can cause brain damage and 63 pneumonia. In...

Wednesday, 3 July, 2002, 08:38 GMT 09:38 UK MMR 'should be compulsory' Uptake of MMR has fallen Parents should be forced to have their children vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella, say doctors. A motion at the British Medical Association's annual meeting in Harrogate on Wednesday calls for mandatory vaccination unless there are clear medical reasons against it. The proposal comes just hours after one of the key researchers in the MMR safety debate issued a statement saying the vaccine is safe. Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned about falling uptake of MMR and a recent rise in measles cases....