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Strollerderby
Finally. British doctor Andrew Wakefield, whose questionable research into a link between autism and vaccination began a tidal wave of anti-vaccine sentiment in the U.S and Britain, has lost his medical license.
For several years, a growing group of parents of children with autism have argued that a change in diet changed their child’s behavior. They eliminated gluten and casein from all meals. Some reported immediate results — better behavior, better sleep, improved bowel patterns.
Celebrity mom Jenny McCarthy even claimed diet changes helped her son “recover” from autism (she’s not claiming a cure, just a change).
Researchers trying to confirm whether there’s a link between diet and autism have had a difficult time studying it and most research has been inconclusive. A new study out Wednesday, the most rigorously conducted trial so far, found no connection. Continue reading »
Dr. Jay Gordon, the controversial pediatrician who treats Jenny McCarthy’s autistic son, Evan, released a statement today calling Frontline’s documentary The Vaccine War, “disgraceful,” perhaps in large part due to the fact that none of his interview footage was included in the final product.
Ken Tucker, television blogger for Entertainment Weekly, offered a preview of the series in his column yesterday. His loathing of vaccine-hesitant members of Generation X is palpable. “And thus the vaccine-deniers can pursue their dangerously self-righteous agenda, secure in the knowledge that their little un-needled Jane or Johnny, should they contract a contagious disease, won’t cause a pandemic… because the rest of us are keeping such diseases at bay.” He goes on to mock the hippie culture of Ashland, OR, featured in the first section of the documentary. (Click here to watch the entire program.) “The town, a wealthy community filled with health-food stores and overflowing with yoga mats, is a hotbed of vaccine-deniers. And, scientists say, a dreadful example of what could happen, because it’s far more likely that, should measles or whooping cough enter that community, it would spread much faster than in a town where citizens are thinking beyond the walls of their own houses, and of the public good.
It’s easy to understand why vaccinating your children is important. As Steven Novella said in a 2008 post on the blog Science-Based Medicine:
If Gordon had his way… as soon as we got close to eradicating any disease we should back off on vaccinations for that disease, which would inevitably lead to its resurgence. We would forever be playing “whack a mole” with the disease, never eliminating it completely.
Gordon’s major bone of contention with The Vaccine War co-producer Katie McMahon is that, “’Irresponsible moms against science’ was an easy takeaway from the show.” While Frontline does air footage from both sides of the debate, it’s clear that their coverage is biased toward vaccination, with quotes like this one from Emilio Emini, head of “vaccine operations” (sounds creepy) at Pfizer:
“People haven’t seen these kinds of diseases in a while. So people become complacent, they don’t vaccinate, and what they wind up doing is putting their children and themselves in considerable risk of a severe disease and infection.”
Dr. Paul Offit, co-inventor of the vaccine against rotavirus, is known as “Dr. Profit” among anti-vaccine groups. When asked about the millions he’s made from the sale of his vaccine, he told Frontline, “It doesn’t matter whether I financially benefited or not. The only thing that mattered is ‘Did the vaccine that we created… do what it was claimed to do? Has it prevented hospitalization and suffering and death?’ And the answer to that question is yes.” Gordon thinks Offit got a pass here, saying, “No one pursued Dr. Offit’s response about becoming rich from the vaccine he invented. He was allowed to slide right by that question without any follow up…. His many millions “don’t matter” he says. And you let it go.”
Jennifer Margulis, an Ashland, OR resident and author, thinks “it’s a mistake that we have a vaccine against rotavirus. In the third world maybe people are dying of rotavirus, but in this country you have to do back flips to show a death toll of people from rotavirus.” Dr. Cynthia Cristofani, a pro-vaccine pediatric intensivist from Portland, OR, backs that up by saying that rotavirus kills 500,000 people annually, but mostly in remote parts of the world. Continue reading »
Jenny McCarthy talks autism, parenting and science with Time magazine this week. I recently asked why Jenny still says vaccines cause autism when the science has so clearly left the building. She answers that question and many others in her lengthy interview with Time.
Why is she still crusading against science on behalf of autistic children? Because she believes in her son.
This is what makes Jenny so dangerous. She’s a passionate, honest person who is fighting what she sees as a corrupt institution, on behalf of children who in many cases literally cannot speak for themselves.
Andre the Giant may have a posse, but Jenny McCarthy has a body count. At least according to TV producer Derek Bartholomaus, who has been tracking vaccine preventable illnesses in the U.S. and blaming Jenny for them since she first went on Oprah to support the theory that vaccines cause autism.
And some of you thought I was being mean to her last week after she called the Lancet’s retraction of Andrew Wakefield’s controversial autism research “censorship”.This guy really has it in for the celebrity-turned-activist.
Jenny McCarthy
When the Lancet fully retracted Andrew Wakefield’s controversial study linking autism to vaccines, most of the scientific community breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now we can move on to other topics, right? Like finding a real cure for autism?
Not quite yet. Some people stood right by Wakefield and his controversial research. And Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey came out swinging, calling the Lancet’s retraction “censorship”.
Jenny, honey, the science has left the building. Why are you still here?
Studying 10 areas of California, researchers at UC Davis found a link between kids with autism and parents with above average levels of education. While also seeking environmental factors precluding autism, the study found none.
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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