Will an anti-vaccine ad in Times Square save lives or put more at risk?

I have a good friend who’s highly intelligent, witty and loves her kids to bits — and she won’t get them vaccinated, so I know for sure that not all parents who don’t vaccinate their kids are crazy. But I’d be less than honest if I didn’t secretly feel that many of them are.

I really do get how that sounds rude, but I genuinely don’t mean it in a rude way — I really, really just don’t understand how some educated people don’t vaccinate their kids.

And then I read how an anti-vaccination organization is advertising hourly on the jumbotron in Times Square through Thursday, and I roll my eyes and wonder what else my kids will be exposed to because some people refuse to protect their kids from very preventable and very serious diseases.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO AD AFTER THE JUMP.

Continue reading »

Tweet

136

Pin It

MMR recommended as young as 6 months

Cases of the measles virus have been popping up in unvaccinated U.S. children, says the CDC.  Cases have been reported in Massachusetts, New York, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) is usually given to kids around 12-15-months, although some parents opt out of it. And when kids travel outside the U.S. there is a higher likelihood they will contract measles, bring it back and infect other small kids.

Here’s more about these “imported” cases of measles and what the CDC says we should do about it. Continue reading »

Tweet

5

Pin It

New reviews out today suggest which treamtents for autism are most effective

New studies published today in the journal Pediatrics about the treatment of autism confirm that some behavioral and medical treatments are effective at the same time that another widely used alternative therapy has been declared to have no benefit. The conclusion, however, is that there is no best overall treatment.

The studies were funded by the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in an effort to compare treatments and their effectiveness in 14 “priority disease areas,” including autism-spectrum disorders.

Autism is a condition marked by social and communication deficits, as well as various other developmental delays. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 110 children in the United States is affected.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

Declares April 2 Autism Awareness Day

President Obama has issued a proclamation declaring April 2nd World Autism Awareness Day.

April is Autism Awareness Month and has Rebecca Odes reported yesterday, a new study has been published that suggests a possible vaccine link. A government advisor on vaccine safety, acknowledges that there is an accepted association between vaccines and brain damage but says that the scientific data finds no link between vaccines and autism. He calls the new study irrelevant.

Regardless of the ongoing battle over just exactly what causes autism, President Obama’s proclamation declares his support to the millions of people impacted by autism: Continue reading »

Tweet

5

Pin It

Just in time for Autism Awareness Month, a very large can of worms… A scientific review of peer-reviewed studies reignites the debate the medical community has worked so hard to put to rest: Could vaccines possibly be a factor in autism?

The study, published by author Helen Ratajczak in the Journal of Immunotoxicology, looks at all published medical research since autism was first articulated in 1943 to the present. It’s the first published review that takes all studies into account, not focusing on one vaccine or ingredient of concern, but the entire history of what the medical community has reported about autism.

Here’s what Ratajczak had to say:   “Documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis [brain damage] following vaccination. Therefore, autism is the result of genetic defects and/or inflammation of the brain.” The author goes on to explore possible reasons vaccines might cause inflammation, including the increase in the number of vaccines given at one time, and a surprising new potential culprit: Human DNA. When vaccine manufacturers took the controversial mercury-based preservative thimerosol out of vaccines, they replaced it, in some cases, with human tissue.

Continue reading »

Tweet

25

Pin It

Vaccine makers protected, kids safer?

Today the Supreme Court ruled to protect drug manufacturers from lawsuits over vaccines. Justices voted 6-2 to shield Pfizer’s Wyeth unit from the claim of two parents, Russell and Robalee Bruesewitz, that a vaccine caused their daughter Hannah Bruesewitz’s seizure disorder.

The court started to hear arguments in October 2010 and handed down the decision today. If the lawsuit had been allowed, it might have opened the door to further suits from parents claiming that vaccines caused their child to develop autism.

But the Supreme Court said the family could not sue the drug maker, and here’s why: Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

In the developing world, most fights can’t be won by revolution. The world has just witnessed the stunning power of people in Egypt to depose their oppressive government, but it takes more than a willingness to stand up together to transform people’s lives.

The real villains in the developing world, after all, are often not people. They’re poverty, disease, lack of food and poor access to education or medical care.

These problems disproportionately affect women and girls. Recently, girls are emerging as a secret weapon against these deeper issues.

More and more research shows that investing a little time, money and energy in bettering the lives of girls in a community will improve quality of life for everyone.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It