Vaccine News
Vaccinations Widespread but Worrisome for Parents
ABC News
March 1, 2010
“Nearly 90 percent of parents vaccinate their children as medically advised, but more than half still express concern over the safety of the vaccines, a survey from the University of Michigan found.”
South Bend Couple Loses Baby to Pertussis
South Bend Tribune
February 28, 2010
“Medical experts say pertussis, or ‘whooping cough’ -- once believed eradicated because of modern vaccines -- is again on the rise.The bacterial infection affects the respiratory system, causing serious health complications in young children, especially infants.”
Swine Flu Wanes, But Experts Say Pandemic Strain Could Reemerge
Washington Post
February 23, 2010
“Even as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are announcing that the epidemic of the H1N1 flu is no longer widespread in any state, no disease expert is willing to say there isn't a third -- or fourth -- wave of swine flu in the country's future.”
Editorial: The MMR vaccine scare
By Dr. Paul A. Offit
Philadelphia Inquirer
February 14, 2010
“On Feb. 2, the Lancet, Britain's oldest and most respected medical journal, did something that journals almost never do; it retracted an article.”
Vaccination opposition could be putting public at risk
Newsday (NY)
February 14, 2010
“When a prominent British medical journal recently retracted a study linking vaccines and autism, it was a shot heard by parents around the world.”
Vaccines' Benefits Trump Concerns, Experts Say
NPR: Morning Edition
February 8, 2010
“In 2009, there are vaccines against 13 diseases for children under the age of 2. That's excluding flu. This increase is worrisome to many parents. ”
Scientist: Autism Paper had Catastrophic Effects
NPR All Things Considered
February 7, 2010
Hippocrates would puke: Doctor hoaxed parents into denying kids vaccine
New York Daily News
February 6, 2010
“British physician Dr. Andrew Wakefield has been branded a primary instigator of the mania that drove parents to avoid having their children undergo routine immunizations for fear that inoculations could produce autism.”
Opinion: The damage of the anti-vaccination movement
Los Angeles Times
February 5, 2010
“The doctor who launched the modern anti-vaccine movement acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly," Britain's General Medical Council has ruled. But fear not. Dr. Andrew Wakefield is still a hero to his many acolytes. And others, with curious credentials, fight on to terrify parents into not getting their children inoculated. ”
Opinion: Time to Regroup on Autism
CNN.com
February 4, 2010
“On Tuesday, the medical journal The Lancet retracted the controversial 1998 paper that linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism.”
Editorial: The Lancet's Vaccine Retraction
Wall Street Journal
February 2, 2010
“The British medical journal The Lancet yesterday offered a mea culpa of sorts for its role in launching a global vaccine scare.”
How a Zealot’s Word Led Us Astray on Autism
MSNBC.com
February 3, 2010
“A dozen years ago, a British physician named Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a paper in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet that did immeasurable harm to children.”
British doctor rebuked over research linking vaccine and autism
Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2010
“The British doctor whose suggestion of a link between the MMR shot and autism helped cause vaccination rates to plunge conducted his now-discredited research in a dishonest and irresponsible manner, medical authorities here concluded Thursday.”
Doctor in MMR-Autism Scare Ruled Unethical
Time Magazine
January 29, 2010
“…Wakefield's study has since been discredited, and the MMR vaccine deemed to be safe. But now medical authorities in the U.K. have also ruled that the manner in which Wakefield carried out his research was unethical.”
Rotavirus vaccines could reduce deaths in Third World
Los Angeles Times
January 28, 2010
“Vaccines that protect against severe disease and death from rotavirus infections in the United States and other developed countries work nearly as well in developing countries and should be widely employed there, researchers report today in two papers in the New England Journal of Medicine.”
Get Vaccinated: Vaccine paranoia might be killing us
Forbes
February 8, 2010
“It has taken 14,160 lives, 2,328 of them in the U.S. Within the latter group are 248 children. No, it is not terrorism, nor is it war. It is H1N1.”
Stars vs. Science
Forbes
January 14, 2010
“In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control reported that measles outbreaks had spiked because more parents were deciding to leave their children unvaccinated, thanks to the burgeoning anti-vaccine movement.”
Missed vaccines weaken 'herd immunity' in children
USA Today
January 6, 2010
“Although vaccines have nearly eliminated many of these diseases, doctors say outbreaks in unvaccinated communities put everyone at risk.”
Another study finds no MMR-autism link
Reuters
January 4, 2010
Overall, the study found, children who had received the MMR vaccine actually had a lower risk of autism than their unvaccinated peers.”
Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises Ninefold
HealthDay News
January 5, 2010
“Children whose parents refuse to have them vaccinated for chickenpox have a ninefold greater chance of contracting the disease than those who are vaccinated, a new study finds.”
Are celebrities crossing the line on medical advice?
USA Today
December 22, 2009
“Actress Jenny McCarthy, who has an autistic son, has written several books linking autism with childhood vaccinations, even though a host of scientific studies show that vaccines are safe and not the cause of increasing autism rates.”
H1N1 flu vaccines now plentiful in half of states
USA Today
December 16, 2009
“After weeks of shortages, swine flu shots are plentiful enough that nearly half the states now say everyone can get it, not just people in high-risk groups.”
Person of the Year: People Who Mattered In 2009: Dr Thomas Frieden
Time
December 2009
“He made the controversial call in October to release the long-awaited H1N1 influenza vaccine in small batches as soon as they rolled off production lines.”
Anatomy of A Pandemic
PBS NewsHour
December 14, 2009
“Join the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez for an exploration of the science and policy of this year’s swine flu pandemic, from federal vaccination headquarters to big city hospital emergency rooms.”
The Long-Term Evidence for Vaccines
Newsweek
December 7, 2009
“With some reports saying that the worst of the H1N1 outbreak may have already come and gone this flu season in North America but not worldwide, parents who decided to sit out vaccinations for their children may feel validated”
Measles deaths drop by 78 pct but resurgence feared
Reuters
December 3, 2009
“Global deaths from measles fell by 78 percent between 2000 and 2008 thanks largely to mass childhood vaccination campaigns, but experts say death rates may rise again if complacency allows immunisation efforts to lag.”
Editorial: The Swine Flu, as of Now
New York Times
December 1, 2009
“So far, the news about swine flu is better than expected.”
Inglis: Taking on doubt over vaccinations against disease
Austin-American Statesman (TX)
November 30, 2009
“Sixty years ago, leading research facilities began developing vaccines to protect us from horrific diseases that can sicken and kill us — diphtheria, polio, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and more.”
CDC connects H1N1, severe bacterial infections
Washington Post
November 26, 2009
“Federal health officials on Wednesday linked the H1N1 flu epidemic to a sharp rise in the number of severe bacterial infections.”
The Emotional Epidemiology of H1N1 Influenza Vaccination
New England Journal of Medicine
November 25, 2009
“Last spring, when 2009 H1N1 influenza first came to our attention, my patients were in a panic.”
The Decade's Most Overblown Fears: # 3: Vaccines Cause Autism
Newsweek
November 17, 2009
“The disproved notion that vaccines cause autism was born in the late 1990s, when Andrew Wakefield, a British surgeon, first went public with his idea that children could develop the disorder from getting a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot.”
Profile: Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with update on swine flu
NBC News
November 15, 2009
“Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urges people to persist in their pursuit of the swine flu vaccine despite its limited availability.”
Autism Science Foundation Agrees with Decision to Keep Vaccine Research Out of the IACC Autism Plan
Autism Science Foundation
November 13, 2009
“Autism Science Foundation President and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee member Alison Singer joined her colleagues on the IACC in voting to eliminate references in the autism strategic plan that could imply that vaccines cause autism or that call for additional vaccine research.”
Swine flu monitor
Boston Globe
November 9, 2009
“... Still, last week, an independent panel of scientific advisers - led by Dr. Marie McCormick, professor of maternal and child health at the Harvard School of Public Health - was convened to provide another ongoing safety check.”
Inoculating Against Fear of Vaccination
CBS Sunday Morning
November 8, 2009
“What if they threw a mass vaccination…and nobody came? Sure, the H1N1 vaccination centers are crowded, but for every man, woman or child lining up for a dose of the vaccine, there may be more at home with doubts about whether they should.”
Editorial: Take the Shot
New York Times
November 4, 2009
“...Our advice is that the most vulnerable people — the young and pregnant women — and those in critical jobs, like health workers, should take the vaccine.”
Boost Your Flu IQ: Your Questions Answered
NPR
November 2, 2009
“With the swine flu virus more widespread than ever and concerns about availability of the vaccine circulating, we solicited your questions about the pandemic.”
An Inside Look at H1N1 Vaccine Production
CBS 60 Minutes
November 1, 2009
“To find some answers, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley went inside the federal government's $3 billion H1N1 vaccine project. This is the first time the public has seen where and how the vaccine is made.”
Journalist's Vaccine Article Draws Hate Mail
NPR: All Things Considered
October 28, 2009
“There is a passionate, even angry debate in this country over the safety of vaccines, set off by fears that kids are over-vaccinated or that vaccines can cause autism.”
Editorial: Swine Flu and You
New York Times
October 26, 2009
“While there is no reason to panic, there is also no reason for anyone to let down their guard.”
Scientists aim to dispel fears on H1N1 flu vaccine
Los Angeles Times
October 25, 2009
“Those who think the vaccine was rushed into production can be reassured, experts say. It is 'made just like all the flu vaccines we have been making for 60 years.”
Doctors: Vaccine, not actual flu, best way to give kids immunity
USA Today
October 21, 2009
“As health care workers around the country work frantically to accommodate the millions seeking protection against the H1N1 strain of influenza, they have to contend with a countertrend: significant numbers of Americans who don't plan to vaccinate themselves or their children.”
Inoculation Misinformation
Newsweek online
October 19, 2009
“Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1.”
The truth about swine flu
Philadelphia Inquirer
October 19, 2009
“Swine flu is spreading: 292 U. S. deaths have been confirmed since Aug. 30.”
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All
WIRED Magazine
October 19, 2009
“...despite peer-reviewed evidence, many parents ignore the math and agonize about whether to vaccinate.”
Swine flu vaccines are safe and time-tested, experts assert
Chicago Tribune
October 19, 2009
“Untested? No. Rushed into production? Not really. Full of substances that do harm? Hardly, and especially not compared with the dangers of the H1N1 flu virus.
H1N1: Most Dangerous To Young People
CBS News: 60 Minutes
October 18, 2009
“... One of the most unusual things [about H1N1] is the higher number of kids who are ill”
Give Yourself a Boost
Wall Street Journal
October 13, 2009
“As the push gets under way to immunize Americans against swine flu and the seasonal flu, infectious-disease experts warn that many adults haven't received vaccinations for at least half a dozen other preventable diseases.”
OpEd: Nothing to Fear but the Flu Itself
By Dr. Paul Offit
New York Times
October 11, 2009
“Public health officials are now battling not only a fast-spreading influenza virus but also unfounded fears about the vaccine that can prevent it.”
Editorial: Opting not to vaccinate, gambling with children’s health
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
October 11, 2009
“Since the English physician Edward Jenner created the first crude smallpox vaccine in 1796, millions of lives have been saved — and many, many serious complications have been averted — by immunizations.”
Swine flu vaccine arriving, but don't line up yet
Associated Press
October 5, 2009
“And we're off: Swine flu vaccinations begin this week, after months of preparations and promises.”
Obama: First Family to Follow Rules on Flu Vaccine
Associated Press
September 21, 2009
“President Barack Obama says the first family will follow the rules like every one else on the swine flu vaccine.”
American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza Campaign Stresses the Importance of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination
Reuters
September 16, 2009
“The American Lung Association is intensifying its seasonal influenza public education initiative to urge families to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Rare but deadly meningitis: Don't forget kid shots
Associated Press
August 31, 2009
“Amid all the publicity about children's flu shots this year is quiet concern that vaccination against meningococcal meningitis not fall by the wayside, just as doctors are charting some progress against the rare but devastating infection.”
Not enough children get vaccinated for the flu
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 27, 2009
“Ask your doctor which vaccination type is most appropriate for your child and discuss the availability of influenza vaccine with your doctor in your medical home.”
How Safe Are New Vaccines For H1N1, HPV?
NPR
August 25, 2009
“Guest host Jennifer Ludden talks with Dr. Paul Offit, Chief of Infectious Diseases at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, about the safety of the new vaccines.”
Speaking of Vaccinations...Flu's Not the Only Ill That Might Merit a Preventive Shot
Washington Post
August 18, 2009
“All the vaccine buzz is about the H1N1 virus right now, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding Americans to make sure all of their vaccinations are up-to-date."
No mercury in most children's vaccines
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
August 16, 2009
“But researchers... have found no link between thimerosal and autism, despite persistent arguments by some parents of autistic children that there is a connection.”
Immunizations Keep Kids Safe
Health News Digest
July 25, 2009
“While at least one celebrity mother and a few news reporters have suggested that there is a link between autism and immunizations, pediatricians and numerous health organizations maintain that vaccines are safe and recommend that vaccines be administered on schedule to keep your children safe from a variety of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
US to spend another 1 Billion on Flu Vaccine
Reuters
July 12, 2009
“The United States will spend another $1 billion on ingredients for an H1N1 vaccine... Sebelius has said plans were on track for a mid-October vaccination program, although it was not certain Americans would be offered the vaccine for the so-called swine flu.”
Henderson Led WHO's Effort to Rid the World of Smallpox
USA Today
June 30, 2009
“One day in 1947, two cases of smallpox turned up in New York City. An investigation identified more cases. The outbreak's source turned out to be a visitor from Mexico who stayed in a hotel with 3,000 guests from 28 states.”
Cracking The Autism Riddle: Common Sense About Vaccines And Autism
By Harvey Karp, MD
Huffington Post
June 23, 2009
“All sorts of arguments are thrown around to persuade parents that shots threaten their children with autism. I'd like to discuss 4 of the commonly repeated concerns...”
Rotavirus: Every Child Should Be Vaccinated Against Diarrheal Disease, W.H.O. Says
New York Times
June 9, 2009
“The World Health Organization recommended last week that the vaccine against rotavirus, a diarrheal disease that kills 500,000 children a year, be given to every child in the world.”
Risks: Pertussis Protection? Not From the Herd
New York Times
June 8, 2009
“The theory of herd immunity holds that when most people in a group are vaccinated, everyone is protected...But the theory does not appear to work well with whooping cough.”
Will This Doctor Hurt Your Baby?
Philadelphia Magazine
June 2009
“Thanks to celebrity anti-vaccine crusaders like Jenny McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Children’s Hospital doctor and vaccine inventor Paul Offit gets death threats from parents frantic about autism -- and worse.”
Editorial: A Dangerous Denial
Baltimore Sun
June 1, 2009
“Our view: Parents who choose not to vaccinate are imperiling public health. Such, unfortunately, is the case with parents who choose not to immunize their children against diseases that killed and crippled millions before vaccines were developed and made widely available.”
Editorial: New Perspective for Vaccine 'Refusers'
Minneapolis Star Tribune (MN)
May 27, 2009
“...Across the nation, increasing numbers of parents continue to recklessly reject childhood vaccines. It's a dangerous trend, one fueled by Internet quacks and irresponsible antivaccine crusaders.”
Staff Editorial: Refusing to Iimmunize Raises Kids' Health Risks
Denver Post
May 27, 2009
“Parents who ignore the research and refuse to have their kids vaccinated increase the risk for everyone. It's a selfish stance.”
Autism doctor: Troubling Record Trails Doctor Treating Autism
Chicago Tribune
May 22, 2009
“In the name of safety, Dr. Mayer Eisenstein's practice embraces home births and shuns vaccines, but parents' lawsuits tell a story of harm and death...”
Autism Drug Lupron: 'Miracle Drug' Called Junk Science
Chicago Tribune
May 21, 2009
“Desperate to help their autistic children, hundreds of parents nationwide are turning to an unproven and potentially damaging treatment...The therapy is based on a theory, unsupported by mainstream medicine, that autism is caused by a harmful link between mercury and testosterone.”
Editorial: The danger of an anti-vaccine panic
National Post (CAN)
May 20, 2009
“Earlier this month... the most influential woman in media signed a development deal with model-actress Jenny McCarthy, who has become a crusader against ‘toxins’ in vaccines...Their new commercial arrangement practically guarantees more visibility for Ms. McCarthy's dubious claims.”
Celebrities give unwarranted boost to science-averse anti-vaccine groups
Vancouver Sun
May 16, 2009
“Indeed, vaccination is one of the most important public health measures ever developed, as vaccines have saved countless people from disease and death, and have all but eradicated a number of deadly diseases.”
Listen to Scientists, Not Celebrities, When Deciding to Vaccinate Kids
Nashua Telegraph (NH)
May 13, 2009
“There are so many things to be alarmed about in today's world that I hate to pile on another item, but here it is anyway: Parents who endanger the rest of us because of unfounded fears about childhood vaccinations.”
Vaccine Holdouts a Danger, Study Says
Bloomberg News
May 7, 2009
“More parents are opting not to have children vaccinated with all the shots health officials recommend, endangering the youngsters and fostering disease outbreaks, a new study says.”
Say It Ain't So, O
Slate Magazine
May 6, 2009
“I will try to talk some sense into Oprah Winfrey, who has decided to go into business with vaccine skeptic Jenny McCarthy...There is abundant evidence that vaccines don't cause autism.”
Measles Makes Unwelcome Return
Washington Times
May 6, 2009
“...Last month, Maryland health officials said at least four people had been diagnosed with measles in Montgomery County - including an 8-month-old infant who contracted the disease in a hospital waiting room...The rise could be an indicator that measles is making a comeback in the United States.”
Opinion: The Autism/Vaccine Myth
Los Angeles Times
May 3, 2009
“...There is no rational reason to put children in harm's way by declining vaccinations...We must vaccinate against this misinformation, and stop its spread.”
South Florida meningitis outbreak baffles health experts
Miami Herald
April 24, 2009
“Local, state and national health experts are baffled as to how a rare and deadly strain of meningitis killed four people and infected eight others in South Florida since December, an unprecedented outbreak in the United States...Dr. Charles Mitchell at the University of Miami School of Medicine, said some parents have shunned the vaccination for their children.”
Opinion: Parents, don't be immune to vaccine truths
By Rahul Parikh, MD
Los Angeles Times
April 20, 2009
“As a second-year pediatric resident, I went to India to work in a hospital in Mumbai. There, among the rows of sick, poor children, were ones dying from vaccine-preventable diseases... It wasn't my first lesson about the importance of vaccines.”
Iowa measles case puts health officials on alert
Omaha World-Herald (NE)
April 20, 2009
“Public health officials in Nebraska are keeping a close eye on a measles case in northwest Iowa because of how easily the disease can spread.”
State confirms 1st case of rubella since 2000; vaccinations advised
Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 18, 2009
“A Twin Cities woman has come down with the state's first case of rubella, or German measles, in nine years, Minnesota health officials reported Friday.”
State Health Officials on Alert for More Measles
Washington Post
April 14, 2009
“Health officials said yesterday that they are trying to contain Maryland's first measles outbreak since 2001 after a fourth case was diagnosed in Montgomery County.”
Blog: A word or two about vaccinations
Dooce.com
April 7, 2009
“...That our children do not have to fear death from diseases like measles or polio or whooping cough is a miracle made possible by modern technology and science. And I guess the crux of this really complex problem for me is that as the number of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children increases so does the likelihood that these diseases will become a problem again.”
Editorial: Vaccinations are a public-health success, and a responsibility
Bay City Times (MI)
April 7, 2009
“In the case of vaccinations, we have decades of evidence proving that vaccines have beaten formerly common diseases that used to kill or cripple tens of thousands of children every year in the U.S. alone.”
Science trumps speculation: MMR not linked to autism
American Medical News
April 6, 2009
“...The AMA has long advocated the importance of childhood vaccination and worked to dismiss the flawed arguments that vaccines trigger autism.”
Editorial: Vaccine fear is harmful for children
Contra Costa Times (CA)
April 1, 2009
"A misguided fear that some vaccines may cause autism has persuaded a growing number of parents to decline to have their children inoculated against childhood diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough.”
Editorial: On School Vaccinations
San Francisco Chronicle
April1, 2009
"A distressing new statewide report shows that an increasing number of California parents are sending their children to school without routine vaccinations."
California schools' risks rise as vaccinations drop
Los Angeles Times
March 29, 2009
“A Times analysis finds hundreds of campuses, which tend to be in more affluent areas, at risk for childhood disease outbreaks...A rising number of California parents are choosing to send their children to kindergarten without routine vaccinations, putting hundreds of elementary schools in the state at risk for outbreaks of childhood diseases eradicated in the U.S. years ago.”
Immunization laws and attitudes vary
Los Angeles Times
March 29, 2009
“A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. in 2006 found that states that made it easiest to opt out of mandated vaccinations were nearly twice as likely to have cases of whooping cough as states with more difficult procedures.”
Letter: Court Right to Reject Vaccine Link
Miami Herald
March 22, 2009
“Recently, the Federal Vaccine Court issued three rulings that reject the link between childhood vaccines and autism...The court's rejection of these claims is a victory for science and a serious blow to those willing to gamble their children's health and safety based on Internet gossip or the medical acumen of autism activist Jenny McCarthy”
Opinion: What Vaccine Dilemma?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 8, 2009
“There is no vaccine dilemma... In spite of all of the anti-vaccine hype from Hollywood stars, talk shows, newspapers and elsewhere, it is critical that everyone understands something: NO epidemiological study has shown a link between autism and vaccines or vaccine preservatives.”
Kids and Health: Googling Symptoms is a Gamble
Seattle Post Intelligencer
March 8, 2009
“Many parents have approached me with information on the alleged link between vaccinations and autism that they have found online... So, even though there are countless articles that stand up to the rigors of scientific scrutiny by most experts on this topic, and even with the U.S. federal court ruling last month that there's no association between vaccines and autism...parents need to be careful about what they search for and what they read online.”
Doctors: No Definitive Answers on Flu Deaths among Young
CNN
March 2, 2009
“When McGowan meets a skeptic about flu vaccines, she recounts Martin's story. ‘I want to have parents understand it's not normal for children to die from the flu. I want them to get them protected, give them a fighting chance.’”
Editorial: A dose of reality on vaccines and autism
Los Angeles Times
February 25, 2009
“The unsubstantiated belief that vaccines are to blame for increasing rates of autism has diverted too much attention from the quest to find the causes of this complex syndrome.”
Anatomy of a Scare
NEWSWEEK
March 2, 2009
“When one study linked childhood vaccines to autism, it set off a panic. The research didn't hold up, but some wounded families can't move on...Most tragic of all, it has diverted attention and millions of dollars away from finding the true causes and treatments of a cruel disease.”
Contagious Disease's Spread Highlights Dilemma over Unvaccinated Kids
Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2009
“Parents who opt out of or delay getting their children immunized may run a higher risk of them catching and passing along diseases that once were nearly eradicated.”
Decision Support for Parents
AHIP News
February 2009
“A coalition of medical and advocacy groups aims to address the concerns of parents and restore the public’s confidence in vaccines by providing accurate information...”
Judging Autism
Salon.com
February 19, 2009
“The scientific community disproved the vaccine-autism connection long ago, multiple times. Anti-vaccination crusaders have countered with science of their own, but it has been weak at best and probably fraudulent at worst -- a fact the vaccine court recognized in its decisions.”
Hib Infection in Children Makes A Deadly Return
USA TODAY
February 15, 2009
“When a very sick toddler was brought into a Minneapolis-area hospital last winter, doctors immediately suspected meningitis. The baby, 15 months old, was lethargic, had a fever of 104 degrees and was increasingly unresponsive...William Pomputius, an infectious-disease specialist at Children's of Minnesota, was shocked to learn that the girl had Haemophilis influenzae type B, or Hib infection, a disease that has been nearly wiped out by routine vaccination.”
Vaccines Exonerated on Autism
New York Times
February 13, 2009
“A special federal vaccine court issued three devastating verdicts on Thursday that should help demolish lingering fears that childhood vaccines can and have caused autism…The verdicts on Thursday suggest that fear of autism was never a valid reason to forego vaccinations that can protect children from illness and even death.”
Court Rules Autism Not Caused by Childhood Vaccines
Washington Post
February 13, 2009
“A special federal court ruled yesterday that vaccines do not cause autism...The ruling closes one chapter in a long feud that has pitted families with autistic children against the bulk of the scientific establishment.”
Officials say 'bad science' links vaccines, autism
Associated Press
February 13, 2009
“Bitter feuding over a possible link between vaccines and autism won't go away despite a strong rejection of that theory by a special federal court…. Science years ago concluded there's no connection, but Thursday's rulings in a trio of cases still have far-reaching implications. The move offers reassurance to parents scared about vaccinating their babies because of a small but vocal anti-vaccine movement.”
Hidden records show MMR truth
Sunday Times (UK)
February 8, 2009
“Overwhelming biologic and epidemiologic evidence has demonstrated conclusively that there is no association between the MMR vaccine and autism, and yet this [debate] goes on.”
Researchers see no autism-vaccine link
United Press International
February 2, 2009
"U.S. researchers have published a review summarizing the many studies refuting the claim of a link between vaccines and autism. The review, published online ahead of the Feb. 15 print issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, examined three main hypotheses and showed how epidemiological and biological studies shoot down these claims."
Skipping vaccines? Think again
LA Times Blog: Booster Shots
January 29, 2009
“Meningitis killed one child and sickened four others in Minnesota last year, the most cases of invasive Haemophilus influenza type b, or Hib, infections in that state since 1992, according to a report today from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Study Backs Thimerosal Safety
Associated Press
January 26, 2009
"
A new study from Italy adds to a mountain of evidence that a mercury-based preservative once used in many vaccines doesn't hurt children, offering more reassurance to parents...The study, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drew praise from outside experts.”
Rare Sickness Kills Child; Officials Urge Vaccination
CNN
January 23, 2009
“A childhood illness that has mostly been curbed through vaccinations has killed one child and sickened four others in Minnesota, health officials said Friday...Three of the children had not received any vaccination because of their parents' decisions, not because of a vaccine shortage, officials said.”
Don't Risk Going Unvaccinated
Huffington Post
January 22, 2009
“This past year the United States witnessed a measles epidemic that was the largest in more than a decade. About 135 people, mostly children, were infected with measles... Almost all of the children who caught and transmitted measles were unvaccinated.”
Whooping Cough Vaccine Urged for New Moms
USA Today
January 21, 2009
“Doctors should routinely give all new mothers a vaccine to protect their newborns from whooping cough, a sometimes deadly illness that has made a recent comeback, according to a study in today's Obstetrics & Gynecology.”
‘This Question Has Been Asked And Answered’
Newsweek
January 16, 2009
“The warfare over vaccines and autism is heating up yet again. This week, Alison Singer, the executive vice president of communications and awareness at Autism Speaks, one of the nation's leading autism advocacy groups, announced her resignation, citing a difference of opinion over the organization's policy on vaccine research.”
The Problem With Dr Bob's Alternative Vaccine Schedule
Pediatrics
January 2009
“In October 2007, Dr Robert Sears, in response to growing parental concerns about the safety of vaccines, published The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child…This article examines the reasons for the popularity of Sears' book, deconstructs the logic and rationale behind its recommendations, and describes how Sears' misrepresentation of vaccine science misinforms parents trying to make the right decisions for their children.”
Combination Vaccine Safe and Effective for Infants
Reuters
January 8, 2009
“A combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and flu, which is routinely used in Canadian children, has been shown to be effective and well tolerated in a U.S. study.”
Measles Spreading in European Children as Parents Shun Vaccine
Bloomberg
January 7, 2009
“More than 12,000 Europeans, mostly children, contracted measles in the past two years as parents shunned vaccinations, casting doubt on public health efforts to eradicate the infectious disease by 2010, researchers said.”
Whooping cough makes a comeback
ABC News (NC)
December 26, 2008
“…In recent years, whooping cough has been diagnosed increasingly in teens and adults, although the disease typically had its most serious complications in infants…Reported cases of whooping cough have tripled in the United States since 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Editorial: Vaccination change would put all at risk
Clinton News (MS)
December 18, 2008
“Just 100 years ago when childhood diseases like measles, mumps and whooping cough were more prevalent, too many children lost their sight, their hearing, their mental aptitude, or worse, their life. That is why Mississippi, just like every other state, requires that before children enter school they receive vaccinations to prevent what used to be common but serious childhood diseases.”
Measles and MMR: Sow the wind
The Economist (UK)
December 4, 2008
“The rise [in measles cases], says the Health Protection Agency, is due to a fall in vaccination rates...Reluctance to vaccinate stems from a health scare surrounding MMR, a three-in-one vaccine designed to protect children from measles, mumps and rubella...A string of subsequent studies (and a meta-study of 31 other papers) found nothing to suggest that MMR has anything to do with autism.”
Measles Deaths Drop 74% Worldwide With Vaccine Push
Bloomberg
December 4, 2008
“Measles deaths tumbled 74 percent worldwide from 2000 through 2007, the result of a campaign to vaccinate children in developing countries, world health officials said today. About 197,000 people died from measles last year compared with 750,000 in 2000...The U.S. goal is to increase immunization rates by 2010 to 95 percent, the level needed to stop outbreaks through so-called ‘herd immunity,’ where even unvaccinated people are protected.”
Teaching moment springs from school's shared sadness
Seattle Times
November 21, 2008
“Half the kids in her second grade had been out that winter. But no one imagined Marija Alumbaugh would never come back to Laurelhurst Elementary over something as simple as the flu. It happened, though...in a matter of days in February 2007, the 8-year-old girl was gone...Parents have started a series of after-school clinics to ensure that the Laurelhurst Elementary community is immunized.”
Editorial: High Court Should Reject Vaccine Suits
The Oklahoman
November 12, 2008
“The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case likely to have profound effects on how vaccines are marketed, distributed and developed...More than 20 scientific studies have found that the vaccine doesn’t raise a child’s risk for autism. But her efforts have scared countless parents from getting their kids inoculated.”
Mother Load: Analyzing the great child-vaccination debate
New Jersey Record
November 5, 2008
“A decade ago, parents didn't routinely question doctors about the benefits of vaccines. My 4-year-old will be making two trips to the doctor this month, first for booster shots for chickenpox and measles, mumps and rubella, and then for vaccinations against influenza and pneumonia...So instead of bringing a picket sign to Trenton last month, I was calling the pediatrician's office to schedule my 4-year-old for his next round of immunizations.”
Doctor disputes autism, vaccine link
NBC: Today Show
October 30, 2008
Injecting trust into vaccines
Nature (UK)
October 2008
“Paul Offit's distinguished academic credentials and long-standing advocacy for vaccines in the United States provide the weight behind this forceful book. Autism's False Prophets focuses on the people and events in that country that were central to the claimed link between vaccination and autism...”
Editorial: Vaccinations’ Benefits Proved; Enforce the Law
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 29, 2008
“Unfounded fears about vaccines are causing too many parents to forgo getting the shots their children need to stay healthy and not spread dangerous diseases among their playmates...The vaccine-autism link has been thoroughly debunked. States should not back off mandatory vaccination laws, and local school districts and health departments should do a better job of enforcing compliance.”
Stomping Through A Medical Minefield
Newsweek
October 25, 2008
"Paul Offit...chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the nation's most outspoken advocate for childhood immunizations, is at the center of a white-hot medical controversy. He believes passionately in the safety of vaccines...In his new book, 'Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure,' Offit takes on his critics full-force, challenging them to prove the science wrong.”
Family's Loss Spurs Immunization Activism; Mother Told Caucus of Daughter's Death
Times-Picayune (LA)
October 23, 2008
“Five years ago when Danielle Romaguera's newborn daughter, Gabrielle, developed a runny nose and a cough, Romaguera figured she had picked up a cold… Danielle, and her husband, Ralph Jr., spent 22 days at the hospital with their 1-month-old daughter before she died of pertussis, also known as whooping cough…Romaguera shared Brie's story, with the hope of increasing awareness of the dangers of pertussis and the need for adults and adolescents to be vaccinated against it to prevent transmission of the disease.”
Editorial: Forgoing Vaccines has a Social Cost
Boston Globe
October 20, 2008
"...I have long known that vaccines are considered among the greatest advances of modern medicine. But it was last winter's flu epidemic that turned me into a fervid vaccine fan. In a flukish cluster of tragedy, I happened to know the families of two otherwise healthy children who died of complications of influenza...This year, for the first time, federal health authorities recommend that nearly all children from 6 months up be immunized against flu."
Opinion: Measles Not Worth the Risk
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 9, 2008
“I’m in a hospital bed, gasping for breath. Through the clear plastic of an oxygen tent, I see my Mom. Her face is red and she’s crying and crying… Every few hours a nurse opens the oxygen tent and gives me a shot. It hurts. It’s 1959. I’m in second grade…my measles didn’t go away... By 2000, the number of reported cases of measles had decreased to 86 and the number of deaths to one. So it is distressing to see that this year measles is on the upswing.”
Measles are a Growing Threat
Louisville Courier Journal (KY)
September 25, 2008
"Measles cases in the United States are at the highest level in more than a decade with almost half of them involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, federal health officials report. Concerned pediatricians are troubled by the trend and by the failure of parents to realize that measles is a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease.”
Celebs, Stop Taking Poisonous Shots at Vaccines
New York Daily News
September 24, 2008
"Earlier this month, researchers at Columbia University concluded that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine doesn't raise a child's risk for autism. It was the most rigorous look at the issue to date. Since 1998, more than 20 scientific studies have reached the same conclusion...But many activists and celebrities - most notably comedian Jim Carrey and actress Jenny McCarthy - are continuing to perpetrate the myth linking autism and vaccination. In the process, they're endangering public health..."
Expert Sees No Link between Vaccines and Autism
Philadelphia Inquirer
September 17, 2008
"[Dr. Paul] Offit, 57, has been defending the safety of vaccines for years, in response to beliefs that they are tied to autism-related disorders. He continues in the same vein with his new book...The mainstream scientific and medical communities overwhelmingly agree there is no evidence that vaccines cause autism..."
Vaccine Skeptics vs. Your Kids
Mother Jones Magazine
September/October 2008
"In the last trimester of her pregnancy, Helena Moran caught a cough that she couldn't get rid ofBut the real nightmare began after her daughter, Evelina, was born: The baby began to cough and cough, and then she'd curl up in a little ball and turn blue...It turned out that by working in Boulder...Moran had put herself at risk of contracting a disease that largely disappeared after widespread vaccination against it began in the 1950s. Since the early 1990s, whooping cough has periodically whipped through Boulder, where a large percentage of parents do not immunize their children, public health officials say."
Editorial: Debunking an Autism Theory
New York Times
September 9, 2008
"...The new [MMR] study adds weight to a growing body of epidemiological studies and reviews that have debunked the notion that childhood vaccines cause autism...Sadly, even after all of this, many parents of autistic children still blame the vaccine. The big losers in this debate are the children who are not being vaccinated because of parental fears and are at risk of contracting serious -- sometimes fatal -- diseases."
Editorial: Measles is Dangerous; Vaccine for it is Not
San Jose Mercury News (CA) September 8, 2008
"A serial killer is on the loose: Measles, which killed 400 to 500 Americans annually before a vaccine went into use in 1963, is back as more parents reject vaccination for fear it causes autism. Those fears have put children at risk of measles without protecting them from autism, which keeps rising even as parents reject the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine...But this should be easy: The vaccine is safe; measles is dangerous."
Childhood Vaccination Rates Remain High Despite Worries
Wall Street Journal Health Blog
September 4, 2008
"Despite the hullabaloo over alleged vaccination risks, the rate of young children getting their shots has remained high -- and largely unchanged -- over the past several years...The vaccine skeptics have received widespread media attention, but almost all children are still getting at least some vaccines. And the vast majority are still getting all of the shots that public health officials recommend, according to a survey published today by the CDC."
Study: No Link Between Measles Vaccine and Autism
Associated Press
September 3, 2008
"New research further debunks any link between measles vaccine and autism, work that comes as the nation is experiencing a surge in measles cases fueled by children left unvaccinated...Years of research with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, better known as MMR, have concluded that it doesn't cause autism."
