Posted on 03/09/2008 6:17:55 PM PDT by raybbr
"It's indisputable that autism is on the rise among children," Senator John McCain said while campaigning recently in Texas. "The question is what's causing it. And we go back and forth and there's strong evidence that indicates that it's got to do with a preservative in vaccines."
With that comment, McCain marked his entry into one of the most politicized scientific issues in a generation.
McCain is correct that autism diagnoses have increased in recent decades; indeed, no one disputes that. He is on much shakier ground when talking about the preservative as a cause.
While some parents' groups and lawmakers assert that the preservative, called thimerosal, has caused an epidemic of new autism cases, most mainstream researchers strongly disagree.
Several large-scale studies have found no evidence of a link between thimerosal and autism, and medical groups including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics have publicly stated as much. In January, the state of California reported an increase in autism cases, despite the removal of thimerosal from most vaccines.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Just like his stance on global warming, this is another area where McCain doesn't have a clue. It seems when it comes to science and finance, McCain needs to take some remedial university courses, but basically he is an idiot.
Larry Craig was the last to know there was a sting set up at the MSP airport.
it is still used in influenza shots recommended for pregnant women and children
Yes, however, the percentage of these flu vaccines for pregnant women and children getting them, is way down compared to the pre-2001 number of vaccines that had mercury in them. If indeed, mercury is the culprit (and there is a lot of scientific data that questions this), we should see a dramatic drop in the number of children with autism.
I think this is an emotional issue for many. There appears to be several separate causes for autism. There is some evidence that autism may be the result of not the mercury but the over reaction of the immune system to the measles vaccine causing an autoimmune attack on the mylin sheaths in the brain. The one that that is certain is that there is not a simple diagnosis. I always recommend politicians shut up about what they don’t understand.
apparently he gets all his news from the liberal news media and never pays attention to what conservatives say or think.
And his wife would be a convicted felon except he got the charges dropped.
I do NOT like the man.
thats why govt shouldn’t be telling parents how to raise their kids
exactly!
What do you expect from the sort of scientific mind that believes in anthropogenic global warming?
McKook deserves exactly what he gets. His instincts are so wrong. But, God help us!
my thoughts exactly.
Rick perry must be a ‘conservative’ because he believes girls should be forced to be vaccinated for HPV
That should pretty much rule out working in the Oval Office, shouldn't it?
“Yes, I stated that in my post, that it is still used in flu shots. Nevertheless, the percentage of vaccines, including those use for flu shots, still using mercury compared to pre-2001, is much lower and we should see a much lower rate of autism in children. Also, if mercury is the cause, it should be easy to do a statistical analysis of the post-2001 children with autism to see if they had flu shot compared to children post-2001 who didn’t not have the flu shots.
As far as I know, there has been no drop in new cases. It seemed like a promising theory, but....
Wow did McCain ever stir up Dr. Dean Edell today on his radio show. The Dr. said McCain was probably incapable of making any important decisions based on his remarks about the vaccine controversy.
I’m surprised he didn’t say it was due to Global Warming.
Is that really true?
Back when I was a kid, autism was rare but serious. Usually meant that the afflicted individuals bonked their heads on the wall all day, and had no real communication with the outside world. This was a debilitating condition and obviously very difficult for the parents.
Now I hear all sorts of stuff about "autism spectrum disorders" which just don't sound all that horrible. Plenty of people (particularly scientists and engineers) go on to live happy, fulfilling lives, even though their social skills aren't quite up to par. Yet now they are labeled "autistic" and presumably medicated, or used to get extra money from the government.
I don't understand how we've gotten to the point where "geeky" behaviors are considered a disease, but boys who dress up like girls are supposed to be considered normal.
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