Posted on 01/26/2015 5:27:28 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
[This article was first published on Sept. 2, 2014]
A CDC senior epidemiologist stepped forward last week to say that he and his CDC colleagues omitted data that linked MMR vaccine to autism in a 2004 study. The scientist, William Thompson, said I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information.
A coauthor of the questioned study is Dr. Frank DeStefano, Director of the CDC Immunization Safety Office. In a telephone interview last week, DeStefano defended the study and reiterated the commonly accepted position that theres no causal link between vaccines and autism.
But he acknowledged the prospect that vaccines might rarely trigger autism.
I guess, that, that is a possibility, said DeStefano. Its hard to predict who those children might be, but certainly, individual cases can be studied to look at those possibilities.
It is a significant admission from a leading health official at an agency that has worked for nearly 15 years to dispel the public of any notion of a tie between vaccines and autism. Vaccines are among the most heralded medical inventions of our time. Billions of people have been vaccinated worldwide, countless lives have been saved and debilitating injuries prevented. The possibility that vaccines may also partly be responsible for autism, in individual cases, is not something public health officials are typically eager to address.
One such individual case is that of Hannah Poling.
Listen to Dr. DeStefanos interview
Hannah Poling
Hannah Poling was considered normal, happy and precocious until 19 months of age when she was vaccinated against nine diseases in one doctors visit: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae. Afterward, she developed high fevers, had screaming fits, stopped eating, didnt respond when spoken to and began showing signs of autism.
In 2002, Hannahs parentsher father a neurologist, her mother a nurse and attorneyfiled a claim in a specially-created federal vaccine court in which the U.S. Department of Justice defends vaccine interests. Hannah was to serve as a test case to help decide the outcome of thousands of vaccine-autism claims.
The case was strong. In 2007, contemplating Hannah would win her claim, sources say the vaccine court analyzed what the broader financial impact might be. It found that a flood of similar vaccine-autism claims would quickly deplete the governments vaccine injury compensation fund, which is supported by a small fee patients pay on each dose of vaccine.
But instead of allowing Hannahs case to publicly serve as a precedent for other possible victims, the government took another course: it quietly settled the case and sealed the results. Other families with autistic children were never to know. Hannahs family petitioned the court to be allowed to reveal the findings but the government fought to keep the case sealedand prevailed.
Still, news of Hannahs case leaked out in 2008along with the medical explanation for her vaccine-related autistic encephalopathy [brain damage].
In a court-submitted opinion, neurologist Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, Director of Medical Research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, stated that he had personally witnessed [Hannahs] developmental regression following vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation.
Whether vaccines caused or triggered Hannahs autism, the result was the same: but for her vaccinations, Zimmerman said, Hannah may have led a normal full productive life. Instead, she suffers significant lifelong disability.
A second underlying condition that was aggravated by vaccines, resulting in mental retardation and autism, is tuberous sclerosis or TS, according to a 1986 vaccine court case. According to the National Institutes of Health, TS affects 1 in every 6,000 newborns.
Not all children who developed autism as a result of vaccine injuries, as determined by vaccine court, had identifiable pre-existing conditions. But I asked the CDCs DeStefano whether it was worth trying to figure out what underlying conditions put kids at risk so they can be tested in advance and, if vulnerable, spared.
Thats very difficult to do, DeStefano told me. He said the CDCs priorities are gaining a better understanding of the pathogenesis, genetics and biology of autism. And then, I think itd be more feasible to try to establish if vaccines in an individual case, say a person with a certain set of genes if we ever get to that point, then that kind of research might be fruitful.
See CDCs recommended vaccination schedule
Not worthy of study?
But it turns out the CDC has ruled out that sort of research. A CDC spokesman told me that the agency is not currently investigating the relation between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Further, CDC does not have any planned research addressing vaccines and autism.
As of May, 2010 the government had compensated 1,296 vaccine brain damage (encephalopathy/encephalitis and seizure cases) but was not tracking how many of the brain-injured children specifically ended up with autism.
CDC believes that this topic has been thoroughly studied and no causal links have been found, said the spokesman in an email.
Seven years after Hannahs case settled, twenty-eight years after the TS case, its impossible to know how many similar children, if any, are out there. And the government isnt trying to find out.
Above: click to hear Part 1 of Sharyl Attkisson telephone interview with CDC Director of Immunization Safety Dr. Frank DeStefano about the possibility of vaccines triggering autism, Aug. 26, 2014
Transcript:
(Part 1)
Attkisson: And is, is the posthe current position that any potential link between vaccines and autism, secondary, any kind at all, has been entirely ruled out 100%?
DeStefano: I re, you know, I reuh, I think every hypothesis thats been looked at has been, uh, ruled out.
Attkisson: But, I mean, are you, are you, can I say the CDCs position is that if anybody thinks theres anything anymore, its a myth? Its all been disproven?
DeStefano: Wouldnt say its a myth, Id say, you know, all the evidence, thus far, points to that theres not a causal association between vaccines and autism.
Attkisson: What about secondary?
DeStefano: SecI dont understand what do you mean secondary?
Attkisson: What about not causal, but as a result of vaccines, as in the Poling case? The medical expert found, you know, as a result of the damages she had from the vaccines, she ended up with autism. And the distinction was made in the medical expert, well, thats not causal, its sort of a but for but its not a causal.
DeStefano: Yeah, I mean, I mean in that case, you know, she had a, I mean, you know, she had an underlying uh biological illness that uh either vaccination, or it couldve been an infection that that would trigger some physiological stress in her, uh, seems to have, you know, couldve, couldve caused uh, um, manifestations that, characteristics of autism which, you, you know, appears to be what happened in her case.
Attkisson: But I mean doesnt that, isisnt that a link? Its not a causal link, but isnt that a potential link between vaccination and autism if certain children with a underyling biological illness can have a trigger through vaccination?
DeStefano: [Unintell] as you call it, a secondary link if you wanna call it that way, w in certain children, I mean riI mean, I, maybe that, but, you know, then I guess, that, that is a possibility.
Above: click to hear Part 2 of interview with CDCs Dr. DeStefano
(Part 2)
Attkisson: Do you think thats an important area of study so we could figure out which kids might have that predisposition?
DeStefano: uh, [phone noise] Yeah, I mean, I think um You know, I think its something that, uh, well I mean, you know, in terms of uh I mean, Its hard, its hard to say, you know, I mean its like, um I mean how how important that is. I mean, its a theoretical possibility, I guess the, the Poling case maybe suggested it could happen. Uh, but [unintell] cause its hard to predict who those children might be, but certainly, um individual cases, uh, can be studied to try to, uh, to look at those, uh, those possibilities.
Attkisson: Well I would just thinkand then, then Ill let you go in a few minutes unless you have more timebut as a parent, if my kid had whatever Poling had and we could figure that out, that would be one kid you would cull out [from vaccination] versus not worry about other kids if they dont have that predisposition. But maybe you could identify the ones that would be vulnerable. But I havent seen that theres anyis there an area of study trying to do such a thing within CDC or funded by CDC? Or NIH?
DeStefano: Well, in terms of like, you know, the area at CDC thats thats studying autism and possible causal relationships of autism, uh, you know, whatever they may be, uh, is in the Center the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disability, and they, they do monitoring for autism prevalence and they do have, uh, studies trying to go on, you know, going on to, to look at, uh, a number of factors that could be, uh, related to, uh, increasing the risk of autism or causing autism.
Above: click to hear Part 3 of interview with CDCs Dr. DeStefano
(Part 3)
Attkisson: I mean I think to sum up, youre youre saying what I, what I think is also the case just based on my own research: that while the government has ruled out any known causal link between autism and vaccines, it hasnt ruled out the possibility, and in fact there seems to be at least one case where its acknowledged what I called a secondary link, meaning not causal but uh triggered. And the result for the parent, you know, mayto them it may be one and the same. And they may be trying to figure out which kids, you know, might have that predisposition.
DeStefano: Yeah, but you know, thats very difficult to do. Thats almost circular reasoning, say, you know, kind of, you cant, I mean, you know, the, the useful thing for parents who are clinically would be able to identify the kids who are gonna have, I mean, this way were identifying one certain child after the fact and say, you know, maybe in that one child, it was this or that that happened to him. But uh, its very difficult to make a causal link in in just one case.
Attkisson: Well, but isnt that what you guys are supposed to do, figure it out? Thats a, as you know, autism is such a huge problem, even if a teeny percentage is perhaps triggered by vaccination, I would think thatd be very, very important to, to learn and try to figure out. You guys are the best at it, Im sure somebody there can do it over time.
DeStefano: Yeah [unintell] I think [unintell] have a better understanding of uh of the pathogenesis of autism and the genetics and the biology and then, I think, I mean, and then, and then, with these individual cases, itd be, you know, more feasible to try to establish if, uh, if, if vaccines in an individual case, say a person with a certain, certain set of genes or something, you know, if we ever get to that point, then that kind of research, uh, might be fruitful, you know.
National Vaccine Information Center
9 shots in one day? Jeesh.
I had a flu vaccination...my first....in 1999....two weeks later I got guillain-barré and am still have the chronic form....CIDP....to say it sucks is a massive understatement.
when they told my kids they MUST get flu vaccinations in college they refused and explained why. that was the end of it...the schools let it go.
but how many kids just got the shots and got very sick.
I had survived being sick from various flu viruses for 50 years...and was felled by 1 flu vaccine shot.
Hmm... “Autism” or Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tuberculosis, Tetanus...
Such a hard choice.
Tell that to someone who’s changing their violent 15yr old’s diapers.
Good luck!
There’s always a slight risk with any vaccination. But the diseases are worse. Outbreak right now in Disneyland likely because Californians (and illegals) aren’t vaccinated.
Good example of ‘lottery mentality’ = everyone thinks he is the exception.
Well, considering the vaccines are not as effective as advertised (we had a measles outbreak locally two years ago, and every documented case was vaccinated), some parents are opting to pass on the shots.
We worked with out doctor for a modified schedule. I grew up with animals, nine shots in a day is way to much and would be illegal in the EU. But because certain classes will not go back to the pediatrician, it is the way the US does thing.
When my daughter had her girls, I told her that if she had to give the girls shots, she should not under any circumstance have them get the shots all at once, but rather space them out over a period of time.
I highly, highly doubt every case was vaccinated. That sounds about as factual as global warming.
Post the death rates instead.
Most people got the measles.
Most of them recovered.
My parents got measles.
So did all their friends and siblings.
They don’t know anyone who actually DIED from measles.
Autistic children NEVER recover. Most of them will be institutionalized at GREAT lifetime cost to everyone else.
And this, from the institution that’s spent the last 20 years blaming ‘defective parents’ for autism.
And, as it turns out, at least some of the childhood diseases have a beneficial effect:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951028/#!po=77.2727
Now we have EIGHT YEAR OLDS with ovarian cancer:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/year-girl-battles-ovarian-cancer/story?id=17240690
And, dare I say it, HOTTEST YEAR EVAH!
Oh, wait...
Older US citizens are told we don't have much to worry about if there's a measles outbreak. Why? We've all been exposed to it in our youths.
No, she's still a loon. She may, or may not, be proven right over time in this particular area, but she's still a loon.
Click the highlighted link in the article to read the lawsuit.
Strange, I have a whole slew of females in my family that lack ovarian cancer.
This mysterious outbreak seems to have passed them over as they received their vaccinations for diseases that had a great deal of fatalities associated with them in the past.
Oh well, C’est La Vie.
“.. rather space them out over a period of time..”
That is exactly what we did with our 3. One vaccine and I made another appointment the following month or so. I was amazed at how many people would allow their young kids (babies) to be subjected to numerous vaccines at once. TBH the following appointments weren’t a huge issue either. We were escorted into the examination room and didn’t have to see the doctor. In and out within 15 minutes.
The problem isn’t with vaccine science, god knows it works very well, the problem as I have seen is the propensity for them to push several vaccines at ONCE into a healthy person.
Think the MMR shot.
3 different diseases that the immune system has to have a response to at the SAME time!
Add to that the extra crap they put in the shot to “cut” the vaccine with in order to use less of the dead or weakened virus(s).
The shot then is deliberately causing the person’s immune system to go into overdrive!
While most people can surely handle it with no issues, not everyone’s immune system is the same (think about how different people have different allergies and allergies are a effect of a person’s immune system).
And then you start to see that this practice or administering multiple shots at once and using “adjuvants” while doing that could cause someone’s immune system to go into overdrive and start attacking certain tissues or organs not in everyone but in a small but significant number of the population out there leading to all sorts of nasty immediate or long term effects....
I recommend taking the vaccines one at a time with at least 3 months between each shot and making sure the vaccines do not contain any immune system stimulants known as “adjuvants”.
And I have a whole slew of males in my family who GOT mumps who all were subsequently mysteriously very fertile.
Odd, to hear the rhetoric you’d think mumps was universally linked to male sterility OMIGOD!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.