Comments | hapersmion: Food for thought.

hapersmion

Food for thought.

Mar 06, 2008 14:23

Wow... breaking news. If you follow the autism/vaccine debate, or have kids, here's something worth reading.

http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/press022808.php

autism, vaccines, actual serious post for once

Comments 14

trix1e March 6 2008, 21:35:21 UTC

Holy cats.

hapersmion March 6 2008, 21:45:15 UTC

I certainly didn't expect this verdict.

(The comment has been removed)

hapersmion March 7 2008, 01:00:26 UTC

This wasn't a study, it was a legal decision. That's what made it rather surprising to me - there aren't enough studies for good, conclusive evidence of anything, so far (it would be nice to have some). But this court decided that there was enough evidence that vaccines caused this girl's autism to award damages. It's an interesting precedent ( ... )

(The comment has been removed)

hapersmion March 7 2008, 15:12:19 UTC

There are lots of possible causes (widespread pollution, pesticide, and chemicals in just about all our stuff may play a part), but one thing that has changed dramatically in the last 30 years with regards to vaccines is simply the number of shots that are recommended. People our age generally got DTaP, polio, and MMR. Kids now, starting the day they are born, if they follow the recommended schedule, get HepB, Hib, PCV, Rotavirus, polio, DTaP, chicken pox, MMR, flu, and sometimes HepA - multiple doses of each one. A two-month-old can be given seven different shots at the same time, in some practices. So things aren't exactly the same as they were in our or our parents' generations.

Thread 14

(The comment has been removed)

hapersmion March 7 2008, 15:58:01 UTC

No, it wasn't foreseeable for this child. That's the problem - it won't be foreseeable for the next child either. But I think it's important to be honest about the risk, and to find out as much as we can about how often this happens, and what makes it happen, instead of trying to deny that the problem exists, as it seems some groups have been trying to do for a long time. *shrug*

Better vaccines would be good. Better information about the vaccines we currently have would also be good.

hapersmion March 7 2008, 16:04:56 UTC

Oh, and I remembered the other thing I wanted to say. In some European countries, I believe, they don't start vaccinating until a child turns 2, when the blood/brain barrier is more complete and the child is sturdier. (The dose proportions also change when the child is bigger. Giving the same vaccine to a thirty-pound two year old is much different, chemical-dosage-wise, than it would be for a 16-pound two month old or a 6-pound newborn. But right now they all would get the same dose.) It would be interesting to look at these countries and see their rates of autism and vaccine reactions, though of course it would be hard to control for other environmental factors. Can't hurt to look though.