Breaking News Archives
- each day's breaking news from December 1, 2003
(check here for breaking news you might have missed and breaking news that
didn't ever hit the "front page")
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Posted
February 15, 2004:
►February 12, 2004 - Health
law made stricter - Declaring quarantine can be done faster
- The Cincinnati Enquirer - "Local health commissioners have more power to
confine people during a public health emergency under revisions to Ohio's
quarantine laws that take effect today. Inspired by modern risks of a bioterror
attack, the changes give health commissioners the authority to declare a
quarantine without having to wait for full approval from their boards of
health."
►February 12, 2004 - Chiron
to Testify to Congress on Influenza Vaccine - President and CEO Howard Pien
to Appear at U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee Hearing
Today - PRNewswire-FirstCall via
http://interestalert.com - "'"Chiron is committed to meeting demand for flu
vaccine in the United States, today and tomorrow,' said Mr. Pien...'Strengthening
our public health infrastructure -- to increase immunization rates in the
inter-pandemic years -- is the single most important initiative today to prepare
for tomorrow's pandemic.'"
►February 12, 2004 - It's
Back to Basics After AIDS Vaccine Setbacks - Wall Street Journal via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) - "Due
to frequent mutation, resistance to neutralizing antibodies, and the ability to
hide from the human immune system, developing a vaccine against HIV-1 is proving
difficult. The most innovative vaccines currently in development are likely to
fail, according to Harvard Medical School professor Ron Desrosiers. To be
successful, researchers must slow down development and concentrate on basic
science questions concerning how HIV-1 interacts with the immune system, says
Desrosiers."
►February
13, 2004 -
Medicine Gets Cheaper
- Whatever it cost to develop the whooping cough vaccine or to distribute it
free, the cost must surely have been dwarfed by the economic gains that came
from freeing up mothers to engage in other pursuits. - Forbes
►February 13, 2004 - Planning
for a nightmare - Health Canada outlines strategy in case of a flu pandemic.
Experts prepare for staggering hardships and losses - Toronto Star
►February 13, 2004 - Excessive
heat kills lab animals - Thirteen monkeys and dozens of hamsters died over
the weekend at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton after they were housed in
100-degree heat for several hours due to a heater malfunction. - Helena
Independent Record
►February 13, 2004 - Consumer's
Corner - Consumer's bird flu and mad cow disease "Food and safety is, above
all a public health issue." - The Nassau Guardian
►February 12, 2004 - 'Peptide'
may help predict early heart disease - A protein produced by overstressed
heart muscle appears to be a strong indicator of heart disease, offering doctors
a quick and cheap test for diagnosing patients in the ER and a potential new way
to spot heart trouble well before symptoms appear. - AP via CNN
►February 11, 2004 - Drug
to stop HIV spread to babies may harm moms - The treatment used in poor
countries to prevent the spread of HIV from mothers to their babies may have a
serious drawback: It can make the women resistant to the AIDS drugs they may
need later on, disturbing new research shows. - AP via CNN
►February 9, 2004 - Study:
Optimism no help against cancer - A positive attitude does not improve the
chances of surviving cancer and doctors who encourage patients to keep up hope
may be burdening them, according to the results of research released Monday. -
AP via CNN
►February 15, 2004 -
Cloning
cures are a long way off, scientists say - Scientists say crusading
advocates and passionate patients are desperate for something that they cannot
provide: therapeutic cloning. - New York Times Service via The Miami Herald
►February 14, 2004 -
Flu jabs scandal puts old at risk - icBirmingham.co.uk - "Half a million
elderly people in the Midlands are at risk of catching killer flu because of a
vaccination flop...The prediction comes after it was revealed that less than
HALF the primary care trusts in the region had hit Government targets for
offering the life-saving jabs."
Comment: Is
the government ignorant of the fact that this year's flu vaccine probably
doesn't work, or do they just don't care?
►February 15, 2004 -
Pakistan To Be
Self-Sufficient In Polio Vaccine - Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will
assist Pakistan to become self-reliant in preparing polio vaccine, the crippling
disease targeted to be eliminated from Pakistan by the year 2004. - Pakistan
News Service
►February 15, 2004 -
Putting your
body to the test - From the moment a child is born there are tests and
check-ups which can be done to monitor and maximise well-being. That doesn't
always mean you need to see a doctor: some tests can be carried out at your
local pharmacy. - Sunday Star Times via
www.stuff.co.nz
►February 15, 2004 -
Journey of
discovery - When she asked experts to crystal ball-gaze about the future of
our biggest killers, Donna Chisholm found it's a case of the more we know, the
more we need to find out. - Sunday Star Times via
www.stuff.co.nz - "The
story of health research in the past 20 years has been peppered with words such
as 'breakthrough' and 'cure'...In the story of the forecast for health research
in the next 20 years, the excitement is somewhat muted...Replace breakthrough
with a glacial shuffle, cure with complexity...Forget magic bullet - in many
cases, we're still trying to figure out how to fire the gun."
Comment: But
question what is known and/or beneficial about vaccines, and you are labeled by
many as a fanatic.
►February 14, 2004 -
How
well do scientists communicate with the public about vaccine safety? -
Vaccine expert to address measles vaccine/autism controversy - Childrens
Hospital of Philadelphia via
www.eurekalert.org - "WHO:
Paul A. Offit, M.D., director of the Vaccine Education Center and
chief of Infectious Diseases at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is an
internationally prominent expert on immunology and vaccine safety."
Comment: Paul Offit is
paid
by the vaccine manufacturers to "explain" to doctors about the safety of
vaccines.
►February 14, 2004 -
Vaccine risk acceptance depends on what you do and don't know - Georgia
Institute of Technology Research News via
www.eurekalert.org - "Beyond describing the factors that affect individual
choices regarding vaccine risk acceptance, Bostrom also will discuss the
sometimes-controversial public decision-making process on vaccination
policy...'Controversy isn't always a bad thing,' she explains. 'Conflicts of
interest can be real, and both scientific and policy processes should be
scrutinized. Science, and in particular the science that has enabled vaccine
development, has given us much longer, healthier lives. But engineering our
immune systems is no mean task, and thinking broadly about that bigger picture
is important.'
►February 14, 2004 -
Meningitis case confirmed - One of two suspected cases of meningitis in
south Devon has been confirmed as the meningococcal strain of the disease. - BBC
►February 13, 2004 -
Why
parents should immunize their babies against the hepatitis B virus - letter
- Houston Chronicle - "Second, even children from uninfected parents are at risk
of becoming infected...In fact, most children who become infected with hepatitis
B are born to mothers who are not infected with hepatitis B...Approximately
one-third of hepatitis B infections among children and adolescents occur among
those with no known risk of infection, and many carriers of the virus show no
apparent symptoms...There simply is no way to know which children eventually
will be exposed to hepatitis B. That's why medical experts recommend that all
children be vaccinated to protect against developing a hepatitis B infection and
its consequences...If a parent thinks about what a baby has to gain and what he
or she may lose, there's really no argument."
Comment: There is really no argument if
you ignore the adverse reactions to hepatitis B vaccine, that is. If you
don't ignore them, however, giving ALL babies a potentially harmful vaccine,
when hardly ANY babies get hepatitis B, is a highly questionable policy.
(By the way, 1/3 of a small number is an even smaller number still.) For more on
the problem with estimates of hepatitis B incidence and universal infant
hepatitis B vaccination policy go to
Scandals:
For No Good Reason: The
Utterly Misguided Universal Infant Hepatitis B Vaccination PolicyandScandals:
The CDC and “The New Math”, where 1 + 1 does not equal 2.
►February 13, 2004 -
Avian Influenza Strain Identified - No human threat seen; PA Poultry Remains
Safe - press release - Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture via Yahoo!
Comment: Wouldn't it be better to
understand immunity prior to using vaccines, rather than use them under the
assumption that they both work and are safe?
►February 14, 2004 -
Heartbreaker, painmaker - The Guardian via Hindustan Times - "While physical
stress (such as eating fatty foods) may be an obvious cause for making heart
disease one of the biggest global killers, cardiologists, psychologists and
other scientists around the world have been gradually gathering evidence that
emotional stress from heartbreak is sometimes also a factor in exacerbating
heart disease and other illnesses. Sometimes, this can even lead to death."
►February 13, 2004 -
Bird flu victim's father sues Thai government - Financial Times - "The angry
father of a six-year-old Thai boy who died of bird flu has filed a legal
complaint against the Thai government, accusing it of covering up the lethal
disease, with fatal consequences for his son...Chamnan Bounmanut, whose son
Captan was the first of five Thais to die from the H5N1 bird flu virus, says the
boy would be alive today if the government had issued public warnings that bird
flu was sweeping through Thai poultry and could infect people."
►February 13, 2004 -
Avian Flu Found Beyond Delaware (requires registration) - Reuters via The
Los Angeles Times - "A strain of bird flu that is devastating to commercial
chicken flocks but not harmful to humans has spread into Pennsylvania and more
cases may be found in Delaware, agriculture officials in both states said
Thursday."
Comment: I don't
know that anyone is suggesting that it is because the MMR is occurring at a
particular age that it may be causing autism. And given the varying
lengths of time it takes to recognize and/or diagnose autism, the arbitrary
cut-off times only serve to obscure, rather than shed light on, the question.
The relevant comparisons are children who have not had the MMR vaccine and those
who have had no vaccine, ever. This study says nothing about whether or
not MMR causes autism in some susceptible children. (If, after comparing
the vaccinated to the never vaccinated it becomes apparent that the MMR vaccine,
with or without other vaccines, causes autism, it might then be interesting to
see if there are ages that are more susceptible than others. But to assume
a known cut-off point and age at diagnosis, without having determined what, if
any, such factors are meaningful, is a good example of poor research design.
Besides, the average age at which a diagnosis is made and the MMR is given says
nothing about the actual ages these things occur.)
►February 13, 2004 -
Parents push for vaccine options - Parksville Qualicum News - "Alternatives
are available to parents concerned about the additive thimerosal in their kids'
flu shots...Vaccines with trace amounts of the preservative, or none at all, are available
through public health services - but at an extra cost, says Dr. Monika Naus,
associate director of epidemiology services at the BC Centre for Disease
Control."
►February 13, 2004 -
Canada: Flu Pandemic Plan a World Away from South's Preparations - The
release of Canada's multi-million-dollar plan to prepare for a global flu
outbreak highlights how tough it would be to fight a pandemic in the developing
world, says an expert here. - IPS via Inter Press Service
►February 14, 2004 -
Doctor immunity key to secrecy - The West Australian - "THE
State's Deputy Coroner wants doctors and other health professionals to be
shielded from legal action in a bid to ensure all information is gathered during
the investigation of unexpected deaths...Evelyn Vicker said doctors would be
more inclined to reveal vital information if they didn't fear being sued. Ending
secrecy also would help to restore public confidence in the health system."
►February 13, 2004 -
Bird flu confirmed
in Shanghai - China has confirmed seven new outbreaks of bird flu in four
regions including one on the financial centre, Shanghai, previously just a
suspected case. - BBC
►February 13, 2004 -
Destiny: Is it in the Genes? Battle of the Sexes - Ivanhoe - "When they
started to look at women, UCLA psychologist Shelley Taylor, Ph.D., and
colleagues found a difference they didn't expect. 'Humans, but especially
females, cope with stress in large part by caring for their offspring, getting
them out of harm's way, ensuring that nothing bad happens to them and by
affiliating with a social group,' Taylor tells Ivanhoe.
She calls this 'tend and befriend' and says it may be one reason why women live
longer. 'When people give or get social support in response to stress, it down
regulates stress hormones. What that means is that there's lesser wear and tear
on the body.'"
►Autism
A.L.A.R.M. - CDC, AAP et al via
www.medicalhomeinfo.org - "Autism is prevalent...1 out of 6 children are
diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem...1 in 166
children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder"
Comment: Note that it is the CDC and AAP that are
saying this.
►January 29, 2004 -
Coolidge v. Riegle - court of appeals decision re: autistic child who acted
aggressively against his teacher
►February 12, 2004 -
Central Florida medical examiner barred from doing autopsies - AP via
www.theledger.com - "Gore was
investigated for his testimony that contributed to the conviction of Alan Yurko,
of Orlando, who was sentenced to life in prison for shaking his 10-week-old son
to death...The commission determined Gore committed eight errors in the autopsy
of Alan Ream-Yurko, who died Nov. 24, 1997. Yurko said the baby stopped
breathing and took him to the hospital where he died. The father was arrested
days later...Yurko is seeking a new trial, saying that Gore botched the child's
autopsy. He suggests his son died after an adverse reaction to a vaccination."
(click here for
complaint filed by Francine Yurko on behalf of her husband Alan Yurko)
Breaking News Archives
- each day's breaking news from December 1, 2003
(check here for breaking news you might have missed and breaking news that
didn't ever hit the "front page")
More News -
all the news most recently
posted on this website
All the News - a running tab of
everything posted on this website since October 29, 2003
DISCLAIMER: All
information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for
general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the
knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended
as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate
is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in
consultation with your health care provider.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"
