Breaking News Archives
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Posted
February 24, 2004:
►February 23, 2004 - Isolation
ends in China's first bird flu-hit town - An official
of Long'an County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region announced
Sunday morning the ending of isolation imposed on the county's Dingdang Town,
which had been stricken by the deadly H5N1strain of avian flu late last month.
- People's Daily, China
►February 23, 2004 - DNA
Vaccines Get A Shot In The Arm - Polymer microspheres synchronize DNA
release and immune response - Chemical & Engineering News
►February 23, 2004 - Uses
and Abuses of Science (requires registration or subscription) - The New York
Times - "Although the Bush administration is hardly the first to politicize
science, no administration in recent memory has so shamelessly distorted
scientific findings for policy reasons or suppressed them when they conflict
with political goals. This is the nub of an indictment delivered last week by
more than 60 prominent scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates. Their statement
was accompanied by a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists,
listing cases where the administration has manipulated science on environmental
and other issues."
►February 23, 2004 - Whooping
woes quarantine students - Only one student officially diagnosed by Student
Health despite numerous inquiries - The Cavalier Daily
►February 23, 2004 - Mali:
Rural Health Programme Meets Double Objective - IRIN via www.allafrica.com
- Mothers in some parts of rural Mali are being given free mosquito nets
impregnated with insecticide if they take their children for full series of
vaccinations against preventable diseases such as measles and polio.
►February 23, 2004 - The
blame drain - The Gulf War veterans are blaming their lawyer for the
collapse of their case against the MoD. Jon Robins hears both sides of the story
- www.thelawyer.com
►February 23,
2004 -
Polio Vaccination Drive Opens in Africa - Polio Immunization Drive Opens in
West and Central Africa; Two Nigerian States Ban Vaccine - AP via ABC News
►February 23, 2004 -
Anthrax jabs safe - Lindsay - Townsville Bulletin - "SIDE
effects experienced by troops who received the controversial anthrax vaccine
were normal vaccination reactions, Member for Herbert Peter Lindsay said
yesterday...A number of Townsville soldiers and airmen had the vaccination and
did not experience any long-term side effects, he said."
Comment: What on earth does the alleged fact that
"a number of Townsville soldiers and airmen had the
vaccination and did not experience any long-term side effects' have to do with
whether or not some/many others did suffer long-term effects?
►February 24, 2004 -
Clinton probing source of mercury found in school drinking fountain - A
significant amount of mercury its origins as yet undetermined by school
officials and police was found Monday in the drain pipe of a drinking fountain
at Jared Eliot Middle School. - New Haven Register
►February 24, 2004 -
Good Health: Nigerian scientists worry over measles vaccine -
www.vanguardngr.com - "The thought of
measles often brings to mind the red, blotchy skin rash that accompanies this
common disorder. But the rash is just an outward sign of the more significant
changes happening inside the body especially within the respiratory system.
Primarily, measles is a respiratory infection caused by a highly contagious
virus that tends to be serious and even fatal for small children...However, a
group of Nigerian scientists have been worried that despite availability of a
certified measles vaccine that has been in use for several decades, the
infection has remained a significant problem in childhood. Their agitation may
well change the course of measles vaccination in the near future."
►February 23, 2004 -
CDC being
advised on flu shots for all - Experts mull yearly plan for vaccinations -
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "Vaccination experts who advise the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention are debating a significant change in immunization
policy: Suggesting or recommending that every American receive a flu shot every
year...If the change becomes policy, it could - depending on the strength of its
wording - more than triple the number of flu shots now given annually in the
United States."
Comment: What's the chance this has something to
do with the flu vaccine manufacturer's demanding that the government create more
demand for their vaccine?
(See Flu
Vaccine Makers Say Gov't Must Increase Demand.)
►February 24, 2004 -
Nigerian Muslims foil polio campaign - Infertility Feared: Radical clerics'
suspicion about the UN drive to eliminate the crippling disease could undo the
successes of a 16-year-old global immunization drive - AFP via Taipei Times
►February 23, 2004 -
House doctors
plan asthma study - Asthma sufferers are being asked to volunteer for a
study which aims to measure how better ventilation could improve their
condition. - BBC
►February 23, 2004 -
Helping Kids Sleep Better - Archives of
Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery via Ivanhoe
►February 23, 2004 - GMC
to probe drug clinic doctors - Seven doctors who worked at a private clinic
for heroin addicts are facing charges of serious professional misconduct. - BBC
►February 21, 2004 -
Study highlights stillbirth risk - Women who give birth to low weight babies
are at increased risk of having a future stillbirth, research shows. - BBC
►February 23, 2004 - Top
doctor wades into MMR debate - The government's top doctor has criticised
the man at the centre of the MMR controversy. - BBC
►February 23, 2004 -
Whooping
woes quarantine students - Only one student officially diagnosed by Student
Health despite numerous inquiries - The Cavalier Daily
►February 24, 2004 -
Blair is 'sneering' at autism parents - The Journal via icNewcastle - An
autism expert in the North last night condemned the Government for sneering at
concerned parents after the Prime Minister dismissed fears of a link between the
MMR triple jab vaccine and autism...(But) Paul Shattock, director of the autism
research unit at Sunderland University, said last night: The Government has got
to carry out thorough research on this...'They have attacked Dr Wakefield
personally but they are not able to attack the science...All the trials
demonstrating the vaccines' safety were paid for by the manufacturers. I
would suggest they are the people with the best interest. Dr Wakefield
does not have a vested interest.'"
►February 23, 2004 -
MMR jab sceptics still back doctor - The Journal via icNewcastle -
"Lesley Henderson, of Widdrington, near Morpeth, Northumberland, who set up a
pioneering autism centre after her son Toby, nine, was diagnosed, said: 'I don't
think it's any coincidence that Dr Wakefield's work is being rubbished again as
he has started to gain credibility in the US...The great thing about Dr
Wakefield is that he listens to parents and their views and thinks what they
have to say is one important factor.'"
►March 2004 -
Death by
Medicine - by Gary Null, PhD, Carolyn Dean, MD, Martin Feldman, MD, Debora
Rasio, MD, and Dorothy Smith. PhD - LE Magazine - "Natural
medicine is under siege, as pharmaceutical company lobbyists urge lawmakers to
deprive Americans of the benefits of dietary supplements. Drug-company front
groups have launched slanderous media campaigns to discredit the value of
healthy lifestyles. The FDA continues to interfere with those who offer natural
products that compete with prescription drugs These attacks against natural
medicine obscure a lethal problem that until now was buried in thousands of
pages of scientific text. In response to these baseless challenges to natural
medicine, the Nutrition Institute of America commissioned an independent review
of the quality of 'government-approved' medicine. The startling findings from
this meticulous study indicate that conventional medicine is 'the leading cause
of death' in the United States.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield and the MMR Controversy
- Second Opinion by Nicholas Regush -
www.redflagsdaily.com - "It doesnt
look very good for Dr. Andrew Wakefield, an English physician and researcher who
has championed the need to investigate the potential relationship between the
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism...Today, the scavengers of
British journalism surfaced and attacked him and his work, and attempted to
destroy whatever chance he may have to rescue his scientific reputation."
►February 23, 2004 -
LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER -
Bill
forces shots on all children -
Homeschoolers fight state legislation that criminalizes parents who
object - WorldNetDaily -
"Commented Euteneuer
in a statement: "Along with Mississippi, West Virginia is the only state to
forbid religious vaccine exemptions. This bill goes even further by prohibiting
physicians from granting medical exemptions according to what they believe is
best for each patient. Senate Bill 439 would also make West Virginia the only
state to force homeschoolers to be immunized."
►February 23, 2004 -
GMC asked to
investigate MMR research allegations -
www.4ni.co.uk - "While the substance of Dr Wakefield's research
findings are not challenged, the Sunday Times article has sparked calls for an
investigation into whether the research broke established rules for these types
of scientific studies...Dr Wakefield said that he stood by his findings and
would welcome an inquiry."
►February 24, 2004 -
The corporate stooges who nobble serious science - The MMR scandal shows a
business riddled with conflicts of interest - "It looks like a conflict of
interest and his failure to disclose it was wrong. But the crime for which he is
being punished is everywhere. The scientific establishment is rotten from top to
bottom, riddled with conflicts far graver than Dr Wakefield's....In other words,
the great majority of the scientists with conflicts of interest are failing to
disclose them...So, given that undisclosed conflicts of interest in science are
everywhere, why is it only Dr Wakefield whose bloody remains are being dragged
through the streets? The obvious answer is that his alleged cooption works
against the interests of the drugs companies, while almost everyone else's works
in their favour."
Comment: Very
interesting article.
►February 24, 2004 -
Mountain Views:
Precipitous Increase in Autism Cases May Be Tied To Childhood Vaccines -
"There aren't enough special-ed teachers in any state to even begin to approach
the problem. It costs states about $2 million for each child with autism
for the first 18 years of life. The Department of Education disabilities
data bank shows autism cases in school-age children rose from about 5,500
nationwide to an astonishing 79,000 during the 1990s...Despite drug company
studies from 70 years ago that concluded mercury-containing serum was not fit
for cattle or dogs, and with all the huge, expensive federal agencies to protect
us from just such a mistake -- the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and
Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of
Medicine -- not one had taken the time to total up how much thimerosal and
mercury had been added to the average child's intake with the new increased
immunization schedule."
Comment:
Excellent article.
►February 22, 2004 -
Vaccine hurdle - The Telegraph, India - "Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
administered polio drops to three children at Karaya in south Calcutta in the
morning and it had a smooth run in the city but about 1,500 children across the
state could not be given the drops following boycotts."
►February 23, 2004 -
Profile: Dr Andrew Wakefield - BBC News Online profiles the man at the
centre of the MMR controversy. - BBC
►February 23, 2004 -
Should there be
an MMR inquiry? - The General Medical Council is preparing to investigate
the research methods of the doctor at the centre of the MMR debate (includes
letters from readers) - BBC
►February 23, 2004 - MMR
study doctor calls for probe - The doctor behind controversial research
linking autism with the MMR jab has called for an investigation into claims his
work was flawed. - BBC
►February 23, 2004 -
Parents of autistic children battle on -
www.telegraph.co.uk - "The parents who
believe that the measles, mumps and rubella jab caused their children's autism
were battling on yesterday in their fight to get their case recognised by the
Government...They were undeterred by new allegations which claim that the
research from Dr Andrew Wakefield, first linking autism and the MMR vaccine, was
flawed by a conflict of interest...'They are not going to get the genie back in
the bottle,' said David Thrower, whose 16-year-old son Oliver has severe
autism...'New research is coming in. These people do not see our children.
Oliver's autism is the regressive type. He was a normal baby until his
vaccination.'"
►February 22, 2004 -
Sydney: Defence chiefs under fire over vaccine - Australian defence chiefs
were criticised today for failing to warn soldiers heading to Iraq that side
effects from an anthrax vaccine had forced them to suspend their inoculation
progamme during the Afghanistan campaign. - New Straits Times via
www.emedia.com.my
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?"