►January 8, 2004 - New Online Resource Reminds Internet Users To Safeguard Against Hib Disease - PRNewswire via http://nachrichten.boerse.de - "Today the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) launched Hibdisease.com, a comprehensive online resource for both healthcare providers and parents, which focuses on Hib disease (Haemophilus influenzae type B), a vaccine preventable childhood disease that was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and post-natal mental retardation prior to the availability of effective vaccines. Hib disease continues to pose a serious threat to U.S. children."

Comment:  For another perspective on Hib and the vaccine designed to prevent it, go to Scandals: Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?

►January 8, 2004 - Judge Reverses Anthrax Ruling - Pentagon May Resume Vaccinating Members of Military - "Zaid said he will soon ask Sullivan to reissue an order blocking mandatory anthrax inoculations because the FDA's approval of the vaccine was itself flawed, based only on animal research. Another government investigation of the vaccine, being carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and based on human research, will not be completed until 2007, he said."

►January 7, 2004 - Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program Resumption (pdf) - Memorandum for Secretaries of the Military Departments; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Under Secretaries of Defense; Assistant Secretaries of Defense; General Counsel of the Department of Defense; Inspector General, Department of Defense; Directors of Defense Agencies; Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard - www.dod.mil - "Therefore you should immediately resume the anthrax vaccination program."

►December 31, 2003 - Flu shots given by phony doctor are likely to be ineffective - King County Journal

►December 31, 2003 - 9 felony charges filed over flu shots - The Seattle Times

►December 30, 2003 - Liver group recommends vaccinations for travellers - Canadian Press via www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

►December 31, 2003 - Westchester residents line up for flu shots - The Journal News

►December 30, 2003 - GABON: Bongo aims to vaccinate 80 percent of children in 2004 - IRIN

►December 30, 2003 - More than 500 get flu shots from city -  State, Johns Hopkins donate surplus vaccines for high-risk residents - www.sunspot.net

►January 8, 2004 - Flu shots are available again - Health Department obtains 2,000 doses - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

►January 8, 2004 - Targeted Genetics Extends AIDS Vaccine Partnership With IAVI and CCRI - PRNewswire-FirstCall via http://nachrichten.boerse.de

►January 8, 2004 - Lone flu shot gives kids limited benefit - Officials say one dose still better than none. - News-Leader

►January 6, 2004 - Shots needle hundreds of children - Students have 2 days to update vaccines - Corpus Christi Caller-Times

►January 7, 2004 - British Vaccine Could Eradicate Meningitis - London Independent via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 7, 2004 - Haven't Had Your Flu Shot? - USA Today via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract) - "The influenza vaccine, much maligned most years for providing protection against what some people considered only a minor illness, has been thrust into the national spotlight in the 2003-2004 flu season. The U.S. public has learned that there are not nearly enough flu shots to immunize the entire country against influenza, mostly because demand is usually much lower for the product; but many people are confused about why manufacturers are unable to make more of the vaccine as demand increases."

►January 7, 2004 - Korea's LG Life to Supply Hepatitis B Vaccine to United Nations - Asia Pulse via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 7, 2004 - Outbreak Prompts Warning on Immunizations - Mercury, (AU) via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 6, 2004 - Flu Vaccinations Starts in Costa Rica - Xinhua News Agency via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 6, 2004 - Patch Vaccines May Be Harmful, Says Researcher - Australian Associated Press (AAP) via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 5, 2004 - U.S. Army Buys $30 Million in Anthrax Shots - Reuters via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 6, 2004 - Remaining vaccine reserved for youth - Sun Advocate

►January, 2004 - Should physics be more elitist? - Is it best to aim school physics teaching at a talented minority of specialists? Or should it be made more accessible so that people can appreciate the role of physics in society? Opening this special section on education, Mark Ellse argues that physics is an elite activity that only a few will ever appreciate, while Jonathan Osborne believes that we should communicate the excitement of physics to all - http://physicsweb.org - "Most of what the public needs to know not only requires some technical knowledge of science, but also an understanding of how scientific knowledge is achieved, how it is validated and what the associated risks are. Just look at the absurd actions of many parents who refuse to allow their children to be given a single vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) - preferring that the vaccinations should instead be given separately. In the process, these parents are putting their children at the increased risk of infection from measles or rubella."

►January 6, 2004 - Young And Mentally Ill ; State Services Dwindling For A Disease Few Understand - Rocky Mountain News via http://mentalhelp.net - "Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Asperger's syndrome, Chelsy bounces back and forth between two emotions - euphoria and rage. When she's happy, she literally believes the animals can sing. When she's angry, she becomes convinced that the sky will fall, and she lashes out at anyone, anything, nearby...Several months ago, it was her mother. Chelsy tried to stab her with a carving knife."

►January 8, 2004 - Brilliant minds linked to autism - Historical figures including Socrates, Charles Darwin, and Andy Warhol probably had a form of autism, says a leading specialist. - BBC

Comment:  Here we go again.  Minimizing the very real pain and suffering of those most acutely affected by autism by associating autism with its most benign (and sometimes even beneficial) form.  For more on this, go to Scandals: Adding Insult to Injustice to Injury Redux.

►January 8, 2004 - Mother tells of raising autistic child Parents need help with special needs children - The Korea Herald

►January 8, 2004 - 2020 vision - Dame Stephanie attributes her business success and charitable achievements to difficulties with her son Giles, and the fact that she is a Holocaust survivor. - The Scotsman

►January 7, 2004 - Many families worry, wait for funding ax to fall - State plans cuts to special Medicaid program - Concord Monitor

►January 7, 2004 - Mentally disabled get expansion in choices - United Cerebral Palsy, other groups are stepping up to offer mix of services - www.thestate.com

►January 6, 2004 - Turlock mother fights to remain, help autistic son - The Modesto Bee

►January 7, 2004 - If only he could call Dad - I have only one simple wish for 2004 - to hear my autistic son say 'Daddy' for the first time. It will be music to my ears - The Straits Times, Asia

►January 7, 2004 - Whitbread prize honours children's book - Reuters via www.abc.net.au - "Judges lavished praise on Haddon's winning novel, a murder mystery whose 15-year-old detective and narrator is a boy with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism."

►January 7, 2004 - Liquid mercury found in school - The Record-Courier

►January 8, 2004 - Flu season hitting hard - http://ottawa.cbc.ca

►January 7, 2004 - Flu Season Hasn't Peaked Yet, CDC Warns - Boston Globe via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January, 6, 2004 - Colo. weekly flu cases down - Break may have helped numbers decline - The Daily Camera

►January 7, 2004 - Homeopathy helps fight flu - Sun-Herald

►January 6, 2004 - Flu link probed in tot's death - Tests will take weeks to determine what killed three-year-old girl - The Halifax Herald Limited

►January 7, 2004 - Experts hope new illness etiquette emerges from SARS and nasty flu season - Canadian Press

►January 8, 2004 - Polio victim overcomes - Every Friday, come rain come shine she hits the busy streets of Hermanus in her little red shoprider. -  Hermanus Times

►December 31, 2003 - Flu bug hits area - The Daily Press via www.ashlandwi.com

►December 30, 2003 - 3 students could die from meningitis-related infections - Knight Ridder Newspapers via www.bradenton.com

►December 30, 2003 - Meningitis Cases Have Unrelated Strains - AP via www.intelihealth.com

►December 30, 2003 - Michigan, area residents declare war on flu - Tri-County Times via www.zwire.com

►December 30, 2003 - No serious flu complications reported here - Peninsula Clarion

►January 8, 2004 - Schools asked to warn of meningitis - AP via The Wichita Eagle

►January 8, 2004 - Bug Speak - Scientists are finding that communication among bacteria is a vital part of their life. As this ScienCental News video reports, their new findings may lead to development of new ways to fight infections. - ScienCentralNews

►January 7, 2004 - Legislature needs to pass biomonitoring program - Free Lance wire services

►January 7, 2004 - T Cells Take Weekend Crash Course in Protection - AScribe Newswire

►January 7, 2004 - International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases - American Society for Microbiology via www.eurekalert.org

►January 6, 2004 - Florida: Falling Short on Health Goals - New York Times via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►January 6, 2004 - Health care costs hit home - Local hospital leaders discuss financial challenges with county executive, say tax could offset costs - Akron Beacon Journal

►January 6, 2004 - Livestock Board approves emergency brucellosis testing - AP via Casper Star Tribune

►January 3, 2004 - Boutique Medicine - http://news.tbo.com

►January 2, 2004 - JCI table of contents - Journal of Clinical Investigation via www.eurekalert.org

►January 1, 2004 - Animal lab is part detective, part watchdog - The Wichita Eagle

►January 8, 2004 - Hemispherx Biopharma Accelerates New Oral SARS Prevention Program; Company's Oral Interferon Could Potentially Stem Next Outbreak of Disease - Hemispherx Biopharma (AMEX: HEB) via Business Wire

►January 2, 2004 - Vitamin D Deficiency: What a Pain It Is - Mayo Clinic Proceedings via Healthy News

►January 7, 2004 - Utah birth rate outpaces the rest of the nation - AP via Casper Star Tribune

*Note:  Starting December 10, 2003 news will be posted in the "daily news" pages based on when it was posted on this website, not by publication date.