June 25, 2002 -- The personal stories appearing on the
antivaccination Internet site Thinktwice.com are heartbreaking and
terrifying. A mother blames routine immunizations for the death of one
child and the paralysis of another. Another mom is convinced the DPT
vaccine caused her son's seizures and mental retardation.
"The general public is essentially unaware of the true
number of people who have been permanently damaged or killed by
vaccines," the Thinktwice site says. But there is virtually no
scientific evidence to back up that charge or others made on the two
dozen or so Internet web sites that question the safety of childhood
immunizations, new research suggests.
"These sites sound legitimate, and they appeal to the
emotions with the heart-wrenching stories that are told," researcher
Robert M. Wolfe, MD, tells WebMD. "But when you really look at them
carefully, you find that they don't stand up to scrutiny. Very little of
the information that they purport to be proven is really provable."
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LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
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