EXTRA!

NOVEMBER 8, 2002

A "SECOND OPINION" EXTRA!

VACCINE RECKLESSNESS: The New Study Concluding That The MMR Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism Raises A Red Flag As Scientists Say The Debate Is Over

By Nicholas Regush

What’s all the fuss about? A study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that concludes the MMR vaccine has nothing to do with autism. So? What about it? It’s one study. And so what if it was published in the NEJM? It’s vastly over-rated .

Furthermore, this latest research is a population study, which is often about as valuable as dog poop without the proper backing of studies that are focused on unravelling possible mechanisms of action over both the short and long-term and studies designed to ferret out individuals who may be highly susceptible to a particular vaccine.

What is lacking in the science done today on vaccines is a carefully thought-out strategy on how to determine the safety of these products. Population studies alone will simply not do it. And these studies are often suspect. They rely heavily on the hope that diagnostic methods and reports from doctors are consistent and uniform (And they often are not! No matter what type of data base is involved. Garbage in, garbage out.) And because these studies cannot detect subsets of individuals who may, for example, be affected by the vaccine (e.g. making illness more severe), epidemiology needs to be placed in proper context. And that means: hold everything, don’t reach conclusions on the basis of a population study alone.

It is very aggravating to see some of these scientists strutting their stuff on the basis of a population study, particularly when the issue is so complex.

As for the typical media reporting on this issue, good thing we have clickers to change channels quickly.

Nicholas Regush writes the popular Health News Analyzer