SCREAM OF THE WEEK

September 9, 2002

THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE PANELS

Reviews Of Controversial Topics Are A Shoddy Replacement For Solid Science.

By Nicholas Regush

This will be brief, but to the point: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies is essentially an organization shilling for bad science - or on behalf of those who prevent good science from getting done.

The IOM has really become the refuge of government policy makers who hide behind the fact that adequate research has not been done on key issues of public interest. Vaccines are an excellent example.

This week, I was wading through a number of reports issued by the IOM on vaccines and it should be clear to a total dolt that that there is one incredible scam being pulled off after another. Here’s what is happening: When the government wishes its policies on a controversial issue "reviewed," it will turn to the Institute with its band of "experts" and have them pretend that there is real science on the issue to wade through. The fact is, there is rarely any real science to review and the IOM usually issues a statement to the effect that there is no link between X and Y, instead of saying what it ought to say, which is: No one bothered to do any real studies on this issue and so we can’t possibly provide any review comment on anything to do with it.

I’ll give you three examples: The IOM reported that there was no link found between the Hepatitis B vaccine and Certain Neurological Disorders.

The IOM reported that there was no link between Mercury-containing vaccines and Autism.

The IOM reported that there was no link between the anthrax vaccine and the numerous Gulf War Illnesses that so many thousands of Gulf vets experienced.

The IOM does this all the time: in each of the above cases, for example, there was no research of any calibre worth mentioning to reach any conclusion. Yet, the IOM issues press releases stating there is no link between X and Y and then the mighty media hordes grab the releases and run with them.

This makes the U.S. government very happy indeed. No link, therefore bug off. There is no danger. The vaccines are therefore safe.

How long is this sham going to go on?

This week’s SCREAM OF THE WEEK is the IOM.