Vaccination NewsLetter: Top Stories - May 26-June 1, 2003

Note 1: If for any reason you end up in the "frames" version of the website, here's how to create a unique "url".  In Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape 7, in order to bookmark, forward or copy the direct link, right click on the link you are interested in and click on "open in new window".  The page will now open with the correct url.  (If someone knows how to do this in other editions of Netscape, please email me at sandym@touchngo.com and I will publish those directions as well.)

Note 2:  A sentence or two from each article will be included right after the link in quotes in many cases.

Note 3:  A short bio of Sandy Mintz is included in the Scandals column titled: The Homeland Security Act - The Aftermath.

Note 4:  My comments are in red.

Previous newsletters

Smallpox/smallpox vaccine

Study: Smallpox vaccine can boost malaria resistance  - Could this just be a way to create demand for the huge supply of unused smallpox vaccine?

Immune response to smallpox persists 75 years after vaccination

E-News: Safety of smallpox vaccine for first responders (NVIC)

More Smallpox Vaccine Concerns

Smallpox Vaccination Report Status and Adverse Events

CDC Recommends Screening Out Heart Patients From Smallpox Vaccination

Frist bills/Eli Lilly et al protection/VICP  -  for more, click here

Other Bioterror-related

Treasure trove of toxins - Scientist warns that pharma industry's castoffs could be source of new chemical weapons - "United States pharmaceutical companies are inadvertently creating tens of thousands of poisonous new compounds each year that terrorists or rogue nations could develop into chemical weapons, according to a California researcher...These unintended toxins arise from the drug industry's automated high-throughput technology that permits millions of new compounds to be created and tested, and those found to be toxic to humans, simply discarded, said Mark Wheelis, director of the Program in Nature and Culture at the University of California, Davis."

US trauma system said unprepared for terror attack

(More Homeland Security related articles posted starting on June 22, 2003)  http://www.vaccinationnews.com/HomelandSecurity.htm

Autism

Letter from Congressman Burton to President

Supreme Court to hear autism case  - "The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a landmark case involving the right of judges to direct how health-care money should be spent...In the decision under appeal, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered the province to provide intensive treatment for autistic children."

Ruling favours Ontario boy in autism-therapy case

Possible Causes of Autism

Autism/mercury

Neurodevelopmental Disorders after Thimerosal-containing Vaccines: A Brief Communication - by the Geiers

Solving mysteries of the brain - Scientists are learning how metals' actions in the brain can be a factor in diseases, memory - No mention of mercury. But the implications are hardly reassuring.

E-News: Mom Fights To Prove Vaccines Caused Autism (NVIC)

Thimerosal Content in Some US Licensed Vaccines

Autism/MMR

Doctor's research finds link between MMR vaccine, autism 

The MMR vaccine and autism - "Claims that the MMR vaccine significantly increased the risk of developing serious neurological disorders were reported in four newspapers (1,3-5). However, the research study on which these claims were based had several flaws (6). Therefore the reliability of the reported relationship between MMR vaccination and neurological disorders such as autism should be questioned."

Autism and vaccines

AIDS/AIDS vaccine

“Despite Need for HIV Vaccines, Fear Mutes Call for Volunteers”

Alzheimer's disease/vaccine

Hope for Alzheimer's vaccine - Hints emerge that doomed jab did some good.

Protein could slow degenerative brain diseases

Anthrax/anthrax vaccine/Gulf War Syndrome

Fears of 'Gulf War II syndrome' after British soldiers given multiple vaccinations fall ill

Troop vaccinations come under fire

'War vaccines poisoned us'

Gulf War Syndrome II? - British soldiers claim vaccinations caused new mystery illness

Soldier Guilty for Refusing Anthrax Shot - Court-Martial Convicts Army Reservist From N.Y. for Refusing to Take Anthrax Vaccine

VaxGen gets OK for anthrax trials - FDA gives firm green light to test vaccine on humans

Cancer/cancer vaccines

Chickenpox/chickenpox vaccine

Diphtheria/diphtheria vaccine

Flu/flu vaccine

Influenza vaccination and Guillain Barre syndrome small star, filled.

For preservative-free flu shot, ask in advance  - What, it's not automatic?

Novel flu vaccine shows promise in mice - If successful in humans, vaccine could eliminate annual flu shot

Forget SARS: WHO Expert Fears the Flu

Haemophilus Influenza/Hib Vaccine

Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine—booster campaign - Hib exemplifies need for continued surveillance after changes in vaccines

Hepatitis A/hepatitis A vaccine

Hepatitis B/hepatitis B vaccine

Hepatitis C

Lyme disease/lyme disease vaccine

Meningitis/meningitis vaccine

MMR/measles,mumps,rubella

Pet vaccines

Vexing Vaccinations

Pneumonia/prevnar

The replacement effect - Concern over a vaccine that causes unintended increase in related infections -  "Prevnar, a vaccine that is dramatically decreasing the number of American babies' infections from a common but serious bacterium, also increases the number of other infections the babies get, according to an Israeli researcher. No other vaccine in history has shown this unintended effect, said Ron Dagan, director of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel."

Polio/polio vaccine

India's dramatic rise in new polio cases threatens global eradication program

Rabies/rabies vaccine

RECALLS

SARS

Forget SARS: WHO Expert Fears the Flu

 Feds Race to Make SARS Vaccine

SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome)

West Nile virus/vaccine

Whooping cough/DPT vaccine

Other vaccines/screening

Malaria vaccine gets a boost - Vaccine double-act success in humans raises TB and HIV hopes.

Vaccines in general

Rapid Responses to "Anti-vaccinationists past and present"

Unblocking the vaccine pipeline - New approaches for speeding vaccine discovery and development proposed - "A pair of ideas discussed at the Sixth Annual Conference on Vaccine Research in Arlington, Va., promises to dramatically shorten the frustrating, decades-long process of discovering and testing new vaccines. Proponents believe the approaches could make it possible to develop a variety of vaccines years before they would otherwise become available...Dramatically cutting initial discovery time can be accomplished by searching for potential antigens in the genome using a computer rather than in the lab using traditional methods, according to Rino Rappuoli, head of research and development at Chiron Vaccines in Sienna, Italy."

Measuring Risk - Vaccines Save Lives, But Also Cause Health Problems - "Once upon a time, smallpox was a demon, killing more human beings than all the wars in history. The virus could not be cured by antibiotics—those only work on bacteria. The only effective attack was prevention. Through a series of vaccines, by 1977 smallpox was effectively eradicated from the planet..."

“Benefits of Vaccine 'Outweigh the Risks'“ - Please explain how you know that having never done long-term studies comparing vaccinated to never vaccinated children. (Click here for more on this.)

Do Vaccinations Put Children at Risk?

(Vaccine) additives & contaminants

Vaccine testing

Adverse reactions/VAERS/VICP

The replacement effect - Concern over a vaccine that causes unintended increase in related infections -  "Prevnar, a vaccine that is dramatically decreasing the number of American babies' infections from a common but serious bacterium, also increases the number of other infections the babies get, according to an Israeli researcher. No other vaccine in history has shown this unintended effect, said Ron Dagan, director of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel."

More Proof Published That Common Childhood Vaccines Are The Cause Of The Diabetes Epidemic, Data Identifies Children Eligible For Compensation

National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Vaccine Injury Table

Avoiding Allergic Reactions to Childhood Vaccines (And What to Do When They Occur)

Side effect risk from drug higher in epileptics - Hence the importance in factoring individual differences.

Do Vaccinations Put Children at Risk?

Alternative Treatments/prevention

Second Opinion - Collective Amnesia And Health - "Today’s column is especially for those who write to me and declare that I am hostile towards "alternative" medicine. Why am I made out to be hostile? For example, because I sometimes take a shot at supplement manufacturers and also voice my concerns about "alternative" theories of how the body works (and that applies often to diets)." - by Nicholas Regush

Laughter at Dinner Cuts Blood Sugar in Diabetics

Probiotic Therapy May Be Effective for Treating Ulcerative Colitis - "Probiotics, bacteria thought to be beneficial to your health, may stop kids from getting eczema when given during pregnancy and early infancy."

Bacteria Beats Eczema

Study: Blocking blood vessels improves cancer survival

Breastfeeding (vs. formula)

Breastfeeding counters harm of smoking in pregnancy

"The Condition Our Condition Is In" (The State of Medicine/Science)

“It Depends What You Mean By Evidence”.

Treating the symptoms, but missing the disease - Growing pressure on doctors to deliver quick fixes - Patients come to expect a few tests and a prescription

Doctors have little more info than patients about CT scan safety

Seeing Risk and Reward Through a Patient's Eyes  - '''I've sat in many staff meetings where we've decided that patients should start lithium,'' she told me. ''Occasionally, one of the doctors will say, 'Yeah, but it can cause weight gain.' 'So what's a little weight gain?' another doctor will answer. 'The patient can exercise.' ''...''We just ignore it as a side effect. But then, when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and started lithium, I gained 45 pounds. And my skin got bad. I used to be thin and attractive. Now look at me!'' Tears welled in her eyes.'

Drugs save lives, but who will pay? - "Steve Holland jokes that he and his wife avoid Las Vegas because of the bad genetic luck they've had with their three young children, each of whom is afflicted with an extremely rare and potentially deadly disease...But the River Oaks, Texas, couple could really use a windfall since last month's approval by federal regulators of the drug Aldurazyme, which has dramatically improved and prolonged the Holland children's lives. Keeping Spencer, Madison and Laynie on the drug, which they had received for free during trials run by biotechnology companies, would cost the family $450,000 a year."

Conflict of Interest

US filing backs suit against drug firm - Federal prosecutors: Epilepsy medication was illegally marketed - "The US attorney's office in Boston said in court documents that the drug company Parke-Davis, now Pfizer, gave illegal kickbacks to doctors, including trips to Puerto Rico and tickets to the 1996 Summer Olympics, to prescribe what has become the nation's best-selling anticonvulsant, Neurontin."

Fraud research grants increase - Office of Research Integrity raises available funds from $200,000 to $750,000  - "Government fraud watchdogs have more than tripled the size of grants for studying the integrity of research, raising the stakes in a new and controversial area of study."

Time to untangle doctors from drug companies - BMJ Tackles Conflict of Interest

Doctors' links with drug companies under fire

Schering a target of criminal probe - Drug firm accused of giving kickbacks

Death and Disease

WHO Gets Wider Power to Fight Global Health Threats - "The World Health Organization, fending off an attempt by the United States to derail the measure, won broad new authority yesterday to fight international health threats such as severe acute respiratory syndrome...The U.N. agency's governing body unanimously approved a resolution to allow WHO to intervene even when countries refuse to admit they are facing a health crisis, and to send teams to independently investigate whether national authorities are responding effectively."

Schools adjust as food allergies rise

'Good' bacteria may thwart allergies in toddlers

Malnutrition: the engine behind viral change - "An invading virus responds to a malnourished host by mutating faster and stepping up its virulence, according to unpublished US research. The findings could point to a powerful mechanism behind the increased susceptibility of underfed humans to viral infection."

Effectiveness/herd immunity

Ethics

Funding

Government/science/industry/medicine clearly run amok

Legal/legislation

Supreme Court to hear autism case  - "The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a landmark case involving the right of judges to direct how health-care money should be spent...In the decision under appeal, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered the province to provide intensive treatment for autistic children."

Pressure Increases For Tighter Limits On Injury Lawsuits

*Pending Immunization Legislation - bookmark this link

Parental/health rights/exemptions/mandatory/privacy/health freedom

Vaccine info breakthrough  -  "Wonder of wonders. The San Francisco Chronicle, usually the bastion of vaccine defense, has broken through with a human-interest story that places vaccines in the unusual light of consumer choice. Titled Vaccination Backlash, the article documents how over 50 percent of entering kindergarteners in the Yuba River Charter School have opted out of vaccinations in an idyllic Sierra foothills town called Nevada City."

Vaccination Backlash - There's a small but stubborn faction of parents who don't vaccinate their children. Are there risks?

Pharmaceutical industry/pharmaceutical industry oversight

Federal Register Report and FDA Web Site on Postmarketing Studies

Drug companies' secret reports outrage doctors  -  Where is doctor outrage over troubling drug company behavior which merely affects their patients and not them?

US filing backs suit against drug firm - Federal prosecutors: Epilepsy medication was illegally marketed - "The US attorney's office in Boston said in court documents that the drug company Parke-Davis, now Pfizer, gave illegal kickbacks to doctors, including trips to Puerto Rico and tickets to the 1996 Summer Olympics, to prescribe what has become the nation's best-selling anticonvulsant, Neurontin."

The Half-Full Economy - Big Pharma's Research Drought Ends

Maine may require drug makers to report marketing

In vivo we trust - The pharmaceutical industry desperately needs the traditional skills of the pharmacologist

Schering a target of criminal probe - Drug firm accused of giving kickbacks

Politics

Drug Companies Increase Spending on Efforts to Lobby Congress and Governments

Research/publishing/funding/other research results

Fraud research grants increase - Office of Research Integrity raises available funds from $200,000 to $750,000  - "Government fraud watchdogs have more than tripled the size of grants for studying the integrity of research, raising the stakes in a new and controversial area of study."

U.S. studies: more bad news for hormone therapy - "The most common form of hormone replacement therapy, already linked to breast cancer, stroke and heart disease, does not improve mental functioning as some earlier studies suggested and may even increase the risk of dementia, researchers said on Tuesday."

Study: Blocking blood vessels improves cancer survival

Letters From Parents &others

Miscellaneous

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