►December 24, 2003 - Taking a Shot at Easing Parents' Latest Big Fear - Washington Post - "His mother, Rosina Chazin, is sitting on a wooden bench examining the paperwork, which discloses, among other things, that influenza causes an average of 36,000 deaths in the United States every year, though 'mostly among the elderly.'...But she's not an idiot, either...She knows that the flu is not only striking early and widely this year, but also that it's thought to be unusually dangerous for young people, that at least 42 children and teenagers had already died from it as of Friday (still the most recent data), that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the situation "very sobering and very worrisome," and that supplies of vaccine have run out or are quickly running out in most places...Fear!"

►December 8, 2003 - Communicating science to the public: MMR vaccine and autism. - journal article (Vaccine) - "Media attention and consequent public concerns about vaccine safety followed publication of a small case-series of children who developed autism after receipt of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Many well-controlled studies performed subsequently found no evidence that MMR vaccine causes autism. However, despite these studies, some parents remain concerned that the MMR vaccine is not safe. We will discuss the origins of the hypothesis that the MMR vaccine causes autism, studies performed to test the hypothesis, how these studies have been communicated to the public, and some suggested strategies for how this communication can be improved."

Comment:  Note that one of the authors of this article is Dr. Paul Offit, of serious conflict of interest fame.  For more on this go to the Congressional report:  “FACA: Conflicts of Interest and Vaccine Development: Preserving the Integrity of the Process”, Thursday, June 15, 2000.)

►December 24, 2003 - Court Blocks U.S. Effort to Relax Pollution Rule (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times

►December 24, 2003 - Anthrax shots should not be forced on members of military - The Daily Telegram - "It’s true that when you join the military you have to follow government requirements and live by the rules of the service you’ve chosen. But such rules should not include being forced to get an anthrax vaccination. On Monday, a federal judge wisely ruled that the Pentagon cannot require military personnel to get the vaccinations unless they agree to it."

►December 23, 2003 - Vaccine Ruling - PBS - "A federal judge Monday ordered the Defense Dept. to stop administering anthrax vaccinations to U.S. troops without their consent. The Pentagon responded Tuesday that the practice is necessary to keep soldiers safe. Experts discuss the future of the Pentagon's anthrax vaccination program."

►December 23, 2003 - DOD Temporarily Stops Anthrax Vaccinations Pending Legal Clarification - Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program via www.anthrax.mil

►December 23, 2003 - DOCTORS: Anthrax vaccine decision right for military; now apply it to children. - Press Release - Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.

►2003 - Atopic dermatitis is increased following vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella or measles infection. - journal article (Acta Derm Venereol) - "The incidence of atopic dermatitis increased after measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and measles infection, which is surprising in view of the hygiene hypothesis."

►December 19, 2003 - Vt. Falls Short on Smallpox Vaccination Goal  - www.wcax.com - "Health officials set a goal of vaccinating 2,000 volunteers around the state. But only 130 have since gotten the shots...But Vermont's health commissioner says 130 people are enough to vaccinate others in the event of an attack."

►December 24, 2003 - When Blair doesn't care about terror - The Guardian, UK - Why is Britain so reluctant to track down the Dublin bombers? - further down in the commentary: "Last week's Channel Five programme Hear the Silence about the MMR controversy was one of the best dramas I have seen. It was not just a moving true story, beautifully acted. It was also a shocking indictment of the medical establishment."

►December 22, 2003 - Invalid Vaccine Doses Would Cost Millions To Fix - Center for the Advancement of Health  - "Children who receive some of their vaccine doses too soon may need to be revaccinated, at an extra cost of $10 to $18 million a year, according to a new study...'The cost of revaccinating these children is substantial and may impact parents, physicians and vaccine purchasers,'...Stokley and colleagues’ sample of national immunization records reveals that 10 percent of children received at least one invalid vaccine dose in 2002. Invalid vaccines are doses administered five or more days before the minimum age for the first dose or before the minimum time between doses has elapsed...Invalid doses need to be repeated to ensure that children are adequately protected from disease, according to the researchers."

►December 22, 2003 - Ottawa tries to calm fear of the flu - While the influenza season hit early this year, particularly in B.C. and Ontario, it's not out of control, officials say - CanWest News Service via http://canada.com

►December 22, 2003 - Two government reports detail shortcomings, successes in U.S. health care system - AP via www.9news.com

►December 19, 2003 - WHO Warns of Lurking Dangers - Health-e (Cape Town) via www.allafrica.com

►December 22, 2003 - However deadly, flu remains 'unreportable' - AP via Newsday - "A 3-year-old who died Thursday at a Paterson hospital may have been the first child in New Jersey to die of the flu this season...But state officials acknowledged Monday that even if they knew for sure that complications from influenza killed the little girl, they could not be certain that Brianna Marie Mantilla of Paterson was the first child in New Jersey to die from the virus this year...That's because influenza is an unreportable disease _ one that doctors, hospitals and other providers are not required to report to state or federal health agencies."

►December 22, 2003 - Shots for Teens - HealthDayNews via Yahoo!

►December 24, 2003 - Anthrax Vaccinations Suspended - Program for Military On Hold While Legalities Are Explored - Washington Post

►December 23, 2003 - Polio Vaccine: Experts Differ On Hormone Content - This Day via www.allafrica.com - "The on-going controversy over the presence of oestrediole Hormone in the oral polio vaccine took a new dimension yesterday, as two research groups took divergent positions on the presence or otherwise of the reproduction inhibiting constituents in the drug."

►December 23, 2003 - Polio Vaccine Controversy Resolved -  This Day News - "The raging controversy over the potency and efficacy of the oral polio vaccine in Nigeria has finally been put to rest. At a press briefing, the Health Minister, Professor Eyitayo Lambo said the tests to prove the safety and potency of the oral polio vaccine was carried out under the auspices of all stakeholders."

►December 23, 2003 - Lawmaker Refutes Report on Polio Vaccine -  This Day News - "'This morning, it was brought to my notice that a story on the front page of one of the national dailies (not THISDAY) misrepresented the outcome of the public hearing. We have audio and visual recordings and based on evidence given before us, no complaint in black and white that the Oral Polio vaccine has contaminants', Safana said."

►December 23, 2003 - FG, WHO, NAFDAC confirm safety oral polio vaccines - www.dailytimesofnigeria.com

►December 23, 2003 - Cazenovia Central School District reports whooping cough - News 10 Now - "Both infected students have received the vaccine."

►December 23, 2003 - Soldier dies during training in Iraq - Pittsfield man, 24, suffers heart attack - "Allison's mother said she was perplexed by the cause of death because she believed her son was in excellent health. He had been sickened recently by shots he was required to take before entering Iraq, and she wondered if they played a role in his death."

►December 22, 2003 - Don't panic about flu, some advise - Prevention: Common sense goes a long way toward maintaining a strong immune system - "Most of the mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, was eliminated from flu vaccines after 1999, though some manufacturers use it in trace amounts, said Rhonda Smith, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)."

►December 24, 2003 - Pentagon Criticizes Ruling Halting Troops' Anthrax Shots - LA Times - "Senior Pentagon officials on Tuesday heatedly defended the military's practice of requiring troops to get anthrax vaccinations, and said a federal judge who ordered a stop to the shots was wrong to accuse the military of treating soldiers like 'guinea pigs.'"

►September 1, 2003 - The Autism Bombshell; Worrying Rise in Childhood Cases Sparks New MMR Fears - Daily Mail, UK via www.healthy.net

►December 24, 2003 - A Wasting Disease That Eats Up the Brain, Causing Death - LA Times - "They call it "mad cow" disease, but its scientific name is bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In elk and deer, it is called wasting disease. And when it is transmitted to humans, it is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease."

Comment:  For more on "mad cow disease", visit the Online Mad Cow Disease Conference at www.redflagsdaily.com .

►December 23, 2003 - Federal judge: Anthrax vaccine not mandatory - Troops not meant to be 'guinea pigs' - www.delawareonline.com - "Sullivan's ruling could be of some help to a former Dover Air Force Base C-5 pilot who was honorably discharged in 2000 for refusing to be vaccinated. Former Air Force Maj. Sonnie Bates at one point faced a possible court martial for his refusal...A lawsuit challenging the vaccine filed by Bates in the Washington, D.C., court in 2001 was dismissed last year. But Sullivan's ruling could provide new grounds for Bates to seek reinstatement or restoration of the military pension he lost, said Bates' lawyer Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney also involved in the lawsuit that led to Sullivan's ruling Monday...'It's about time,' said Bates, now a civilian pilot. 'This may open the door for the walking wounded from this vaccine to get the health treatments they need and for some of the younger lieutenants, captains and airmen who had to end their careers because of this to rejoin the military.'"

►December 23, 2003 - FDA Probing Unlicensed Flu Vaccine Reports - Reuters - "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it is looking into reports of unlicensed influenza vaccine being peddled by some trying to take advantage of reports of vaccine shortages...Three influenza vaccines have been authorized by the FDA, shots made by Aventis Pasteur and a unit of Chiron Corp. as well as the nasal spray FluMist made by MedImmune Inc."

►December 23, 2003 - Pentagon will obey ruling on anthrax - USA Today - "The Pentagon will abide by a federal judge's ruling and, at least for now, not give anthrax vaccine to troops who do not want it, a high-ranking Defense Department official said Tuesday...The official, who briefed reporters on the condition that he not be identified, said the vaccinations will continue for those troops who agree to them while the Justice Department, which represents the Pentagon, decides whether to appeal the ruling."

►December 23, 2003 - Myers: Troops Need Anthrax Vaccinations - Air Force Gen. Richard Myers Says Anthrax Vaccinations Important 'To Protect Troops' - AP via ABC News

►Spring 1995 - Milestone development in infants exposed to methylmercury from human milk. - journal article (Neurotoxicology)

►Vaccine Damage Payments - Department for Work and Pensions, UK

►December 22, 2003 - Are Nurses Cleaner than Doctors? - Ivanhoe - "Studies show health care workers who wash their hands frequently can reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections. Now, a researcher publishing in this week’s issue of the British Medical Journal says nurses are more likely than doctors to practice good hygiene."

►December 18, 2003 - Common Cold Fights Cancer - Ivanhoe

Comment:  Do people who get frequent colds less frequently get cancer?