►December 30, 2003 - FDA's Issuance of Final Rule Concerning Anthrax Vaccine Reflective of Legal Gamesmanship - 18 Year Delay In Issuing Final Rule Calls Into Question FDA Conduct - Press Release, Mark S. Zaid, Esq. and John J. Michels, Jr., Esq.

►December 31, 2003 - Vaccinations Credited With Hepatitis B Decline - www.thebostonchannel.com

Comment: For a different perspective on hepatitis B incidence, go to Scandals: The CDC and “The New Math”, where 1 + 1  does not equal 2

►December 29, 2003 - Mad Cow: Prion research misguided? - UPI via The Washington Times - "The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., openly acknowledges prions have not been established fully as a cause of any disease. Yet nearly all of the $27 million the agency doled out last year for studies on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs -- a group of diseases that includes mad cow, chronic wasting in deer and elk, scrapie in sheep and vCJD in humans -- went toward studies focusing on the prion hypothesis."

►December 29, 2003 - Docs Hunt Teen Meningitis Link - "If all of the strains of the bacteria match, and certainly if there are more cases, that would be more concerning." Jesse Greenblatt, state epidemiologist - AP via CBS News

►December 31, 2003 - FDA Issues Final Rule And Final Order Regarding Safety And Efficacy Of Certain Licensed Biological Products Including Anthrax Vaccine - FDA via ScienceDaily - "To complete the review of the safety and effectiveness of certain bacterial vaccines and toxoids licensed before July, 1972, FDA today issued a final rule and order that makes final determinations concerning the safety and effectiveness of such products and amends certain biologics regulations. The final order states FDA's conclusion that the licensed anthrax vaccine, Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, is safe and effective for the prevention of anthrax disease - regardless of the route of exposure."

Comment:  How conVENient.

►December 21, 2003 - Serious mind games - Parents of autistic children face years of intensive exercises and structured play with their kids in an effort to unlock abilities that seem trapped inside. New research suggests that diagnosis and treatment has to come early in life to be fully effective. - The Times-Picayune via www.nola.com

Dear Senator Frist...Vote Against the Frist/Gregg Vaccine Legislation and Give Them a Good Shot For Once (pdf) - National Autism Association (NAA) Ad #2

Comment: For more on Senator Frist's inappropriate use of the word "frivolous", go to Scandals: Senator Frist Frivolously Dismisses Vaccine Damage

►December 30, 2003 - Can strep throat cause behavior disorder? - Some say more research needed, but others say problem is rare but real. - Austin American-Statesman

►December 30, 2003 - 'Unlimited Potential' program offers hope - New therapy surfaces in the treatment of autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and brain injuries. - Northwest Indian Times

►December 30, 2003 - Chinese Herbalists Laud U.S. Exemption for Ephedra - Reuters -  "When U.S. regulators said they would ban the use of ephedra in weight-loss supplements on Tuesday they allowed an exemption for practitioners of Chinese medicine who have been using the herb for thousands of years to treat ailments ranging from asthma to fevers...Synthetic ephedra-based weight loss pills sold over the counter can be harmful when taken in large doses and by people who have heart ailments, high blood pressure and other health problems, the FDA said...But when taken properly under a health practitioners supervision, the herb -- also known as ma huang -- is good medicine, according to several trained Chinese herbalists."

►December 31, 2003 - Daft science cashing in on the bleeding obvious - People who are sick die sooner and drunk gamblers lose more, according to recent research - www.timesonline.co.uk - "PERHAPS it is time for research into why university personnel continually attract funding for studies with blindingly obvious conclusions...There must be an art to it. How else to explain the work of Amos Zeichner, director of the psychology clinic at the University of Georgia, who proved that 'alcohol facilitates aggression among those who express anger outwardly'. "

►December 31, 2003 - New mercury findings spur group to act - KRT via Chicago Tribune via www.fortwayne.com - "The fish stories continue at the Food and Drug Administration. So does the confusion about whether pregnant women and kids should be eating canned tuna."

►December 29, 2003 - Rare brain illness holds wider clues - Mystery: Scientists say a disease that afflicts natives of Guam could hold the key to treating similar ailments such as Alzheimer's disease. - www.sunspot.net

►January 1, 2004 - Needles and damage done - To vaccinate or not to vaccinate: Missoula’s question  - Missoula Independent - "So are these parents sensible—or just selfish? It can be unclear whether newborns need this alphabet soup of shots or whether the drug companies are just trying to move merchandise. Regardless of which side of the immunization fence one resides on, all sides agree that the decision is motivated by parents’ concern for their very young children."

►December 31, 2003 - Concern about thimerosal in child vaccines - Knight Ridder via www.fortwayne.com

►December 29, 2003 - Healthy Defence - Contrary to what the US Institute of Medicine suggests, economic realities such as low profits and costly R&D are not barriers to vaccine innovation for pharmaceutical companies. In fact, Merck chief Raymond Gilmartin argues that the development of vaccines is a profitable venture. ANNA TEO reports - The Business Times

►December 31, 2003 - Reader Responses - The Politics of Autism (requires registration) - The Wall Street Journal

►December 15, 2003 - Business, Bush Look for Lawsuit Limits in 2004 - Reuters