Comments on: Doc Who Tied Vaccine To Autism Takes The Stand

By: nipsey russell

nipsey russell — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:45:34 +0000

jack2, agreed, the press really likes to give equal time to “both sides” of an issue when one side really doesnt deserve it. To quote dawkins: “”…when two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly halfway between them. It is possible for one side to be simply wrong.”
camus’ comment may be well intentioned, but seems indicative of the problem: “Most researchers have disproven Wakefield’s thesis, but it would be interesting to see another link crop up between vaccines and autism”
well, that is true, but then how about “Most researchers have disproven Ptolemy’s thesis, but it would be interesting to see the sun revolve around the earth”
that WOULD be interesting!

By: Jack2

Jack2 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:56:14 +0000

Look at global warming. >95% of scientists who worked on global warming throughout the 90s felt it was real. But the press still presented both viewpoints as if equally credible. If it weren’t for Al Gore, the press coverage probably wouldn’t have changed.

We need the Al Gore of autism to set the record straight on the LACK of connection between autism and vaccines.

By: A.M. Camus

A.M. Camus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:27:53 +0000

I think this whole MMR row draws away from the real issue, which is to say, people should be reaching out to the autistic community. I don’t think scaring people into not taking vaccines will help with the root problem.

Still, though, one has to wonder if the vaccine actually does have anything to do with autism. Most researchers have disproven Wakefield’s thesis, but it would be interesting to see another link crop up between vaccines and autism. In the meantime, focus on reaching out to autistic children! Think of the kids.