CNN: Parents not convinced about autism-vaccine court ruling.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

 

 

Parents aren't convinced about Vaccine Rulinghttp://www.newsanchormom.blogspot.com/

 

FROM CNN:

A special court's Thursday ruling that no proven link exists between

autism and certain early childhood vaccines seems to have done little

to change the sometimes-passionate opinion fueling the debate. Amanda

Guyton, a mother of a 6-year-old boy with autism, was "incredibly

happy" with the decision and said it reaffirmed her belief that her

son's autism has nothing to do with vaccines.

"We're ready for them to get on real research like educational

strategies and help for kids," she said. "An awful lot of money and

effort and time were spent on vaccines when three or four studies said

no, there isn't a link."Meanwhile, John Best, the father of a

12-year-old boy with autism, said: "The whole thing stinks." Guyton and Best were not involved in the cases, but were following the news because of their interest in autism.

Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- had

sought damage awards from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for

their children who have autism, a disorder that the parents contend was

triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined

with vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. Watch Campbell Brown's take on the controversy »

The panel of "special masters" ruled that these petitioners had not

presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines

caused autism in their children.

A vocal segment of autism parents has contended that childhood

vaccinations recommended by the government cause the disorder. Health

agencies and the scientific community have disputed that notion. In

defending its conclusion that no link exists, the Institute of Medicine

cited five large studies that have failed to prove any connection

between autism and thimerosal and 14 large studies finding no link

between the MMR vaccine and autism.

"As the scientific community has been saying for a long time, there is

no good, credible, reproducible research that supports the hypothesis

that MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism," said Dr.

Max Wiznitzer, an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's

Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Wiznitzer testified in two of these three lawsuits brought against the

government's National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

"What the decision tells us is that these vaccinations are safe," he

said. "The medical evidence tells us there is no association between

vaccines and autism. This is one more piece that helps confirm that

conclusion." The defendant, the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement

Thursday: "Hopefully, the determination by the Special Masters will

help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism."Meanwhile,

some autism advocacy groups such as SafeMinds also criticized the HHS

saying the "deck is stacked against families when they enter 'vaccine

court.'" National Autism

Association president Wendy Fournier agreed."If you have a vaccine

injury, you're forced to sue Health and Human Services instead of suing

the manufacturers. It's the government that oversees these court

cases," said Fournier, who is the mother of a 9-year-old girl with

autism. "The conflict of interest is so huge in so many levels by

having the government responsible for not only promoting vaccine

program, but also responsible for overseeing the safety."

Fournier said her daughter was a happy, healthy toddler who developed

autism after receiving shots. She said she's heard countless similar

stories from other parents. The special court denied Mike and Theresa Cedillo's claim that vaccines caused autism in their daughter, Michelle, 14, who can't walk without help and receives nourishment from a feeding tube. "We're obviously really disappointed," Theresa Cedillo said.

Tom Powers is an attorney for a litigation steering committee

representing thousands of families that fall into three categories:

those that claim that MMR vaccines and thimerosal-containing vaccines

can combine to cause autism; those who claim thimerosal-containing

vaccines alone can cause autism; and those who claim that MMR vaccines,

without any link to thimerosal, can cause autism.

"We're disappointed in the outcome of the court's decision," he said.

"However, these decisions are the first step in a long process. The

whole process was designed to raise every possible issue in these cases

-- hear all the evidence in these cases, knowing that ultimately

appeals courts will be making the final decisions."

This week's ruling brought a different outcome from the Hannah Poling

case. In November 2007, the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation

concluded that the Georgia girl's illness that had predisposed her to

symptoms of autism was "significantly aggravated" by the vaccinations

she received as a toddler and that her family should therefore be

compensated. But Thursday,

Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the

Cedillos case, "The evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far

short of demonstrating such a link" between autism and vaccinations. Wiznitzer said the ruling sent a message.

"Instead of spending resources investigating ideas that are

hypothetical and have no proven value, we need to invest our time and

resources into projects that will better determine the reasons for

autism and the interventions that are best needed," he said. -NewsAnchorMom Jen

 

 

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

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