From The Stranger.

The author of the story got this press release in her e-mail.

OUTRAGED AUTISM GROUPS AND LEADERS TO ANNOUNCE 50,000-PARENT PROTEST IN NYC AGAINST BILLIONAIRE AND MICROSOFT CHAIRMAN BILL GATES AFTER BEING CALLED “CHILD KILLERS”

I know that Bill Gates said that the Vaccine-Autism Link ‘An Absolute Lie’ in a recent interview.  

Except, in Gates’ defense, A) he didn’t call autism groups who advocate against childhood vaccines “child killers,” he said that they “kill children,” and B) autism groups who advocate against childhood vaccines are child killers.

Oh… I see.  He took the gentle road but they heard the truth.  Which is kinda odd for the anti-vax crowd.  These nuts are referring back to the video link I show above so, once again they overreact and see things that aren’t there.  Maybe they will see this… YOU ARE CHILD KILLERS.

In less than a week, I will give a presentation to a local Rotary club.  The title is, ”Vaccines and the rise of the Anti-vax movement.”  I hope that they like it and I can give it to more area Rotary clubs.  Rotary has a history of fighting Polio and I hope that it may convince them to start promoting the value of all Vaccines!   Most members seem to be unaware that there are people out there that are against vaccines.

I have the following things to present:  “Dr.” Wakefield, Jenny McCarthy, success rate of vaccines, explanation of herd immunity, info on Polio, Video of kids with whooping cough, stats on the recent California outbreak and an update on the fraud of Wakefield.  There is more but I wanted to give you an rough idea. 

Can you think of any other subjects or specific facts I should present?  Keep in mind this is Rotary not a skeptics meetup.  I don’t want to be too much of a dick so I will not include things like Jenny McCarthy body count.

Thanks.

While you think about that, here is a video of Jenny McCarthy to remind you why we need to fight!

from CNN.

NO SHIT!

An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study’s author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study — and that there was “no doubt” Wakefield was responsible.

First of all 12 patients is not a significant number.  No one should have ever given this study any credit in the first place.  Not only is the 12 a problem but it has been confirmed that he faked the data.   Mr. Wakefield is a fraud.

“It’s one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors,” Fiona Godlee, BMJ’s editor-in-chief, told CNN. “But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data.”

Wakefield should be in jail.  He has blood on his hands.

According to BMJ, Wakefield received more than 435,000 pounds ($674,000) from the lawyers. Godlee said the study shows that of the 12 cases Wakefield examined in his paper, five showed developmental problems before receiving the MMR vaccine and three never had autism.

“It’s always hard to explain fraud and where it affects people to lie in science,” Godlee said. “But it does seem a financial motive was underlying this, both in terms of payments by lawyers and through legal aid grants that he received but also through financial schemes that he hoped would benefit him through diagnostic and other tests for autism and MMR-related issues.”

Go read the whole story.

A beautiful video about Pertussis (Whooping Cough).

This is why we need to get vaccines.  Did you ever get the adult booster for whooping cough?  Please check.  You could save the life of a baby!

tip to skepchicks.

Part 1  (NSFW)

Part 2

Tip to Phil Plait - Story from USAID

After an outbreak of more than 413 cases of polio in Tajikistan, 1,000 teams of doctors and nurses working under a USAID grant and the Tajikistan Ministry of Health have stopped the spread of the disease nearly three months after the first cases were registered.

Largely wiped out around the world since the discovery of the polio vaccine in the 1950s, the virus remains in a few remote regions of the world. International health officials, donors such as USAID, and local governments move swiftly once outbreaks are identified—including in Tajikistan. By June 21, new infections had stopped.

In April, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed seven children in Tajikistan had contracted polio. Over the next three months, 413 cases were confirmed, signaling the largest polio outbreak in the world since 2004 and outstripping traditional polio hotspots like India and Nigeria. It was the first time such an outbreak had occurred in the Central Asian region since 2002. And, by mid-July, WHO reported nearly 700 cases of acute flaccid paralysis, a type of paralysis that is often caused by polio, in Tajikistan. Emerging cases of the paralysis usually signal the beginning of a polio outbreak.

A mark is placed on a child’s hand to show that he has received a round of polio vaccine.

Tajikistan was certified as polio free in 2002 a result of a vigorous effort over several years by many donors, including USAID. Since then, country health officials conducted annual immunizations to ensure that the country remained polio free.

“Certainly, there were children who missed the opportunity to be vaccinated due to migration from Tajikistan and inside of the country,” said Tajik Deputy Health Minister Aazam Mirzoyev during a press interview in May. “Some of them have not been vaccinated year after year. They have a role in the outbreak, because they do not have a shield against the disease.”

USAID has pledged $3 million for renewed efforts with WHO, UNICEF, regional ministries of health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other organizations to carry out vaccination campaigns, surveillance, and community mobilization throughout Central Asia.

The Ministry of Health mobilized doctors and nurses to carry out vaccinations throughout the country. In addition, officials kicked off a massive communications campaign to inform the public about polio immunization.

In addition to vaccinations, millions of leaflets, posters, and banners in Tajik, Uzbek, Russian, and Dari were distributed in health centers, schools, kindergartens, markets, and mosques. Doctors and nurses visited homes in rural areas, encouraging parents and caregivers to ensure that all children are vaccinated in every round to build up immunity. “We are thankful to our international partners for their support of the polio immunization drive in Tajikistan,” Dr. Mirzoyev said.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that invades the nervous system. It can cause paralysis— one in 200 cases leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs—and even death. The disease mainly affects children under age 5. The only way to prevent polio is through vaccination.

As of June 21, the immunization campaign was drawing to a close, and no new polio cases had been reported. Both the health specialists and the donor community are hopeful the outbreak has died out.

“Now that the outbreak has been stopped, it is important that we work together with the Ministry of Health of Tajikistan to strengthen the national health system, disease surveillance, and sanitation systems so that polio does not reemerge again,” said Bryn Sakagawa, deputy director of the Health and Education Office at USAID’s Central Asia regional office.

Tip to the Bad Astronomer.

Read the full update at Respectful Insolence.

The favored laboratory of anti-vaccine practitioners and the “autism biomed” movement, a commercial laboratory known as Doctor’s Data is suing Steve Barrett, the man who maintains the excellent resource Quackwatch, for criticism Dr. Barrett leveled against it, criticism that Doctor’s Data richly deserved (in my opinion, of course). Not just that, it’s suing Dr. Barrett for the ridiculously overblown sum of $10 million. In case you don’t remember Doctor’s Data, I’ll just remind you that it’s a commercial laboratory that describes itself thusly on its website:

Doctor’s Data, Inc. (DDI) a premier clinical laboratory with over 30 years’ experience, provides specialty testing to healthcare practitioners around the world. A specialist and pioneer in essential and toxic elemental testing of multiple human tissues, the laboratory offers a wide array of functional testing. DDI’s tests are utilized in the assessment, detection, prevention, and treatment of heavy metal burden, nutritional deficiencies, gastrointestinal function, hepatic detoxification, metabolic abnormalities, and diseases of environmental origin.

The anti-vaxxers use this company to send in urine tests.  The don’t just do a urine test they first do chelation.  Chelation is an actual medical treatment that pulls heavy metals out of your body.  This is what it is designed to due.  However, the use this process to produce elevated levels of heavy metals in your urine. 

Please go read the full story…