NVIC Vaccine E-NewsletterNovember 3, 2008



Vaccines, Politics & Media: Both Sides?

by Barbara Loe Fisher


www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com

www.NVIC.org


www.StandUpBeCounted.org

With a little help from his friends, a man who has
made millions from creating and promoting forced
use of vaccines has begun the process of canonizing
himself. Frustrated that his new book attempting to
debunk the autism-vaccine connection is not selling
well, Paul Offit is desperately trying to lose the Dr.
Proffit label and morph into a martyr even as he
continues to lead a public
attack begun in 2007
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMPsJBQX98LXrr_Fghev7IwilvJU6_3uLaOTMrgvJkyk\
Hid6UKVWZWooIBpS3-dWmDDP2NpZgr0VmBuTwGBvROfw--VjSPUQpr2mhpcahKoAKVSZlSQT3O0t-pPZ\
PjrUu5IOVFHEnbik0sbhPHjPLYLJdPebPDOCHd1RVsrA6Tse8rGyXVj5YwJFeQmqSgzdvYpaKeeY1gaX\
EtwdHr6NfIPE)on
those questioning vaccine safety and defending informed consent to
vaccination.



The day before Halloween, Offit's good friend TV
doc Nancy Snyderman

(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMN3_eVu3HFdnXDVuErZEXi4jr47_D6ImxaXTE6pS86S\
ws80S_49X322y4eIUFfoAAaKt8iKQQSBr-kE4OzXIEXby4Eq2HQPEM_zLHJShcHcz7ujvYnO-JsaNwsV\
FC0c1fvwyVxTsy15aSNsWnjL3WQHgeFjpc-WxLQ=)gave him a helping hand when she
attempted torelentlessly browbeat the intellectually honest andaffable Matt
Lauer into agreeing with Offit that publicdebate about vaccines and autism is
dangerous andshould immediately cease. Gritting her teeth through asteely grin
and hissing "It is NOT controversial" at herstunned NBC-TV colleague over and
over again,Snyderman's on-camera meltdown was anunexpected Halloween treat for
Moms makingbreakfast for the kids. The interesting thing about
Snyderman'sglowing video tribute to her friend and subsequenttantrum when Lauer
innocently labeled the vaccine-autism topic a "controversy," was her insistence
thatpublic debate should stop because her hero hadgotten "death threats"
presumably from distraughtparents of vaccine injured autistic children. That
samesentiment was forwarded by medical reporters
atNewsweek(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMMu1DGH7KhnzSiVhYBvxec_kaBJpV24rL\
FVQPFu_vc2qrbVPdggdBdVJrDF_eNbhMxtbK2yYCGPL-UOHTvzERuJQrkJLhd9wZ8pd2w23m-Gtv5tV3\
lg1qBS) magazine and
ABC-TV(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMN1LIBHmMZmhXpqpRzlze5DJCrHpyYrSNqthC\
UZcB646Wq5wB3WHL8nSBsyFfFC2xDtJyTReliSZ7QoFBvczUPcjaHb8hJjBnae7eYk1o_Lz0v-WYd3D3\
5BDb4Erb-_HfE=),who appeared to agree with Offit's point of view thatcitizens
questioning vaccine safety and forced use ofvaccines are dangerous. Adopting a
strategy similar to the one thatMerck pro-actively employed in 2006 to roll out
thepoorly tested and reactive Gardasil vaccine, Offit andhis colleagues are
demonizing parents and doctorsquestioning vaccine safety by characterizing them
asignorant, crazed, anti-science religious fanatics with apenchant for violance.
In a desperate play forsympathy, pro-forced vaccination proponents agreeingwith
Offit's big stick approach are trying to deflectattention from the fact that
they, themselves, createdthe current climate of fear, distrust, and anger.
Thebitterness now being expressed by parents, who havebeen belittled, harassed
and threatened by hostiledoctors inside and outside of government for standingup
for their right to protect their children from vaccineinjury and death, was
inevitable. When mothers and fathers take their healthysons and daughters to
pediatricians to get vaccinatedand then witness them suffering vaccine
reactionsand regressing into chronic poor health within hours,days and weeks of
getting sometimes 5 to 10vaccines on one day, they are not going to accept
anillogical, unscientific explanation like "it's all acoincidence." When mothers
and fathers are thrownout of pediatricians offices and denied child medicalcare
for asking questions about vaccines; or reportedto child protective services for
refusing to get childrenevery vaccine; or denied exemptions to vaccines
bygovernment officials taking a militant "no exceptions"stance, they are going
to feel angry.At the same time, pediatricians, who becomepediatricians to help
children stay well, are not goingto willingly accept the possibility that
something theyinjected into a child injured or killed that child. Whenthey
cannot answer questions parents ask aboutvaccines, they are going to feel angry.
The debate isso contentious because it is about life and deathissues that affect
everyone but neither thosequestioning vaccine safety nor those defending itserve
their causes well by engaging in physicalintimidation and threats against each
other.What should be troubling for doctors practicingmedicine and journalists
reporting on it is the Statistapproach being taken by influential doctors like
Offit,Greg
Poland(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMOP6aiRhMrNgvSKo-cHIP8Bpp8ijb1WESBWen\
ygPULiKkGHrZq7rGb8cqj3iL4vR9ekKW90JEHT6JPeNMzgP6YLAVmPmE3eExHZCIArbsdhoA-aBajzYU\
QyJMziKIh9Mxng3BZCwWEkQWIlG7Z_Ez9YNWjsSYoMVFMuZecMuoMfFQ==)and Peter
Hotez(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMMYC1ewRTwGZGubU9eRpbHEc3UJSz37ZbG6DMF\
QSAW9nMGW2lV3IU7APorW_WxroqFqQ8F5f_pOZCWejkD9BCPZHaiEAKKuU9lLH7xerpzc9i68n0jiyc1\
r1g2A8nB2KSbgcjRuVdL2Xl8Jx6HP9UxWhBTwLqPIvoWXDawQLShd5kPS_ZhzQE34T0FvQ65XfEoMAw3\
OZxGvTQ==)in response to three decades of reports by parentsthat children are
being harmed by vaccination. Thosewho simultaneously develop new vaccines,
helpmake national vaccine policy and promote forced useof vaccines certainly
have the right to earn a profit fromthe products they create. They also have the
right topromote an ideology in which they deeply believe. ButAmericans, who
cherish freedom of thought, speechand action, should think long and hard about
all effortsto pit citizen against citizen and marginalize thoseasking for
credible scientific investigation into vaccinerisks and the right to make
informed, voluntaryvaccination decisions. A more reasoned, open minded approach
to thevaccine safety debate was taken by pediatricianJames Sears, M.D. and ER
physician Travis Stork,M.D., who anchored an Oct. 28 episode of "The
Doctors(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMPswoTkIpV4EI648BuBi11M1rTCxE_KIEeP9\
5rgzD_QpPPh8Cr_bz3--vK3jvpNdd24OlvczN02kuKwpnoV355Y-QCzoQffqiEwt2gBj3069exa9JQTQ\
sXA6GYCWuhFEEfb8hTIwqzbAw==)." The new CBS daytime showfeatured a segment
airing different views aboutvaccine risks and mandatory vaccination in
whichJulia Berle, of TACA, and I appeared. To the credit ofthe show's producers,
a spirited but civilized debatewas allowed.Both of the show's doctors joined
anAAP pediatrician guest in strongly encouragingvaccination. However Dr. Sears
and Dr. Stork alsoencouraged parents to become informed andsupported the right
of parents to make voluntarydecisions about vaccines.The show has elicited
heated discussionon "The Doctors" website
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMNVQaZKN1oPH1LgvRPiUGHw2wbghJ1TLYnlSDFqYI06\
dvm14Bwi1YLCz2CGhigeehI4LpRv4cFI6iNNiz87Ex58cF-Kd7578q9_Bh77Rk__6tdKoRB0qSfiG7cH\
92t6WczjkscSdrTsPfZwa6K18akhWccpW6H0i8E64x2tK8VJzgZC06E24xcefw7WZ08DWz0=) and a
staff member monitoring the discussionboards yesterday told posters "Time to
remindeveryone that there is a person behind every screenname. Let's remember to
address the topic withoutpersonally attacking another member because theirviews
are different from yours. We all can learn fromeveryone's viewpoint, let's try
to keep this discussionprogressing in the manner intended." Immediatelyfollowing
this advice, posters who had been attackingone another found common ground even
as theyagreed to disagree.At the vaccine freedomrally in
Trenton(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMNi_IXwKjop2ly6_GWsgvghXtXdnoSX-pg3c\
VKvHFyjik_TceaGnBK2rEmI9WIFDlTymd6sniYxXh6f79na9k35YWK6GlQ2329vr_bKB2yrBynbrcLM5\
g20m_5W5mafP2B7dEq2Z6xMZoNki67-N3cXA-YhiluT5d3nGp_u7yGed3CgAp69MYjJ)sponsored by
theNew Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice onOctober 16, pediatrician Larry
Palevsky,
M.D.(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMPtCYzo42C-oyQhLP8bHBkupcup7TtfePJ9gsOj\
CO3OUL9oflnEkrp2EVMa83JMwQ5bLPo5Nmb2to3XMXEZF5cygKWXlq_b-AuQaYMYMCIDkBoB_eHHiCgw\
Z_--w-fGTmtWKp3ESd4v6mAA0bQwabCK) encouragedparents to continue speaking out
and working for thelegal right to voluntary vaccine decision-making.
Hechallenged doctors to open their minds about vaccinerisks, stating: "As
Einstein said, we can't solve problems byusing the same kind of thinking we used
when wecreated them. I challenge my colleagues in medicineto listen and learn
that there is more to know thanwhat we've been told...... Engage in a more
scientificdialogue and not in the rhetoric that keeps comingfrom those who have
a stake in keeping the statusquo of one-size-fits-all vaccinations and an
ever-increasing vaccine schedule. Take whatever fear youhave about speaking out,
and turn it into beingresponsible to our children in a new way."Another doctor,
who has had the courage tostep up to the plate and ask her fellow
physiciancolleagues to consider the possibility that vaccinerisks are not equal
for all and must be examined morethoroughly, is former NIH Director Bernadine
Healy,M.D.. In a CBS-TV
interview(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMM4dhW-7cwtBWolnxOxOt9uFcVFcWl8GS0\
styDmY3IDWsDZqWV2prmssaa7qEwYMRV0sjWbHqpjL4q5bO8cDk14V7YVqVHwWIDiOCk0dV43fVGZPsS\
yELoLlclA5QUwLfUs0UdfMjTZk3Hnq5N8bVus6yATOel7ttGPOb0FlvCuvYWzkzVe7MJheGi1UUF0F_o\
=) last May, she expressed the view thatscientific research must go forward to
identifyindividuals genetically or biologically vulnerable forsuffering vaccine
injury.Healy told CBS investigative journalist SharylAtkisson: "I don't think
you should ever turn your backon any scientific hypothesis because you're afraid
ofwhat it might show..... there may be this susceptiblegroup. The fact that
there is concern that you don'twant to know that susceptible group is a
realdisappointment to me. If you know that susceptiblegroup, you can save those
children. If you turn yourback on the notion that there is a susceptible group
-what can I say?"The fear and dread that new vaccine developersand promoters
like Offit, Poland and Hotez may haveis that their vaccines will not be welcomed
with openarms by a public concerned about vaccine risks. Butthe way to remove
public concern about vaccine safetyand effectiveness is not to back questioning
parentsand doctors into a corner and club them intosubmission and silence. In
the meantime, an editor at the AtlantaJournal
Constitution(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMNqfIzdKclOeZx82y1IKBc6-tFKYlcl\
lfi7Azv_RNsDg8h0wH-1jgZ72RDFyRS6X53Q6ckOkiQPnbis9oPG_VY-U0J3YNd2f1vHWUzWe5XxyY0E\
lkLC7viP48ggK58RUREAxrox5uNNJB-KRxg_9DS5-NmRV3da3fJNQKUbH6_35dpNhGmHa7fo_Ah48GzL\
6LY=) in Georgia is calling for arejection of a bill to allow New Jersey
residents thesame freedom that citizens living in 18 other stateshave: the legal
right to exercise conscientious beliefexemption to vaccination. And a large HMO
in theMidwest is forcing all of its 26,000 employees to get aflu shot every year
or be fired.
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMOQeRhg_LG3nCW2MoFSylZE6_21iJK6HK6ZoJyl3Wdv\
C4n3omTdYLvVPuuyPlCt5koKUZB59VNls3DAOW1OP-fReYqDhFyRrUmoyKJK4dQuE579XfdFaElU5HXv\
JLCJWxQ=)Tomorrow, all Americans have the opportunity togo to the polls and vote
for the candidates they believewill best represent them at the local, state and
federalgovernment level. Understanding the positions of
candidates(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PiLaJmcdUMO40yawKAlOaDI7R9xyP0_kRpEMhSIYyK\
erG-26rcDjj_0rSg_owIESGxoT51glqWB2Nkhq4KF4fkEwGAwUM15tcTA5lL30Z5DojRoFKhwBE4R13c\
B-mliHdfbdtdXWeMLjh5BDpVY73u5QjruJ3wgb6yjDrnaoXrI=)on vaccine safety and
informed consent issues isimportant.We cannot let those who are afraid of the
truthabout vaccination silence the voices of those whohave paid the ultimate
price for that fear. Stand by forannouncements coming soon about how you can
joinNVIC in becoming an activist citizen and educatemembers of your community
about the importance ofstanding up for the right of all Americans to
makeinformed, voluntary decisions about
vaccination.</a>__________________________________________"People think of me as
this wild-eyed maniac,"Offit says. "If I sat down with them for 10
minutes,they'd see that my motivation is the same as theirs.You want what's best
for kids." Asked how he ranksthe intensity of the vitriol aimed at him, Offit
sayssimply, "Abortion, doctors who perform abortions."Nobody's firebombing
pediatricians' offices, andthere's no moral dilemma here about when lifebegins.
But the overarching question-whathappened to my baby?-is still impossible to
answer,and the anger is real and it's deep. Some parents ofchildren with autism
tell stories with an eerily similarstart: an infant who was happy and healthy
until shegot her shots. Then, suddenly, she lost eye contactand language.
Parents' dreams for their babies areburied in sadness, their pockets are emptied
to payfor therapies, their worries about their children's futurehaunt them even
as they're trying to get through thescreaming, splattered minutes of the day." -
ClaudiaKalb, Newsweek (November 3, 2008)http://www.newsweek.com/id/165644 "Dr.
Gregory Poland, director of the MayoVaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic
inRochester, Minn., and a vocal proponent of universalflu vaccination, says he
is no stranger to suchharassment. Among the most egregious things -- I gota
letter once railing against my involvement invaccines and hoping that something
serious wouldhappen to me and hoping that something seriouswould happen to one
of my children," he said.....Butsome people connected to groups that believe
avaccine-autism link exists say that they, too, have beenthe targets of hateful
speech. "I've been called a babykiller," says Rebecca Estepp, national manager
of theautism support group Talk About Curing Autism. "Onewoman got into my face
this summer and told me Iwas going to cause millions of children to die.Emotions
are running high because this involves thehealth of our children....Poland said
he believeslegislation should be considered to offer specialprotection to those
in the field of vaccineresearch. "Since this affects not only a person and hisor
her family, but indeed the public health, specialprovisions should be considered
in terms of legalconsequences," he said. "This was done, forexample, in the case
of abortion protesters.".....Dr.Peter Hotez, immunologist at George
WashingtonUniversity in Washington, D.C., and father of adaughter with autism,
said he believes that federalpublic health agencies, including the
surgeongeneral's office and the National Institutes of Health,must take a more
active role in dissuading the linkbetween vaccines and autism. "[These
organizations]have to be willing to speak out and make strongstatements that
vaccines do not cause autism," hesaid. "These organizations have been
conspicuous bytheir silence." - Dan Childs, ABC-TV (October 31,2008)
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6150482 " Parents fail to get their children
inoculated fora variety of reasons: ignorance of the requirement;concern over
how much it willcost; misunderstanding that for the vaccine to beeffective
against some diseases, children must getfollow-up shots....More problematic are
the parentswho willfully ignore the requirement, substituting theirjudgment for
that of experts who must guard the publichealth. In New Jersey, the state
Legislature is beingasked to approve a bill that would allow parents to optout
of mandatory vaccine requirements. The measurewas prompted by a new requirement
inNew Jersey -- the first in the nation -- that pre-schoolers get annual flu
shots.....The bill in the NewJersey Legislature would allow parents
a"conscientious exemption" as long as they swear theyhave "sincerely held"
objections to immunizations. Nodoubt many parents have sincerely held beliefs,
butallowing them to opt out of vaccination puts the lives oftheir children at
risk as well as the lives ofothers....The vaccine-autism link has beenthoroughly
debunked. States should not back offmandatory vaccination laws, and local school
districtsand health departments should do a better job ofenforcing compliance."
- Mike King, Atlanta JournalConstitution (October 29,
2008)http://www.ajc.com/services/content/opinion/stories/2008/10/29/vaccinesed.h\
tml " BJC HealthCare, the shining beacon fortraditional medical care throughout
the Midwest, hasmade getting a flu shot mandatory for its 26,000employees. That
goes for all employees, even theones who never come in contact with patients.
Ifanyone refuses, it is going to be considered a breachof the fitness for duty
requirement, meaning anyonewho refuses to be vaccinated is subject to
dismissal.Many employees are unhappy over this new edict.Some employees who see
the policy as a blatantviolation of their privacy believe it should be at
thediscretion of the individual to decide what medicationsto take. Others think
the way the policy was presentedcreated an atmosphere of intimidation. When
thepolicy was initially presented to employees, wasmade clear that without
compliance, the employeecould no longer work at BJC. Still others suspect
thatBJC is getting a kickback from the vaccine'smanufacturer. Employees
receiving the flu vaccinationare required to sign a waiver that totally absolves
BJCof any liability if the employee is harmed by thevaccine." Barbara Minton,
NaturalNews.com(November 2, 2008)http://www.naturalnews.com/024677.html* Make a
difference SUPPORT NVIC~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~National
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