March 4, 2008
John McCain's Autism Comment Prompts Outrage in the Blogosphere
Sen. John McCain has set science bloggers on fire by saying there is “strong evidence” that mercury in vaccines causes autism. He was responding to a question at a town hall meeting last week, Jake Tapper of ABC News reports.
The blogosphere reacted violently — mainly in anger and disappointment.
“No, no, no, no, no!” wrote Orac, the anonymous scientist at Respectful Insolence. “McCain needs to replace his medical and scientific advisors forthwith and find some who understand science and clinical trials.”
“The main problem with such a claim is not that just it’s untrue,” wrote Sean Carroll at Cosmic Variance, “… in this case the stupidity can cause people to die.”
By accepting the discredited link between vaccines and autism, McCain has shown his judgment falls far short of that required for the head of a modern nation-state,” said James Hrynyshyn, the blogger at Island of Doubt.
“This is nonsense on stilts,” wrote Megan McArdle at The Atlantic’s blog Asymmetrical Information. She guesses that he might have said so in order to court the voting bloc of those who believe vaccines cause autism. “The researchers who study [mercury in vaccines] probably weren’t going to vote for McCain anyway.”
Other responses from bloggers included “Absolutely despicable,” “He’s an antivax idiot,” and “when politicians step into the scientific arena, they better know what they are talking about. McCain clearly does not on this issue.”
Lila Guterman | Posted on Tuesday March 4, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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If anyone is interested in the actual quote (I usually enjoy a little context with my sensationalism):
“It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.” – John McCain
— - Mar 4, 12:58 PM #
Good for McCain! Ask yourselves, why is the New York Times is willing to go out and conduct a study of mercury in tuna if affluent Manhattanites could be harmed, but the Gray Lady is unwilling to report on a court case about mercury in vaccines when the Federal Government ADMITS a girl was harmed. Do you honestly think the U.S. Gov’t would admit vaccines caused a child’s autism if there was NO scientific evidence to support it? If you don’t believe it, you can read the actual court opinion here: autismfathers.com
-Curt
— Curt Mar 4, 01:42 PM #
I have been writing about McCain’s comments and the response here:
http://www.autismvox.com/sen-john-mccain-links-rise-in-autism-cases-to-thimerosal/
http://www.autismvox.com/the-verdict-on-mccain-on-thimerosal-and-autism/
http://www.autismvox.com/maybe-good-politics-but-still-bad-science/
— Kristina Chew Mar 4, 01:45 PM #
Meanwhile, Americans are encouraged to replace the incandescent light bulbs in their homes with mercury-laden compact fluorescent light bulbs…
— TRB Mar 4, 01:54 PM #
Just goes to show you, if you want to hear the truth from your Chief Executive, vote for McCain; if you want to hear hollow, feel-good messages (like how safe the preservatives in vaccine are), vote for the other guy.
— Tracy G. Mar 4, 03:27 PM #
McCain scores again and increases the chances I will vote for him in November. You provax-at-any-cost folks can scream all you want.
— J. Barton Mar 4, 03:38 PM #
Wow, it’s good to see all these comments. Now I know I’m not the only person in American who knows that the Illuminati and Trilateral Commission control the whole world and that Dick Cheney is actually a mole for the ACLU.
— Mike Mar 4, 03:51 PM #
I see absolutely nothing wrong with what McCain said. Read the statement please you numbsculls. I have a autistic child and I appreciate Mccain’s concern. And I, as a Ph. D. scientist think there is something to the connection. But I guess I will now vote for Mccain while Obama is winking at the Canadians about his positions. What a fake.
— james oakley Mar 4, 04:05 PM #
The presidential candidate who is so angry he cannot move. He cannot eat. He cannot sleep. He can just barely growl. Bound so tightly with tension and anger he approaches the state of rigor mortis….
….(w/thx to david lynch)…
— marci Mar 4, 04:12 PM #
I am a developmental neurobiologist, and I am thoroughly convinced by my my understanding of the medical and biological literature that there is absolutely NO link between autism and mercury in vaccines. The neurobiological basis of autism is apparent before many of the behavioral symptoms reveal themselves, and are most likely caused by events that occur before birth. The wealth of epidemiological studies also reveal that even though thimerosal is no longer used in the MMR vaccine, the incidence of autism is unchanged. And further, recent studies in several journals reveal no significant link between autism and vaccinations in controlled studies. It is a huge distraction that endagers children everywhere by exposing them to preventable illnesses, and also by distracting people from the excellent research into the true causes of autism.
— rjb Mar 4, 04:45 PM #
In all this, it should be recalled that rubella is one of the very few documented biological causes of autism (not to mention a host of other developmental disabilities). If vaccine fears cause widespread lack of vaccination, then there is a real risk that the incidence of rubella-induced autism (and cognitive and sensory impairments) will rise.
— slp Mar 4, 05:06 PM #
slp (item 11): Sorry, I missed that link. Could you provide a reference to the documentation?
Thanks.
— Henry Mar 4, 05:44 PM #
When will you pro mercury people get a clue!!!! You have lost because you chose to defend poison rather than children.
Now what you have left for a reputation will be even further damaged.
Why is it so hard for you to defend the little ones?
A. Child gets damaged by mercury in vaccines
B. Mercury is removed from child and child loses autism symptoms
C. families show evidenceof recovery in Vaccine injury court and pro mercury people lose all credibility
Autism ABC lesson provided at no cost
— Richard Mar 4, 06:31 PM #
The vaccine case does not articulate the details behind the decision, or what percentage was determined to be related to the vaccine. And, of course, there was no Mercury in the vaccine at the time that child was vaccinated.
— Renee Mar 4, 10:40 PM #
To those who insist that vaccines have not, are not and will no be linked in any way to ASD. That hundreds upon hundreds of stories about children regressing into autism, or developing other autoinmune disorders shortly after a round of vaccination are just the product of fertile imaginations. That thimerosal was taken out of the vaccines in 2001. That the CDC, AAP and FDA have no other interest than the health of our kids. That they are and always will be transparent. That they are not financially supported by vaccine makers. That they have no ties whatsoever with the pharmaceutical industry. That every study ever published discrediting the link between thimerosal or the MMR jab with autism has been unbiased, not manipulated, flawless, definitive, and that the researchers and authors of these studies never had or have any special interests, never received any funding or had any link with the CDC or pharmaceutical companies, and that they were never related in any way shape or form with the pharmaceutical industry.
To those who think that the media is fair and balanced in reporting both sides of the story. That they do their homework before they report anything, and that they do not respond to any special interests. That every parent who tries to do “unproven” alternative therapies is an irresponsible whacko even if the kids get better, and If they do so is because that is just the natural progression of their autism, or the alternative. that they were never in the spectrum in the first place. That every parent should only try ST, OT or ABA with their kids as if these therapies were free, affordable, or even accesible to everyone.
I cannot force everyone to be objective and really do their homework, as I’m sure I don’t have the time to do it for them.
As Kim Staglano puts it “you cannot expect 100% of the vaccines to be 100% safe, 100% of the time to 100% of the children” Yet the CDC thinks so.
My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS last a year ago, and he is the only peer reviewed double blind placebo controlled study that I need.
No developmental pediatrician, neurologist, psychologist or therapists have been able to explain to me why his metabolism is so messed up, or why he suffers frequent episodes of unexplained diarrhea, or why he has yeast and atypical bacteria overgrowth in his GI tract, or why he suffers from colitis, or why he is proven mercury and lead toxic. Furthermore, they have not been able to explain why so many kids in the spectrum have similar clinical problems as my son does, or why my son’s behaviors and symptoms have markedly improved with “voodoo” therapies, and treating his clinical issues.
If thimerosal was removed in 2001, then why in feb. 2007 we found thimerosal in 3 out of 4 vaccines that my then 4 months old daughter was going to receive just to have her ears pierced (I still have the vaccine inserts, and by the way this happened in Houston, TX and not in Uganda or wherever).
I read somewhere that you “don’t need a study to know that sh.. stinks”, I guess if enough people can agree on that, then thousands of anecdotal stories cannot or should not be ignored and considered worthless.
Also, I don’t want to say that the CDC or the AAP are corrupted and are profoundly interested in protecting their contributors and sources of funding (If I’m just making this up, just go their web pages and find out for yourselves), yet no one who has in all honesty reviewed the famous Denmark studies (form the statistical flaws to the researchers involved, as well as to the funding sources and vested interests), or the manipulation given to the original Verstraten data presented at Simpsonwood could in their right mind say that institutions like the above mentioned are transparent, and that they only have our children best interests in mind. The IOM, and the FDA are also just eating from the same plate.
The ignorance, or better said, lack of information that the mainstream medical community has is due in large part to their trust of the official federal institutions mentioned. Your son/daughter’s pediatrician cannot be directly blamed for not knowing, but for not researching.
A study is published today (reputable or not)that allegedly destroys the thimerosal or MMR theories as causes of autism, and for the next three weeks you will find it on the web, in newspapers, television news, radio, magazines, and every form of media ever created. If such study (reputable or not) supported the idea that thimerosal or the MMR is related to autism causation you will be lucky if you get to read about it in the classifieds section of a God forsaken newspaper.
The scientific evidence that supports a connection is vast. For starters it is universally known that if I was mass murderer I would inject my victims with mercury. It wouldn’t take much to kill them, and only very minimal dosis would cause serious neurological damage. It is toxic and that is just a fact.
Apparently everybody has an agenda, and the parents are left to find answers on their own. Unfortunatelly the answers that thousands of parents have found on their own are against everything that is oficially being fed to the masses. Therefore, we can only swim against the current, and work relentlessly with our kids and to see them improve day in and day out with forbidden therapies and traditional therapies as well. In some cases these kids even recover. And parents do it all on their own.
— Francisco Mar 5, 09:12 AM #
While immunizations are very important, THERE IS A LINK to some children and Autism. I have seen it for myself with my daughter!!! Until you have seen a change in your child after immunizations, you absolutely CAN NOT RULE IT OUT!! I would never ever expect for immunizations to be stopped because they do provide most children with protection but they DO shatter the lives of many families by harming their children! I do not care what doctors or these bloggers or anyone says, I have seen it first hand as have MANY families!!! Seeing your child suffer from seizures cause by high temperatures after immunizations that are demanded is absolutely devistating. There is no fix. I am so tired of people saying NO NO NO there is NO link. THERE IS.
— Evelyn Dorsey Mar 5, 04:19 PM #
LANDMARK FEDERAL COURT CONCESSION THAT LOCAL CHILD FROM ATLANTA DEVELOPED AUTISM FROM VACCINES
CHILD JOINS PARENTS IN PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT THIS HISTORIC RESULT AT ATLANTA FEDERAL COURT HOUSE TOMORROW
LOCAL COUPLE FROM ATLANTA WILL JOIN WITH THEIR 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, HANNAH, IN A PRESS CONFERENCE DISCUSSING THEIR DAUGHTER’S DEVELOPMENT OF AUTISM AS A RESULT OF VACCINES. THIS LANDMARK CASE ALLEGED THAT AUTISM WAS CAUSED BY CHILDHOOD VACCINES AND WAS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD AS A TEST CASE BEFORE THE CONCESSION WAS MADE.
THE PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD TOMORROW, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008 AT 11:30 AM ON THE STEPS OF U.S. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE AT 75 SPRING STREET IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.
THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL HAVE ESTIMATED THAT 1 IN 166 CHILDREN HAVE AUTISM, AND MANY HAVE LINKED THE AUTISM EPIDEMIC IN THIS COUNTRY TO THE MERCURY BASED PRESERVATIVE USED IN CHILDHOOD VACCINES.
.,._
— angela s Mar 5, 06:50 PM #
Wow. I’m surprised to see comments like these on the Chronicle of Higher Ed website. People are saying that anecdotal evidence is sufficient evidence for drawing causal conclusions. This is very strange indeed. Even as an undergrad you learn that proving causation requires much different evidence than that. Also, there is some faulty logic wherein a person says that any evidence that mercury is toxic (which it is) is proof that vaccines cause autism. If you feel that evidence of mercury’s toxicity is sufficient to show that mercury also causes autism why not also conclude that since mercury is toxic that dental fillings cause autism or that eating tuna causes autism? I know this becomes a very emotional issue when someone you love has autism, but let’s please apply some logic and scientific rigor.
— A.M. Mar 7, 03:43 PM #
I am curious to know, as a vaccine scientist, what is that people think we have to gain by pushing harmful vaccines, hiding the truth, and ignoring valid claims of an association? Do you think we get financial kick backs or something? People doing vaccine research do so because they care about global health and preventing morbidity and mortality. Don’t you think if there was any validity in a harmful association, we’d be the first to pull the plug on something?
— W.M. Mar 12, 06:41 PM #
go johmy go
— stewart Mar 14, 12:44 PM #
Are you serious W.M.? As if hiding the truth and ignoring valid claims of association never happen in the pharmaceutical industry? You sound more like a rep from an industry trade group than a scientist.
— Tracy G. Mar 14, 02:27 PM #
Beyond all the evidence linking thimerisol laced vaccines to autism is another more complex question- what unknown and immunodestructive consequences are we setting up in future generations by programming partial artificial responses to known diseases? What are the future unknowable consequences??? No one can answer this question with anything approaching certainty.Our attempts remind me of the hubris associated with innumerable historical tragedies (e.g. babel,Frankenstein,etc.)
— jim d Mar 25, 12:46 PM #
I think it a bit silly that someone can say in a blog “I am a developmental neurobiologist” and expect us to believe it when they post anonymously or with just their initials. I can say I am a world renown expert in vaccines and I am 100% convinced vaccines cause autism!!!!!!!
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— autism123 Mar 28, 12:32 PM #