“It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children,” Senator John McCain said while campaigning recently in Texas. “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.”
With that comment, McCain marked his entry into one of the most politicized scientific issues in a generation.
McCain is correct that autism diagnoses have increased in recent decades; no one disputes that. He is on much shakier ground when talking about the preservative as a cause…
Several large-scale studies have found no evidence of a link between thimerosal and autism, and medical groups including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics have publicly stated as much. In January, California reported an increase in autism cases, despite the removal of thimerosal from most vaccines…
Nothing like sucking up for votes.
Hilarious. The photo, I mean. He’s got the dog for hunting, the vest for fly-fishing – and a Ronco special spin-casting rig lying on the ground.
The politics suck even more.
20 years from now you’ll probably discover it had to do with the parents drug usage. That would be ironic.
#2- Irony requires an unexpected outcome. It’s not irony.
I find it disturbing that potential leaders of this country constantly veer off into the realm of pseudo-science and complete bunk. Wonder why asian and european nations are beating us in engineering of all forms? Look no further.
moss – But doesn’t he look presidential?
#3 – Most of the people I see screaming about being paranoid (tin foil hat types) about vaccines are also long term recreational drug users. Lots of them boomers & their kids. That’s the irony of which I spoke…
In today’s Austem American Statesman:
http://tinyurl.com/333jn4
Perhaps the first loose brick in the stonewall regarding Autism?
I am just not ready to concede that the people doing the studies, who have the most to lose are being completely honest and digging deep enough.
[Please use TinyUrl.com for overly long URLs. – ed.]
Now, Talk about Irony, the AP reports today
“Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she should be paid from a federal vaccine-injury fund.”
Maybe McCain had an inside source?
“Several large-scale studies have found no evidence of a link between thimerosal and autism” NOR HAVE THEY DISPROVED IT…
Shock Jock Don Imus is a big “thimerosal as a cause” proponent. He’s also a supporter of McCain for many years. Imus has used his radio show to inform congressional leaders of the link.
#7
“How do you know?” Umm, I talked to them?
Define “recreational drug”.” If you don’t know then it’s pointless to explain…
Well, if the AP says it might be true, then it must be bullshit.
The Europeans banned Thimerosal and autism rates kept rising. All the related studies came back negative. It’s nonsense.
The preservative is made of mercury. You don’t think there could or should be some concern about it?
Those studies clearing thimerosal are very recent, and while I tend to agree with them, I’m amazed McCain would even know about such issues. Obviously something has been keeping him from reading his latest medical journal.
Reminds me of the medical view that cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease, except in some nebulous association, as the evidence goes “back & forth” here as well.
RBG
12,
What about the massive rise in environmental mercury due to shitty environmental regulation on coal-fired power plants?
Babies are susceptible to mercury from any source, and sadly we’ve pumped more mercury into our surrounding environment than our vaccines.
#13 – I think you’re right. Too bad we can’t use nuc power like the French.
As for “sucking up for votes”, the same thing might be said of McCain’s position on “global warming”, which is likewise based on very shaky science.
As a parent of a potentially autistic child, I have discovered that therapy sessions for physical and speech development delays are expensive, frequent and necessary. However, the current standard for insurance companies is to not repay for such services unless the autism diagnosis is given. Not all child development delays requiring this therapy are autism leading many parents to push their pediatrician for the diagnosis just to have their insurance company pay for it. Medical providers also know this game and are more than willing to diagnose a child with autism to assist parents that are hesitant to proceed with the necessary therapies due to cost. I have not looked into the correlation between this insurance industry policy standard and the increase in autism diagnoses, but there could be a Freakonomics type explanation for the ‘dramatic increase’.
What about all the preservatives, chemicals, hormones, and sugars that are in the kids’ diet? A far more likely culprit, but one that the politicians will never address.
#9 “Shock Jock Don Imus is a big “thimerosal as a cause” proponent. ”
Wow, Don Imus! Who next? Bozo the Clown?
This whole mercury-autism thing is now and always has been bunk, bunk, bunk. Back in my day, we had mercury in our vaccines, we PLAYED WITH MERCURY FROM BROKEN THERMOMETERS and other sources, and autism was quite rare! So was mumps, measles, polio, and smallpox. Whooping cough (making a comeback thanks to unvaccinated folks) was nearly unheard of. Tuberculosis was also nearly unheard of, but also, thanks to the ignorant f***jobs, making a comeback!
Does McCain believe in evolution? Photosynthesis? Gravity?
The hypothesis that vaccines cause autism has been proven wrong again and again. Obviously autism is a serious issue and I understand how emotional people can get about it, but trumpeting pseudoscience is not helping. In fact, it does a lot more damage. Vaccines save countless lives.
Regardless of whether thimerosal (which contains ethylmercury not the much more toxic methylmercury) caused autism (and the evidence is very strong that it didn’t), it has not been in vaccines since 2003 in the U.S. Why exactly is it still being trumpeted as a reason to boycott vaccines?
This article is a very thorough discussion of the topic:
http://www.theness.com/articles.asp?id=74
If autism were tied to this preservative, why have autism rates continued to rise after it was taken off the market years ago?
There’s no question that science can be influenced by monetary considerations, just look at the tobacco question as an obvious example.
Has it happened here? Obviously ,huge sums of money are at stake as the vaccine makers could be liable for the tremendous costs associated with autism.
Reasons to be cautious in accepting the current “science” are:
The studies cited looked at Denmark, where the mercury was 20x lower. Not a good test to find out what would happen with the mercury levels experienced by US children.
The initial review of the US govt. data on the association between mercury exposure from vaccines and autism showed a clear correlation. Only after they removed other “risk factors” did the correlation go away.
The basic mistake here is to assume you can correct of other risk factors, such as low birth weight, as if this were a test of a drug where you wanted to know what effect the drug independent of other factors.
If autism was caused by the mercury in the vaccines combined with other factors, such as something that causes low birth weight, it is incorrect to factor them out.
#10 – “How do you know?” Umm, I talked to them?
Thanks for your clear and reasoned answers. I now possess such a deep understanding of your thoughtful opinions.
By “I talked to them” what you mean to say is, I pulled it out of my ass.
Anecdotal evidence normally counts for shit, but your ambiguous and vacuous answer counts for even less.
Define “recreational drug”.” If you don’t know then it’s pointless to explain…
I only know what you tell me so what you mean by recreational drug is a mystery to me.
A recreational drug could be marijuana, and that’s likely what you mean. If you are saying pot causes autism then you need to find a large population of autistic Jamaicans.
But recreational drug might also mean cocaine, LSD, shrooms, “E”, or any number of other potential suspects.
So, it’s far from being pointless to explain. In fact, it’s rather essential to explain.
#23, OFTLO,
So, it’s far from being pointless to explain.
But quite amusing all the same.
*
At the same time there are so many common legal drugs such as aspirin, Tylenol, Sudafed, and all the antihistamines and cough suppressants available over the counter people freely take to feel better. Most considered safe for pregnant women.
Not too many years ago one of our processes required the addition of a specific chemical sodium metabisulphate if I remember correctly. The safety data sheet required full protective gear and measures to avoid injury. One day after filling in for the regular operator, I noticed on some prepackaged food I was eating the last ingredient was, you guessed it, sodium metabisulphate.
Yup, it must be the recreational shit.
I vote for MSG as the cause.
Or maybe the mercury in our fillings.
Or perhaps, pesticides.
No… I think it’s power lines.
Oh… it’s aspertain for sure!
Well, there is one thing I know for sure: alarmist people who wildly speculate are a public nuisance.
#25, Greg,
In that case, all those people speculating on my parentage must be the cause of autisim.
oopps, my own autism showed I spelled autism wrong in #26.
OK, that means its time for bed.
Thimerosol was removed as a preventative measure from childhood vaccines many years ago. It was done so because of a correlative, not causal, link between ethyl mercury and autism. Since its removal Autism has gone up. Why? There has been a reclassification of the Autistic Spectrum of behavior that brings about a different diagnosis of the “disease.” It has been proven time and time again that vaccines do not cause autism. The more scientific data that comes out about autism and the effects of ethyl mercury on the body (which is metabolized out of the body more quickly than mercury gained form eating fish) shows that one has nothing to do with the other. What do vaccines do? They save lives from disease that the human race has conquered. What does blaming vaccines for autism do? It makes it so people will die from diseases that humans have conquered, plus it has the added benefit of shifting attention away from finding the real cause and nature of autism.
#28 Thimerosol has not been removed from vaccines, each year a small number of viles are produce which do not contain Thimerosol. Thus it can be said that it was removed. In reality the amount increased FIVE times.
Find any independent study (i.e. one not funded by Government or THE DRUG COMPANIES) and you will discover that Thimerosol IS linked to Autism.
http://www.naturalnews.com/011764.html
Want a real eye opener, glance over Codex. You, my friends, are being poisoned…every bite you eat, every drink you take.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius
From CBS News:
http://tinyurl.com/2r4rxr
Katie Couric “Autism: Why The Debate Rages”
“Just yesterday (March 5, 2008), U.S. health officials conceded that childhood vaccines interacted with and worsened a rare disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl. Her family is set to be paid from a federal fund.”
“• Many credible voices deny a link. But many other credible voices support the idea of a link. One example of the latter is George Wayne Lucier, formerly a senior official at the National Institutes of Health in Environmental Toxicology, an NIH advisor, member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Toxicity Testing and a scientific advisor for EPA who concludes “…it is highly probably that use of thimerosal as a preservative has caused developmental disorders, including autism, in some children.” A lengthy Congressional investigation also concluded that the autism epidemic is likely linked to vaccinations.”
NcCain: “The question is, What’s causing it? And we go back and forth…”
Stick to the fishing rod + hunting dog controversy above.
RBG
32. Jezcoe. “The evidence for Vaccines causing autism shrinks with each passing day.”
I actually agree with you. My point is simply that since some of that evidence & qualified backers are still out there, McCain’s comments that no one seems to know what causes autism, that there is still division out there on the matter and that there is still evidence out there to suggest mercury-based vaccinations, shrinking as it may be, it hardly puts McCain in the non-science, anti-diluvian set as some would so wishfully like to portray.
RBG
If anything, McCain is more like Dr. Frances Kelsey who’s stubborness and suspicions based upon a small amount of evidence caused her to almost single-handedly stand up to the drug companies and the world bid to push Thalidomide as safe.
http://tinyurl.com/2oylta
RBG