CNN: 8,000 Gardasil Adverse Reaction Repots and Climbing

... but Merck says, 'Don't worry... it is probably just a coincidence'.

UPDATE:
CBS does a story on Jenny: HPV Vaccine Linked To Teen's Paralysis?

Interestingly, Jenny's dad blogged about the story and said that it is a bit too weighted toward the theory that the vaccine as the cause of her illness.  Or at least more so than the family believes may be the case.

I think that is interesting, not that the media 'put their finger on the sale' per se.  They do that all the time.  But this is the first time I have seen them do it in the direction of vaccines causing injury, and not vaccines being safe.

Now I am not for inaccurate reporting in any sense.  We are in this mess because the media has not been giving us the whole picture.  But it hints that the tide is turning in the media.

Merck, CDC, AAP et. al. may have overplayed their hand with Gardasil.  It is much easier to deny vaccine injury in an infant who has only a short medical history and can be declared to have an as of yet unknown 'genetic' abnormality that was had just coincidently shown itself after the vaccination, and who can't say, "Mom... I can't feel my legs", than it is in a thriving 16 year old.

UPDATE:  Looks like I might be right about that 'harder to hide vaccine injury theory'.  Gardsil's slowing sales lead to a drop in their stock price today.   Parents are cluing in.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Merck & Co. shares fell sharply Monday

LAST UPDATE:  I am gonna stop updating this as there is so much media coverage on it now, you have probably seen this stuff already.  AOA has a good overview.

Vaccine Registry??!!

How did I miss this?

Shannon Johnson's Thank You Campaign

Shannon of FoggyRock has really good idea for all of us:

I've read too many articles lately about poor treatment of our children on the spectrum to not address this issue.  First, there was the young student who was "voted" out of his class by his teacher and peers.  Next, there was the parent who was kicked off an American Airlines flight with her ASD toddler.  Then, today, I read about a member here on Foggyrock whose family was asked to leave a restaurant because another table of patrons was unhappy with a few minutes of very understandable discontent from her autistic daughter.  It is enough to make a special needs parent afraid to leave home......

It has also made me reflect with genuine gratefulness on the many, many outings and excursions with my ASD son that could have been disastrous, but were successful and memorable because of the kindness and acceptance of those around us.  I remember the flight attendant who allowed my son and I to stand in the back of the plane most of the flight because it was more comfortable for Wynn and less disturbing to the passengers seated around us.  There was the security guard at the mall who watched from a distance as my son had a major meltdown and then nodded and went on his way once he read my son's Unlocking Autism t-shirt.  Most recently, there was the check-out gal at Walmart who didn't mind when my son held tightly to his bag of frozen fruit and laughed out loud when he called her weird.  It is folks like that who allow me to experience joy in those experiences instead of embarrassment and shame.  Because they can extend acceptance and grace, my son can participate in a world that is equally his.

And so, with the good Southern manners that my mama instilled, I have decided to begin a Thank You campaign.  Each and every time Wynn and I have a successful encounter or visit with a kind and helpful person or business, I'm going to send a thank you note to demonstrate our gratitude.   I want my community to realize the impact that their attitude and behavior have on my son and my family.  I want to affirm what is good in hopes of preventing the negative actions that seem to have become daily news features.

If you think this is a good idea, I would encourage you to do the same.  I'd love to hear of your experiences and your responses as well.  Our children have so much to offer, but if we are not pro-active in our efforts, the negative reactions of the uninformed and ignorant could be the only message that gets heard.

For a sample of my very first Thank You note, see:
http://www.foggyrock.com/PersonalPages/Composition/1776#showcomp
Sincerely and Gratefully,
Shannon Johnson

And if you have not set up an account on FoggyRock yet, give it a try.

GSK Board Member On UK Education Board as GSK Wins 200 Mil HPV Vaccine Contract

Ugh...


Boss of drug firm behind cervical cancer jabs for schoolgirls is on board of Ofsted


Phamalot: Who’s Minding The Children? In The UK, It’s Glaxo?

A scandal is mushrooming because the Schools Secretary has appointed a Glaxo exec to the board of the government’s official education watchdog agency, known as Ofsted. And the move occurred less than a month before the government awarded a reported $200 million contract to Glaxo for its HPV vaccine for school-age girls 12 years and older, which some parents fear will give a green light to teenage sex, The Daily Mail reports...

HT: Apple Mark

I Love Autism Moms

I love how they just don't give a crap about the usual vanities and modesties when it comes to their kids.

How to Deny the Vaccine Autism Connection: A Play in One Act

Raining Pianos: A Short Course on Anecdotal Evidence
By Lenny Schafer, 2003

Patient: Doctor, my son has this terrible headache. He's dizzy
and he's been fainting a lot. He says his arm is numb.

Dr. Steinway: What happened?

Patient: We were walking down the street and a piano fell on
his head.

Dr. Steinway: I see. Mmmm. Anything else happen at the time
that might have caused this?

Patient: What do you mean, "anything else?" A PIANO FELL ON HIS
HEAD!

Dr. Steinway: Perhaps, but that's only a temporal coincidence.
Several epidemiological studies done by eminent scientists have failed
to find a connection between pianos and concussions. The cause could
be any number of environmental factors. Kids get bumped by stuff all
the time. Only a rare few get concussions. Maybe your child has a
genetically predisposed soft skull. Any family history of concussions?
Münchhausen by Proxy? Hypochondria?

Patient: But I was there! I saw it falling from the second
story of a piano factory! I couldn't get him out of the way fast
enough and he caught a piece of the candelabra. If it's not the
piano, what else could it possibly be?

Dr. Steinway: Hysteria, guilt. What you're telling me is
called "anecdotal evidence". Such evidence can be either evaluated
for further research, or completely dismissed as useless without even
looking at it, depending on the interests or bias of the researchers.
The important thing is that it isn't pianos . . .hey wait, where are
you going, we're not through. . .

Patient: I'm going to look for care somewhere else, and to see
a lawyer to sue the piano company. . . and maybe even you.

Dr. Steinway: [to himself] Uh huh, lawyers. I thought someone
might have put her up to this. Lawyers. . .taking advantage of
ignorant hysterics looking for something to blame for their woes. . .
The problem's not pianos, the problem is lack of tort reform. . .she
wouldn't even let her kid have one of our complimentary "We're Silly
for Eli Lilly" clinic balloons.

To Lisa Ackerman and All the Moms Who Had Time for Me

In the spring of 2004 on a Friday I walked into my first autism conference, a little one in Long Beach, California.

Chandler had been referred to the state only a few weeks earlier and that very day Scott was with him at his first formal evaluation. It was a lonely day with an overwhelming flood of information that I barely had any context for yet, punctuated by phone calls from Scott and the speech language pathologist to ask questions, and, of course, a lot of tears.

How in the world was I possibly going to be able to do all the things that these people were talking about?

Saturday was much of the same, except not quite so lonely as Scott was able to join me.

That night was one of those conference dinners, and we decided to go to see if we could make contact with someone who was actually managing with it. We plopped down at the first table we walked by and a very friendly woman introduced herself and wanted to know all about us and our son. That is how I met Lisa Ackerman.

She was the first biomed mom that I ever met and God could not have been more gracious to us in choosing her as our first contact. She was cheery and funny and encouraging and answered all our questions and gave us lots of advice and convinced us that night that we could do this. And the thing that she said that convinced me that we could do it was that she noted that I was not at the conference by myself. That my husband was sitting next to me, holding my hand, and that not too many moms at that stage have that kind of support from their husbands right out of the gate. That some dads never joined in and that some dads even left. If they could go it alone and make their kids better, we could certainly manage it together.

Scott and I walked out of that dinner smiling, partnered, and with real hope that we could get our boy to come back to us. And for the most part, he has.

You can look back on life and pick out very important conversations that you know God had to have arranged, because they ended up meaning so much. We call them Divine Appointments.

And Lisa was just the first in a long line of Autism Moms who had time for me.

Shortly thereafter when I started reading the vaccine research and wrestling with the questions of what did the government know and when did they know it, I stumbled across a web site called Safe Minds and dialed the number listed to try to confirm that what I thought had happened had actually happened. The call rang straight through to Lyn Redwood's cell phone and she sat in an airport waiting for a flight and patiently answered freshman questions from a still naive young mom who could not quite wrap her brain around the fact that the government and her own pediatrician would knowingly inject mercury into her babies.

I don't remember the words of the conversation, but I feel like it was something like this:

Me: "...but he told me that they took it out by 2000".

Lyn: "They didn't".

Long pause as I tried to internalize the information.

Me: "But if they tell us not to eat tuna when we are pregnant, why would they let it stay in vaccines?"

Lyn: "We don't know."

Another long pause because I could not really believe it.

Me: "Well what do they say when people ask that question"?

Lyn: "Nothing."

Yet more stunned disbelief....

And then there was the wife of a successful hollywood producer who was the acquaintance of a friend who didn't know me from Adam, that called me out of the blue and insisted that I come over immediately and meet her son. She told me about how he was completely non-verbal and wanted me to see how verbal he was now and tell me about floortime therapy and what schools I should look at and what speech therapists I should try and on and on. She wanted me to see with my own eyes that her son got better and mine could too.

And there was Bobbie Manning who patiently explained to me what the hell was going on in Washington...

And there was Sym Rankin who I called 14 times to figure out how to spell Phosphatidylcholine...

And there was Michele Brock who answered a question on an autism list and told me about the autism services available in the small town in Maine we were thinking of moving to...

And there was Holly Austin who let us come to her cabin by the lake to rest and didn't mind when my son threw up on her rug...

And there was Shannon Johnson that help me set up the HBOT chamber yesterday, and didn't laugh at me when I had a panic attack inside of it...

And there was Jenny for stepping out in front of us moms who were killing ourselves to bring attention to the cause...

And there is every parent who ever sent me an encouraging email...

So to Lisa and all of you since who have made time for me and propped me up with all your encouragement...

Thank You.

I am sorry that you had to be in this club with me, but I am so grateful for all of you.

Pharmalot on the Flumist Death and Vaccine Autism Connection

Vaccines And Autism: A New Piece In The Puzzle?

This spring a six year old girl, later found to have a mitochondrial disorder, collapsed and died after taking Flumist.

Gerberding Axes 9/11 Health Official

By all accounts Dr. John Howard was taking care of the people who got sick from 9/11.

So of course Julie had to fire him.

Can't have health professionals actually doing their job well, it will make her look bad!

Julie Deardorff at the Chicago Tribune Annoys the AAP

Julie calls out the AAP for their recent tactics:

The AAP Gets Tough on Vaccine Dissenters

AAP gets mad at Julie for questioning their tactics:

The AAP Responds to 'Vaccine Dissenters'

Uppity Julie, going off and doing your own thinking. Can you just sit down, be a good girl and write what you are told to write like that nice Shankar Vedantam over at WaPo?

But seriously Julie. Thanks for using your noggin. - Ginger

Pennsylvania Tells Autism Speaks to Stop Talking

PA has spoken.

Pennsylvania Tells Autism Speaks to Stop Talking

Recent Vaccine Deaths

In the last few months there have been a LOT of reports of vaccine related deaths and one death of an autistic child at school by suffocation.

I have been avoiding posting these stories because, as I have mentioned before, writing about stores like these is difficult for me. I spend ten minutes writing about it and two hours recovering from it.

This has only been made worse by our personal experience in the last several weeks.

But I need to start reporting this stuff. Heaven knows NBC News isn't gonna do it.

So I will start posting links to the stories with out comment. Please don't interpret the lack of my usual verbosity on subjects of such gravity as a dismissal of their importance.

Childhood vaccinations suspended at Genesis pediatric clinics

Doctors are Only Good And Their Ethics Should Never Be Questioned

These doctors should be insulted, like Dr. Hotez, at the idea that vaccine professionals might be lying about vaccine risks or looking out for anything other than the health concerns of individual patients!

Homeless people die after bird flu vaccine trial in Poland- questionable ethics

I mean, so what if the docs lied to homeless about the bird flu vaccine they were testing on them and 21 of them died, they got paid like almost five bucks! Besides... greater good and all that.

... and don't miss the blurb at the end about paramedics killing patients for funeral home commissions. Priceless.