Interview: Seth Mnookin on Championing Smart, Compassionate Vaccine Information

January 2, 2012January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Seth Mnookin’s book The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear is a smart, compassionate, detailed history of vaccine misinformation and distrust. It’s being re-released in paperback tomorrow, with a new cover, a more direct subtitle, and a new afterword. TPGA editor Shannon Rosa talked with Seth last year about the motivation and goals behind The Panic Virus; she spoke with him again last week about his book’s intended audience; the critical and oft-misconstrued distinctions between vaccine court rulings and scientific proof; the frequently misunderstood role of vaccine reporting and compensation programs like VAERS and NVICP; and how pediatricians, OB/GYNs, and parents themselves can all contribute towards improved — and best — vaccine information practices. —- How are you feeling about the impact your book has had, with respect to your original goals? Are you reaching the folks you hope to reach? People who are aware of…

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My Baby Cried Louder than Science

August 3, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com In our family, we make medical decisions using science, facts, and data, and we believe in keeping our children healthy, so we vaccinate. I have never thought that vaccines caused my son to be autistic. Except for that one time. Lucy was a perfect baby; not that she never cried, or blew out a diaper, but she held her perfect little round head up, and rolled over on time, and she just looked. so. perfect. When she was four months old I took her for her routine vaccinations. She was in the 90th percentile for height, the 75th for weight…right on track, and the nurse gave her 3 shots: HIB, Pneumococcal Prevnar 7, and inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) She got little round bandages stuck to her little chubby leg. She scrunched up her face to cry and I nursed her a bit, and tucked her back…

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An Interview with Dr. Robert Goldberg, PhD, Author of Tabloid Medicine

March 21, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

I got a chance to talk with Dr. Robert Goldberg PhD about his new book “Tabloid Medicine.” In it he breaks apart the formula for Tabloid Medicine: change the terminology to fit your agenda, create an instant expert, play the little guy against the big guy, proliferate bad information, then find a celebrity to lead the charge. Voila! Your very own epidemic-I make light, but this book doesn’t, since it’s not really a funny topic. We spoke of how he came to the topic as a parent, when his own daughter struggled with misinformation in the media, but continued, fueled by the tragedy that with so much good the internet could be doing, it was being “hijacked” by the likes of Andrew Wakefield, Jenny McCarthy, David Healy, Sidney Wolfe MD, and Barbara Loe Fisher. Passionate about the subject, and well-grounded by facts, Dr. Goldberg answered a few questions for me.…

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Support the Autism Science Foundation

February 21, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Dr. Paul Offit is the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a relentless advocate for children’s health and childhood vaccination. We interviewed Dr. Offit several weeks ago here on The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, and in a continuing effort to support him with the release of his new book, we are encouraging people to buy the book via Amazon on Monday, February 21, 2011. A frenzy of book-buying could push the title into Amazon’s Hot New Release list, raising publicity about the importance and safety of vaccines. Even if you already have a copy of the book, consider purchasing another copy and donating a book to your local public or high school, a health education teacher, or your child’s pediatrician. Hard cover: Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All ($17.11) and the Kindle edition: Deadly Choices on Kindle ($9.99) (Dr. Offit is…

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Interview: Vaccine Expert Dr. Paul Offit

January 31, 2011January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit is the author of the new book Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. We talked with Dr. Offit about realities of vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of herd immunity, just how contagious measles really are, why you shouldn’t have chickenpox parties, why neither he nor Jenny McCarthy are autism experts, why it is unethical to run studies featuring vaccinated versus unvaccinated children, and just how extensively the autism-vaccine hypothesis has been debunked. [update 2/1] Dr. Offit discussed many of these same topics during his 1/31 guest spot on The Colbert Report. What is your elevator pitch for parents concerned about vaccines and autism? I think raising the concern is reasonable. Children get vaccines, and for some children, the signs and symptoms of autism may appear soon after receiving the vaccine, so asking those questions is reasonable. The good news is that the question…

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An Interview with Seth Mnookin, Author of The Panic Virus

January 18, 2011January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

It is bizarre that claims linking vaccines to autism have persisted for more than a decade when they can be debunked by a sixty-second Google search. But, as investigative journalist Seth Mnookin explains in his new book The Panic Virus, vaccine facts can’t always compete with parent-, internet-, and media-generated vaccine beliefs. The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism talked with Mr. Mnookin about his book, about the risks of complacency regarding public opinion on vaccines and autism, the flaws of modern science journalism, why and how pediatricians need to step up their participation in vaccine education, the tragedy of an autism community divided, and why we need to keep blasting holes in echo chamber walls. —– Why did you feel compelled to write this book? It was not because I had a personal connection, which is odd because it’s such an emotional topic. But I was shocked at how people…

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Andrew Wakefield, Yesterday’s British Medical Journal Articles on His Fraud, and The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism

January 7, 2011January 31, 2022 by Liz Ditz

Liz Ditz http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/ http://lizditz.typepad.com/academic_remediation/ I have been thinking about this issue, and this post, for several days now, since a friend who is a science blogger sent on an email from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) about yesterday’s revelations alleging Andrew Wakefield’s fraud. I couldn’t speak or write about it, as the BMJ had strongly requested that the story not be made public (“embargoed”) until 4 pm January 5 2001 PST. That email had links to the full text of editorial, article, and references revealed yesterday. As I studied the material and references, one of the things that I kept in mind was the community that has grown up here at The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, and how we have managed to keep talking through differences of points of view and of opinion. I treasure that continued conversation and I believe it is one of the most valuable things…

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Why My Child With Autism Is Fully Vaccinated

September 27, 2010January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com www.canisitwithyou.org www.blogher.com/blog/shannon-des-roches-rosa Do you still wonder if there’s a link between vaccines and autism? Then ask yourself: have you or would you ever let your child travel by airplane? If your answer is “yes,” then you should re-examine any concerns about vaccinating your children. Flying and vaccination both carry risks, but those risks are statistically unlikely to affect your family. You should also know that Andrew Wakefield, the researcher who launched the autism-vaccine panic via a 1998 press conference, had his related research formally retracted and his medical license taken away. You should know that the mainstream media, after years of “considering both sides,” now yawns when yet another study fails to find a link between vaccines and autism — and that gossip sites like HollywoodLife.com want to know why anti-vaccination activist Jenny McCarthy won’t publicly end her campaign against children’s health. You should consider…

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How I Know Vaccines Didn’t Cause My Child’s Autism

July 13, 2010January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Devon Koren Asdell community.advanceweb.com/blogs/ot_9/default.aspx Eleven years ago, as I lounged in my mother’s apartment at the tender age of twenty, overwhelmed by the heat of the summer combined with my final trimester of pregnancy, I finally settled on a name for the creature who kept poking her tiny feet into my ribcage, the creature who was poised at any moment to completely and irrevocably change my life. I decided on a name derived from the Irish language — “Aisling,” which meant “Dream,” and “Stoirm,” which meant “Storm.” A Dream Storm. At that moment, I had no idea how completely that name would end up describing my beautiful, blond-haired daughter, who would spend much of her time lost in the dreams inside her head, and who would also grow to rage against the confusing world around her. I did not realize that the child in my womb would be diagnosed…

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Identifying and Avoiding Autism Cults

June 8, 2010January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com www.canisitwithyou.org www.blogher.com/blog/shannon-des-roches-rosa A child’s autism diagnosis can mess with parents’ heads. Media portrayals of children with autism and their adult spectrum-mates dwell almost exclusively on negatives and challenges, so when a parent is told that their child is autistic, they are usually incredibly upset. It doesn’t help when doctors lack the bedside manner to soften the emotional impact of their diagnoses, or have no information about contemporary autism therapies and resources. When that happens, parents are both freaked out and flapping in the wind. Their child’s doctor was supposed to give them answers and guidance, but instead upended their lives, then shoved them out the door. No one can explain why they have a child with autism, and they know nothing about autism. They are emotionally reeling, angry with the medical establishment, and hungry for any information that will help their child. Most parents start…