Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Mark Hemingway has a strong piece in today's Washington Examiner about the discredited vaccines cause autism study and its author, Andrew Wakefield. It is not news that the study was shoddy, or that subsequent studies have dismissed the linkage, but Hemingway shows that Wakefield had an economic incentive for his poor science, and that the source of said incentive was, you guessed it, a trial lawyer. According to Hemingway, Wakefield "had been paid about $680,000 by Richard Barr, a lawyer looking for a "lawsuit test case." As Hemingway shows, the problematic linkage between vaccines and autism that we now know that Wakefield was paid to promote has a real world impact, as "the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now reports a resurgence of whooping cough, measles, mumps and other deadly childhood afflictions."
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Jun '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
You're getting at a huge problem in the scientific community, but not a new one. Scientists have an inherent interest in their science being published, popular, and innovative. These inclinations aren't always bad, many great things have been done by scientists with these motives.
However, the only solution I see is to subject every published (and especially popular article in the media) to extensive and intense review. Global warming science is a very good example of popularized findings that have not been challenged or reviewed to an acceptable level.
My research is in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders and what I find disturbing (aside from endangering other children with false findings) is that this man profited from giving false hope to many many families. The cause of Autism is yet not fully explained or known. This guy made a hefty sum by putting forward a much anticipated explanation for Autism. Many parents and families who have persons with Autism were very excited by the possibility of this line of thought, only to learn that this man was a hack.
The only way to stop scientists taking advantage of others is to scrutinize results and doubt them.
Jul '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
The excellent Michael Fumento has an article about this fraud over at Real Clear Science.
Dec '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
I noticed that in the original posting and didn't bbother to comment, as I was just dismayed. The Lancet was once a good publication and a particularly good source for obscure, but innovative publications in cell biology. It's a different age. They also published the "studies" quoted (roughly @ 2005) of the exagerated claims of civilian deaths in Iraq. I don't know anybody that trusts something in the Lancet, now, as their peer review process became a mess, beginning back in the late 1980s.
Oct '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Tevi Troy:
... Health and Human Services now reports a resurgence of whooping cough, measles, mumps and other deadly childhood afflictions."
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It is almost impossible to prevent fraud by regulation; Bernie Madoff is a recent and high profile illustration of this truth. There is much information regarding this issue over at the Cato Institute. It is also not surprising that a lawyer, especially a trial attorney, would be involved in this circumstance. They are almost always involved as a middle man (a legal "cut out") in these situations.
Another tangential discussion could be had regarding the thesis that the common childhood diseases listed are truely as life threatening as the medical industrial complex would have you believe. Most childhood diseases are not life threatening and vaccines are less immunogenic than wild viruses. The greater threat from the "governmental" perspective is the threat is to the productivity of the work force. When kids get sick, parents have to take time off work to take care of them, resulting in huge losses to industry. Call me cynical, but I am not convinced that the "trust me I'm from the government" thing works well when it comes to vaccines.
Aug '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Good Berean
The greater threat from the "governmental" perspective is the threat is to the productivity of the work force. When kids get sick, parents have to take time off work to take care of them, resulting in huge losses to industry.
Losses to industry, yes, but also losses to the family as well. When you lose productivity at work to care for a family member, even when your boss is sympathetic, you are more likely to be passed over for projects, promotions... perhaps worse...
Presumably, you are making that money to support your family, so when you lose out on rewards at work because of a sick child, you are also less able to support your family.
Oct '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Good Berean
The greater threat from the "governmental" perspective is the threat is to the productivity of the work force. When kids get sick, parents have to take time off work to take care of them, resulting in huge losses to industry.
Losses to industry, yes, but also losses to the family as well. When you lose productivity at work to care for a family member, even when your boss is sympathetic, you are more likely to be passed over for projects, promotions... perhaps worse...
Presumably, you are making that money to support your family, so when you lose out on rewards at work because of a sick child, you are also less able to support your family. · Jan 10 at 5:00pm
True, but the context is the "cost/benefit" relationship between vaccines and childhood illness. Many people are uncertain about the calculus used to determine the answer to the vaccinate or not vaccinate question. Throw in the uncertainty about the connection between vaccines and autism (currently unquantifiable) and you have a low immunization rate.
Jun '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Good Berean
Throw in the uncertainty about the connection between vaccines and autism (currently unquantifiable) and you have a low immunization rate. · Jan 10 at 5:16pm
It's relatively certain that there is no link between autism and vaccinations. That theory has empirically been fairly well debunked... or is it bunked.... ("falsified" - relatively, in a scientific sense). While many heavy metals formerly found in some vaccines are known neurotoxins, the levels of heavy metals were extremely low, lower than say in drinking water or soy milk.
While there may be reasons not to vaccinate (I don't know for sure), autism fears probably shouldn't be considered a legitimate one.
We're relatively certain that vaccines don't 'cause' autism...at least as certain as we are that cell phones don't cause brain cancer, for example.
Oct '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Agreed, but risk aversion is not always rationally based. Fear and uncertainty are part of the equation as well as the motives of those who have secondary gains in the process. Big business, including big pharma, as well as big government are not well trusted.
Jun '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Agreed, when our daughter was born, they wanted to give her the Hep B vaccine at age 2 days.... this is pure big pharm propaganda. So, we didn't do it and will probably wait until she's in high school.. It's gotten to the point that parents have to research every vaccine themselves.
May '10
Re: Unsurprisingly, It's the Trial Lawyers' Fault
Good Berean
Another tangential discussion could be had regarding the thesis that the common childhood diseases listed are truely as life threatening as the medical industrial complex would have you believe. Most childhood diseases are not life threatening and vaccines are less immunogenic than wild viruses. .. · Jan 10 at 4:16pm
Measles, Polio, Hooping Cough, kill large numbers of children every year, mostly in the 3rd World due to lack of adequate herd vaccination. Serious damage to the eyes, brain, and other vital organs can occur with these diseases.
To not vaccinate means that you become a possible reservoir for these diseases, and hence infect in particular those yet to be vaccinated, ie young babies who suffer death and brain damage from whooping cough, or unvaccinated pregnant mothers who may have blind, deaf and brain damaged children due to rubella.
As for polio Good Berean, ask your parents if they think this is a life threatening disease.
If you want to really overwhelm the health systems in the West, let's not mandate any vaccination, and then pay both the economic and human cost of the resulting disaster.
The greater good in vaccination outweighs the individual right to harbour infection.