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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKatie Couric puts the anti-vaccination movement into the mainstream
By Michael Hiltzik
December 4, 2013, 5:09 p.m.
The anti-vaccination movement has long been a public menace. It's responsible for the resurgence of numerous serious diseases that were on the decline, including measles, mumps and whooping cough.
Now the movement has been given a big booster shot by Katie Couric, who devoted a large portion of her daily talk show Wednesday to some highly emotional and scientifically dubious claims by critics of Gardasil, a leading vaccine for human papillomavirus, or HPV.
The segment focused on a mother convinced that her 20-year-old daughter died after a cycle of Gardasil immunization, and a second family whose 14-year-old daughter fell ill after the shots. Neither presented any medical evidence to support their claims.
Alarm about the show's HPV segment was raised in advance by science writer Seth Mnookin, who reported that he had been contacted in July by a producer for the show who suggested that the segment would be aimed at debunking the misconception that childhood vaccines are linked to autism. This is a dangerous claim retailed by, among others, the starlet Jenny McCarthy, who currently has a perch on the talk show "The View."
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-katie-couric-20131204,0,4371413.story
snooper2
(30,151 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)And they're just as dangerous as Couric and McCarthy.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Garbage in garbage out...money money money! She laughs all the way to the bank.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)Unbelievably smart guy who has done tremendous work in the area of anti-vax idiots. If he writes it, read it.
bhikkhu
(10,716 posts)Because of cost, I haven't gotten a flu shot for years, and there are at least two vaccinations my kids need. HPV is a three-shot cycle, at $50 a pop here (Oregon). That's $300 for two kids...
Little Star
(17,055 posts)But I do worry about the use of thimerosal as a shelf life preservative in anything, not just vaccines. I had a terrible reaction to it and the Dr.'s couldn't figure out what was causing the reaction. I had a older bottle of the same stuff and read the ingredients, low and behold no thimerosal. Got new thimerosal free meds from Dr. and never had a problem again. Maybe some of us just have a very low tolerance for thimerosal?
Here's what the FDA says about thimerosal:
Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine (see Table 1). A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. Some vaccines such as Td, which is indicated for older children (? 7 years of age) and adults, are also now available in formulations that are free of thimerosal or contain only trace amounts. Vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose.
In the following pages, a discussion of preservatives, the use of thimerosal as a preservative, guidelines on exposure to organomercurials (primarily methylmercury), thimerosal toxicity, recent and future FDA actions, and the conclusions of the Institute of Medicine's most recent review of thimerosal in vaccines are presented. This narrative on thimerosal contains references to the literature and links to other sites for readers who wish additional information; for quick reference, a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers are provided.
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228