http://www.laconiadailysun.com/opinion/letters/84558-james-veverka-92-27-600
To the Editor,
Russ Wiles is back with another episode of junk-science and Palinesque word salad. After engaging in goofy semantics with "vaccination" and "immunization" that fools none, he mentions a book by Suzanne Humphries, noted anti-vaxxer. Humphries recently advised Israeli parents not to participate in a booster program of Oral Polio Vaccine after Polio was discovered by the state monitoring of the sewage in some southern cities. That is dangerous and stupid advice. As most of us know, sometimes more than one dose is needed for the immune system to react properly. Some immunizations require a series of doses or shots Its not the science that isn't working, its that some people's immune system need a bigger kick. In a tiny minority, the usual dosage may not work. Anti-vaxxers will isolate some failures to immunize and blow them way out of proportion as if its the norm. Its the exception.
Russ says he just wants to make informed decisions. Being an anti-vaxxer is an outright confession of being uninformed just as being a young earth creationist is a confession of being uninformed regarding evolution. One of the websites Russ mentions is wnd.com. Sane folks call it World Nut Daily because its the extremists of the extremists. The article mentioned, "How vaccine hysteria could spark a totalitarian nightmare." is right out of Ward D in a fenced off building. Did you know that this "news" site has a Demonology expert? A demonology expert! Get out! His name is Karl Payne, author of "Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance".
Mr Wiles also mentions an alleged whistle-blower at the CDC named Dr. William Thompson that supposedly claimed autism in African-American children jumped 340% due to the MMR vaccine. Mr Wiles says its an historic confession but the fact is the story is bogus. If you google William Thompson, the Snopes article debunking it is on page one. ScienceBlogs addresses it at http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/08/22/brian-hooker-proves-andrew-wakefield-wrong-about-vaccines-and-autism/. ScienceBlogs might be a bit more informed than a right wing, birther, Obama-is-a-Muslim website that has a demonology expert. Anti-Vaxxer Brian Hooker's 340% 'reanalysis' of a 2004 study has been retracted from the journal it first appeared in. In its place is "This article has been removed from the public domain because of serious concerns about the validity of its conclusions. The journal and publisher believe that its continued availability may not be in the public interest. Definitive editorial action will be pending further investigation."
Now to poor defrocked Dr Wakefield. Russ says, "We now know Dr. Andrew Wakefield is not a fraud and did not even advise against vaccination". Who is "we"? World Nut Daily and the demonology experts? Mr Wiles claims "Dr. Wakefield was never convicted by a jury or a court of law". That may be simply because scientific fraud at that level may not pass a required threshold. But Wakefield has been tried and convicted by his medical peers and can't practice medicine in the UK. The British General Medical Council (GMC) investigated Wakefield for misconduct after Sunday Times reporter Brian Deer found multiple problems with Wakefield's study. Problems included financial conflicts of interest and conducting invasive procedures like colonoscopies and lumbar punctures on children without the required ethical approval from the research ethics board. In 2010, the statutory tribunal of the GMC found thirty-sex charges "proven". This included four counts of dishonesty and twelve counts of abuse regarding developmentally challenged children. What was the financial conflict of interest? Wakefield received money from a personal injury lawyer who made a living out of collecting damages from vaccine manufacturers for alleged health damages suffered by vaccinated kids.
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