Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Vaccine-Autism War: National Post Junk Journalism Continues With Jenny McCarthy Attacks

Jenny McCarthy is an easy target.

For that reason the lazy, ill informed "journalists" at the National Post continue to attack Ms McCarthy in yet another doomed to fail attempt to quash public discussion of vaccine autism concerns. Meanwhile they continue to omit any reference to respected medical and research authorities like Dr. Bernadine Healey, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Duane Alexandre all of who have said that more research could and should be done on the issue. The junk journalists at the NP ignore Dr. Jon Poling a neurologist and father of an autistic child who brought a vaccine based autism claim to successful conclusion on behalf of his daughter when the government settled.

The NP despite having its attention brought to the Poling and Banks cases again omits any reference to these two cases in which it is known that the government settled vaccine autism claims. The NP omitted any reference to the IACC decision to include vaccine autism research in its strategic autism research planning. The NP omitted any reference to the criticisms of the epidemiological studies which are used to trumpet the position that the science has "decided" that vaccines do not cause or contribute to autism onset. The NP has omitted any reference to the well founded view that such studies do not examine the impact on vulnerable population subsets and possible connections to autism among such groups of children. The NP has omitted any reference to the fact that public health authorities have long discouraged the kinds of research that might disclose any vaccine autism connection.

In all fairness to the National Post Junk Journalists the issues listed above might be above their pay grade. Better for them to refrain from doing any real, hard journalism or any real, hard thinking.

Far better, and easier, to simply malign Jenny McCarthy. Of course those who actually know something about the subject and who want their concerns addressed will not be persuaded by such cheap, cowardly excuses for journalism




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1 comment:

  1. Hello Roger

    I have stated my view of NP's autism reporting. As for the discussion of Ms McCarthy's child's diagnosis I have refrained from publicly disputing the diagnosis of some high functioning Autism and Aspergers Neurodiversity reps.

    I find it hard to believe that some have any ASD diagnosis but if a physician or psychologist provides a diagnosis I am not qualified to second guess them and I would not do so for Jenny McCarthy's child either.

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