THE PLANK APRIL 22, 2008
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Like Jason, I was not happy to learn that Barack Obama, like John McCain, had given credence to the supposed link between autism and vaccines. Well, it turns out that opinion is unanimous among the presidential candidates. Here is how Hillary Clinton's campaign answered a questionnaire from the group A_Champ:
Q: Do you think vaccines should be investigated as a possible cause of autism?
A: I am committed to make investments to find the causes of autism, including possible environmental causes like vaccines. I have long been a supporter of increased research to determine the links between environmental factors and diseases, and I
believe we should increase the NIH’s ability to engage in this type of
research. My administration will be committed to improving research to
support fact-based solutions, and I will ensure that the NIH has the
staff and funding to fully explore all possible causes of autism....
Q: Would you support a large-scale federal study of the differences in health outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups?
A: Yes. We don’t know what, if any, kind of link there is between
vaccines and autism - but we should find out. The lack of research on
treatments, interventions, and services for children and adults with
autism is a major impediment to the development of delivery of quality
care. We need evidence-based research on what works and what doesn’t in
order to provide the most effective services for people with autism. In
addition to a large-scale federal study, I will create a task force
that would include significant representation from the autism community
and would be charged with identifying gaps in evidence-based biomedical
research, behavioral treatments, and services for children and adults
with autism. The task force would present these findings to Congress
and the Executive Branch and would make recommendations on how to make
evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services available at the
state and local levels. Once the task force has completed its work, I
will provide funding to establish state-based demonstration grants to
provide these evidence-based autism treatments, interventions, and
services.
For more background on the whole autism-vaccine controversy, here's Harold Pollack at the Huffington Post. And here's occasional TNR contributor Arthur Allen, who's also the author of a terrific book called Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver.
--Jonathan Cohn
12 comments
Studying an issue shouldn't be that controversial.
- Andrew Davis
April 22, 2008 at 1:09pm
Back in my college days I sometimes worked as a paid guinea pig for big pharm in New Jersey, it was great money for genuine risk, and I was also aware of a few horror stories. My impression is that more research is better than less, and being that right now we have no idea what causes Autism I am not convinced that vacines can be ruled out entirely, and let us not forget other potential aftereffects that might work in conjunction with environmental conditions, diets, you name it.
I am all in favor of vacines, but to label the idea of more research as being anti-science is just absurd.
My wife is pregnant so damn sure I have concerns. Am I now anti-science because I have them? No, I suppose I should blithely accept the infallibility of big pharm.
- blackton
April 22, 2008 at 1:21pm
Oh, Lord. Of *course* all of the presidential candidates "give credence to the supposed link between autism and vaccines." There's an organized consitutency for the proposition of a causal link (as well as the separate but not-unrelated organized consistuency to "find a cure for autism). There's no such thing for the negative proposition. Who would the opposition be, anyway - "Too Bad, So Sad of America"?
A Democratic candidate reliably can be counted on to "support" the claims of an organized interest group that has no opposition (at least to the extent of throwing money around to study the "problem". And Republican candidates reliably can be counted on to support dubious science...
- dmorehous
April 22, 2008 at 1:26pm
At first blush it sounds reasonable to call for a lot more study, until you realize the opportunity cost involved. Where could those millions of dollars of research funding go?
- Lymon1
April 22, 2008 at 1:28pm
Right, lymon -- that research money (and those researchers' time) could go towards finding a cure for autism. But even more importantly, this sort of talk encourages people to not vaccinate their children.
- ratnerstar
April 22, 2008 at 1:40pm
Lymon, right on. And more so, there HAS been extensive study of both the effect of vaccines in general and the ones (no longer used in the US) with thierisol (containing mercury) as a preservative. No statistical link has been found with autism, whereas significant improvements in death rates from measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc have been categorically proven. I have a three-year old and went through the angst that every new parent goes through when they read about natural childbirth, etc. and the supposed link between vaccines and autism, always anecdotal, never statistical. "My child got a vaccine, developed a fever, and got autism" or the like. I've been convinced, and especially since thimerisol is no longer used, really think this is a red herring, and that causes for autism lie somewhere else, including better diagnosis. That is a better place to spend money (environment is a potential cause, but so far no smoking gun.) Alas, that is no comfort today to a parent with an autistic child frantically looking for a reason.
- dbhuff
April 22, 2008 at 2:24pm
I'm not sure you can compare Obama's "suspicion" of a link between vaccines-autism and Hillary's comment that she would look into autism's "possible environmental causes like vaccines."
Also, depending on how you read the grammar, "vaccines" is employed as a simile to help explain what she means by environmental causes. If she had said "such as vaccines," I would think she were agreeing that vaccines may cause autism. But because she uses vaccines as a simile, her response is nuanced and means only that she would like to see if evidence exists of any non-genetic causes for autism.
- scottlooper
April 22, 2008 at 2:58pm
"Studying an issue shouldn't be that controversial."
Uh, if the issue has already been studied--as it has--and the case closed, then yes it should be controversial.
We have millions of person-years of research follow-up looking at "differences in health outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups." The hypothesis that MMR vaccine is associated with autism has been rigorously examined, and it has been rejected. Devoting further public moneys to researching the question just because an interested group--desperate parents looking for something to blame for their children's autism--refuse to acknowledge the validity of the science that has already been done would be borderline unethical.
The anti-vaccine crowd drives this infectious diseases physician nuts. I can semi-forgive the parents of autistic children. They're deluded, but they're under great stress and it's hard to blame them for wanting answers. It's the parents of healthy children who want everything "natural" that really get my goat. To them I'd like to say, "Well, death from measles is entirely natural." They're spongers. The only reason refusal of vaccination is a minimally viable course of action is that the vast majority of other children opt in, conferring the benefits of herd immunity on the refusniks. It's when these hippie kids turn twenty and decide to go on a barefoot trek through Nepal that the chickens come home to roost and I see them back in hospital sicker than stink with measles pneumonia.
- aeromonas
April 22, 2008 at 4:19pm
walt, until scientists are able to determine the causes of autism then you gotta accept fear is going to be part of the equation. I have my own reasons to worry, my kids were vaccinated in China under a different regime, have continued it in Mexico, and I have had them checked up in the states. There is no single and uniform vaccination regime worldwide.
- blackton
April 22, 2008 at 5:47pm
What am I supposed to do when all three candidates for the presidency turn out to be credulous, anti-science ignoramuses? Obama thinks there's a link between vaccines and autism, and now Hillary has jumped off the cliff with him. They're...
- Anonymous
April 22, 2008 at 10:38pm
Today, both Democratic candidates decided, "Hey, you know what would be a good idea? Complete and total pandering on the non-existent relationship between vaccines and autism!" Of course, in doing this, they were merely following John McCain's lead. Still
- Anonymous
April 22, 2008 at 11:28pm
Boo on you, Barack and Hillary. Others have this subject amply covered, but I wanted to note that Barack and Hillary have both jumped on the anti-vaccinationist bandwagon. The bandwagon is getting crowded what with McCain already being on it....
- Anonymous
April 23, 2008 at 4:09pm