tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post3940469207264715931..comments2024-03-02T02:26:00.928-05:00Comments on bleakonomy: Pots and kettlestetracontadigonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04604381739383227553noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-41981200678895899662009-11-03T05:22:41.104-05:002009-11-03T05:22:41.104-05:00I've been compiling responses to Amy Wallace&#...I've been compiling<a href="http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2009/10/amy-wallaces-provaccination-proscience-article-in-wired-reactions-to-it.html" rel="nofollow"> responses to Amy Wallace's article and specifically posts on the misogynist nature of J. B. Handley's response.</a> I've added this post to the list.Liz Ditzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03455722013211350247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-71139817923292463132009-10-30T08:59:02.016-04:002009-10-30T08:59:02.016-04:00Nap, I recognize that this issue is tremendously f...Nap, I recognize that this issue is tremendously fraught. When I have parents who do not wish to comply with the AAP schedule, I discuss with them which vaccines are most pressing, and which ones can be deferred for a time. (I <i> recommend </i> all vaccines, in keeping with the AAP schedule, and the Critter will get them on said schedule.) I have many parents in the practice who decline vaccines, which I find very frustrating, but I continue to see them and recommend that they reconsider at regular intervals.<br /><br />I do not believe separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are being manufactured at this time. If the CDC and AAP were to determine that MMR could be safely delayed, then I would happily comply with that recommendation, if only to be able to put this issue to rest. But, thanks to pockets of collected vaccine refusenicks, measles has had something of a resurgence, so I don't know if delay would be a safe thing to consider.<br /><br />And, to my anonymous cutting and pasting "commenter," you will see that I have declined to provide a venue for your repurposed excerpts. If you wish to make a cogent and concise point, feel free to do so. If you wish to regurgitate that which has been on the public record for lo these many years, then you can get your own blog to do so.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213051268392108382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-29369355044808364072009-10-30T01:08:50.373-04:002009-10-30T01:08:50.373-04:00This is such an emotionally fraught issue, with ev...This is such an emotionally fraught issue, with everyone, I think, trying at the root to protect children. As a newish parent who researches incessantly but has a limited scientific background (majored in molecular biology in college but declined med school in a last minute attempt to get sufficient sleep later in life; little did I know about kids and sleep) I think hysteria and misinformation in the vaccine debate are rampant. I think clinging to old ideas about single causes and not understanding the difference between causation and correlation are huge parts of the problem. I also think that autism is one of the most terrifying diseases families face because so much is unknown. I think banning thimerisol and other toxic preservatives in vaccines makes sense, and I'm kind of mad that our country is beholden to industries that poison us with chemicals they claim are not toxic in small doses (through our food, our meds, our bedding, our plastic, etc). But I think avoiding all vaccines is dangerous for the population. <br />I was really lucky, I feel, to work with a pediatrician who recommended most vaccines, but was willing to point out the few that he felt weren't necessary or proven. I was also lucky to understand herd immunity and I just wish we could use this amazing technology (for it was freaking genius of Dr. Salk to figure this out and almost eradicate polio) only for diseases that are deadly and where the vaccine is 100% safe (which, I know, is wishful thinking).<br />Side note: Is there a way to move the recommended dates for MMRs (or split up M and M and R) so that it doesn't coincide with the seemingly delicate nexus of factors that seems to occur at 18 months? Can we just move MMRs to age 3 or something?<br />It seems to me that peanut allergies are on the rise for some toxo-chemical reason that might have more to do with pesticides and factory processing than with peanuts themselves. It seems to me that autism is on the rise for reasons that might have more to do with environmental chemicals in food and household products than with a single vaccine. It seems tragic to not know definitively if there is a genetic component or a vaccine component or a whatever component, but with all evidence, it seems that vaccines are at most a contributing factor, and at least a coincidence. I wish there were thoughtful, intelligent research and debate, but at this point, it's gotten to be Creationism vs. Science in the intolerance of dissenting opinion on both sides.<br />That said, I have a really hard time trusting the pharmaceutical industry to put safe chemicals in with the useful part of the vaccine. It's hard to trust that they aren't using dead polio virus plus battery acid or something, given their track record. <br />Are there vaccines you do not recommend to your patients, Dan? Do you follow the AAP schedule exactly, closely, or loosely? Is it patient dependent? Just curious.<br />(delete this monstrous rambling if you'd like)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com