Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade

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The New York Times is covering the rising resistance to those who claim that vaccines cause autism.
Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade
Dr. Offit’s book, published in September by Columbia University Press, has been widely endorsed by pediatricians, autism researchers, vaccine companies and medical journalists who say it sums up, in layman’s language, the scientific evidence for vaccines and forcefully argues that vulnerable parents are being manipulated by doctors promoting false cures and lawyers filing class-action suits.

“Opponents of vaccines have taken the autism story hostage,” Dr. Offit said. “They don’t speak for all parents of autistic kids, they use fringe scientists and celebrities, they’ve set up cottage industries of false hope, and they’re hurting kids. Parents pay out of their pockets for dangerous treatments, they take out second mortgages to buy hyperbaric oxygen chambers. It’s just unconscionable.”

It was fairly obvious to me even before we got an official diagnosis of autism that there were a lot of people out to squeeze as much money as they could out of people who were still dazed and confused about their child's autism diagnosis. Here's hoping that the rest of the country catches on to the charlatans before any more harm is done autistic individuals and the public health of the nation. Then we can get on to discussing things of real importance to autistics like support for students in the classroom, research into the best teaching strategies for autistic students, and support for adult autistics in the workplace.

Hat tip Instapundit.


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