This site has been set up in response to the Australian Vaccination Network's (www.avn.org.au) refusal to publish my comments on their blogs. Whilst I uphold everyone's right to investigate and to educate themselves, I am saddened that people insist on publishing downright lies with regards health matters. Here, I will attempt to present a response whenever www.avn.org.au present such lies, and will also attempt to present data that represents good scientific method.
Punter,
you’re back-peddling quickly today. I think your words were “It did nothing of the sort it was just that doctors had pretty much stopped diagnosing TB, thinking it was a disease of the third world, and dramatically increased their diagnoses of lung cancer”. Sounds to me like that’s what you were saying. Damn those lazy doctors, just diagnosing things on a whim. I’m sure those lung cancer rates are just TB, or is it the other way now?
As for the studies, why don’t you look them up yourself. you’ve got a brain too, don’t you?
The Bouvier-Colle paper did two types of case-control studies. One was SIDS deaths vs other deaths, and the other was SIDS deaths to living controls. Both studies included vaccinated and non-vaccinated children, as that was one of the variables. When you get the study, look at table 4 – immunisation rate was not significantly different between (SIDS vs other deaths) and (SIDS vs alive).
The paper by Walker American Journal of Public Health 1987; 77; 945, “The mortality rate of non-immunized infants was 6.5 times that of immunized infants of the same age ”
And then there’s The UK accelerated immunisation programme and sudden unexpected death in infancy: case-control study, Fleming PJ, Blair PS, Platt MW, Tripp J, Smith IJ, Golding J, BMJ, 2001 vol. 322 (7290) pp. 822
“After all potential confounding factors were controlled for, immunisation uptake was strongly associated with a lower risk of SIDS (odds ratio 0.45 (95% confidence interval 0.24 to 0.85)). This difference became non-significant (0.67 (0.31 to 1.43)) after further adjustment for other factors specific to the infant’s sleeping environment.”
“Conclusions: Immunisation does not lead to sudden unexpected death in infancy, and the direction of the relation is towards protection rather than risk.”
Shall I go on. What’s a balanced opinion? Is there a link based on one small paper with a small response rate, etc, or is there no link based on larger studies, or is there even a protective link as suggested by Walker and this paper?
I think a balanced opinion would be that there is probably no link. Perhaps a slightly protective one. Certainly not a harmful one. Of course, you’ll keep your one small study and keep dolling it out, and the studies I quoted won’t be real world blah blah blah, but the facts don’t change depending on your level of ignorance. The sun still shines, no matter what you might want to believe.
Punter, have you actually read the studies I’ve posted, or are you just reflexly denying what has been laid out before you, like you have done so many times before.
“What an unbelievably ridiculous methodology. The vast majority of kids get vaccinated therefore of course there isn’t going to be much difference in the rates between those who got SIDS and those who don’t.”
Ahhhhh and that’s the point on the study. Case-control. Did you read it? The vast majority DIDN’T get vaccinated, only around 30-45% in fact. It’s as valid as any study you’ve ever discussed (although, come to think of it, you never even try to provide proof of your belief system).
Did you actually read it? If so, you didn’t read it very well.
you’re back-peddling quickly today. I think your words were “It did nothing of the sort it was just that doctors had pretty much stopped diagnosing TB, thinking it was a disease of the third world, and dramatically increased their diagnoses of lung cancer”. Sounds to me like that’s what you were saying. Damn those lazy doctors, just diagnosing things on a whim. I’m sure those lung cancer rates are just TB, or is it the other way now?
As for the studies, why don’t you look them up yourself. you’ve got a brain too, don’t you?