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Merged Website told not to advertise that MMR causes up to 10% of autism

commandlinegamer

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commandlinegamer
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Babyjabs.co.uk said the three-in-one jab may be causing "up to 10%" of autism in children in the UK.

But the Advertising Standards Authority ruled the claim was misleading and must not appear again, after getting a complaint.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19163717

The organisation still claims though:

It is very likely that the MMR causes autism and bowel disease in some children. It is probable that the single measles vaccine can also do this, but, if so, much more rarely than the MMR.
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http://www.babyjabs.co.uk/mmr.htm
 
And when a website disobeys the ASA then the ASA get serious and break out their most punitive regulatory powers. They put them on a list with all the other naughty websites.
 
Ocelot said:
And when a website disobeys the ASA then the ASA get serious and break out their most punitive regulatory powers. They put them on a list with all the other naughty websites.
Click to expand...

at least it's not the Comfy Chairtm
 
BBC News: Website warned over MMR claims

Website warned over MMR claims [BBC news]

A website offering parents advice on vaccines has been ordered to remove information about the MMR jab after claiming it could be linked to autism
Click to expand...

Im surprised to see such idiotic clap is still being put out there. However, I was wondering about a couple of points they raised:

1. From the site http://www.babyjabs.co.uk/mmr.htm
The vaccine was introduced into the UK in 1988 without adequate safety testing.1 Not one of the safety trials on the MMR ‘actively’ followed up the vaccinated children for more than six weeks, and most no longer than three weeks.2 The trials would not have been able to detect either rare, or long-term, side effects of the vaccine, such as autism and bowel disease.
Click to expand...
Does anyone know is this true, particularly about the "adequate safety testing".

2.
Is the MMR more effective than the single vaccines?
No. The MMR is no more effective than the single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. In fact, the single mumps vaccine may be more effective than the mumps component of the MMR: the percentage of children protected against mumps by one dose of the single mumps vaccine is estimated to be 75%-97%, whereas the effectiveness of the mumps component of the MMR vaccine, calculated from an outbreak of mumps in North East London in 1998/9, is that a single dose is only 64% effective.3 4
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The quote has a couple of references sited which I havent read yet. Am I correct in saying that this is not entirely true, becuase you have to wait severl weeks between the vacinations the child is effectively at risk during this period.

3.
Research, including large population studies, has since shown that the MMR is not causing the large majority of autism, but has been unable to exclude the possibility that it is causing autism in a small number of susceptible children
Click to expand...
Is this real? or is this to do with its impossible to prove a negative?

ANyone know who this "Dr Richard Halvorsen" is?
 
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Reference 2 of that article is by Wakefield. The introduction of MMR in UK followed years of use in other countries and built on the safety record there, so there was no precedent for extended safety testing.

References 3 and 4 are studies in the USA and Canada respectively, although I couldn't read the first one, but they are not UK studies.
 
BadBoy said:
Website warned over MMR claims [BBC news]



Im surprised to see such idiotic clap is still being put out there. However, I was wondering about a couple of points they raised:

1. From the site http://www.babyjabs.co.uk/mmr.htm

Does anyone know is this true, particularly about the "adequate safety testing".

2.

The quote has a couple of references sited which I havent read yet. Am I correct in saying that this is not entirely true, becuase you have to wait severl weeks between the vacinations the child is effectively at risk during this period.

3.

Is this real? or is this to do with its impossible to prove a negative?

ANyone know who this "Dr Richard Halvorsen" is?
Click to expand...
He's the owner and founder of Babyjabs, which is a private vaccination service. Yes, just like ex-doctor Wakefield, he terrifies parents into buying his stuff. He's a real medical doctor, but has also practised acupuncture for 20 years. The rest of your questions can be answered on the Stuff and Nonsense blog - the writer of which made the original complaint to the ASA.
 
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sophia8 said:
He's the owner and founder of Babyjabs, which is a private vaccination service. Yes, just like ex-doctor Wakefield, he terrifies parents into buying his stuff. He's a real medical doctor, but has also practised acupuncture for 20 years. The rest of your questions can be answered on the Stuff and Nonsense blog - the writer of which made the original complaint to the ASA.
Click to expand...
Ta for the link to my blog.

I'm still not happy with the website and I'm drafting a new complaint to the ASA over Babyjabs.
 
BadBoy said:
Website warned over MMR claims [BBC news]

A website offering parents advice on vaccines has been ordered to remove information about the MMR jab after claiming it could be linked to autism
Click to expand...
Im surprised to see such idiotic clap is still being put out there. However, I was wondering about a couple of points they raised:

1. From the site http://www.babyjabs.co.uk/mmr.htm


The vaccine was introduced into the UK in 1988 without adequate safety testing.1 Not one of the safety trials on the MMR ‘actively’ followed up the vaccinated children for more than six weeks, and most no longer than three weeks.2 The trials would not have been able to detect either rare, or long-term, side effects of the vaccine, such as autism and bowel disease.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know is this true, particularly about the "adequate safety testing".

2.


Is the MMR more effective than the single vaccines?
No. The MMR is no more effective than the single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. In fact, the single mumps vaccine may be more effective than the mumps component of the MMR: the percentage of children protected against mumps by one dose of the single mumps vaccine is estimated to be 75%-97%, whereas the effectiveness of the mumps component of the MMR vaccine, calculated from an outbreak of mumps in North East London in 1998/9, is that a single dose is only 64% effective.3 4
Click to expand...

The quote has a couple of references sited which I havent read yet. Am I correct in saying that this is not entirely true, becuase you have to wait severl weeks between the vacinations the child is effectively at risk during this period.

3.


Research, including large population studies, has since shown that the MMR is not causing the large majority of autism, but has been unable to exclude the possibility that it is causing autism in a small number of susceptible children
Click to expand...
Is this real? or is this to do with its impossible to prove a negative?

ANyone know who this "Dr Richard Halvorsen" is?
Click to expand...
I'll try and answer your questions.

1. The vaccine was tested before it was introduced. It is the opinion of Babyjabs that this testing was inadequate. I think it's true that the initial testing wouldn't have picked up rare or long-term side-effects - but the studies that have been done since then would.
2. Yes, you have to wait between vaccinations. The Babyjabs website says "We recommend between six months and one year between each immunisation" so kids would be unprotected against mumps & rubella for at least 6-12 months. In fact, they don't offer mumps vaccine - so kids are just unprotected full stop when it comes to mumps. I've criticised Halvorsen (their medical director) for this before on my blog.
3. I'm not sure a study can exclude that possibility, but some of the papers they cite actually show lower risk of autism / IBD in kids vaccinated with MMR. Lower. Risk. If the risk is lower in MMR-vaccinated kids how on earth can MMR be causing autism and IBD??

Richard Halvorsen is an anti-MMR doctor who wrote a book called "the truth about vaccines". You can read what I think of him here: http://jdc325.wordpress.com/category/richard-halvorsen/ (including some posts on his book).
 
jdc324 said:
...2. Yes, you have to wait between vaccinations. The Babyjabs website says "We recommend between six months and one year between each immunisation" so kids would be unprotected against mumps & rubella for at least 6-12 months. In fact, they don't offer mumps vaccine - so kids are just unprotected full stop when it comes to mumps. I've criticised Halvorsen (their medical director) for this before on my blog.
...
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the single mumps vaccine, since the only mumps vaccine I know that is authorized in the UK is in the MMR.
 
Cuddles said:
I've submitted a complaint about that. Since it's essentially identical to the claims they've already been forced to remove, I'd be surprised if they're not told to get rid of that as well.
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Hopefully that claim will get removed too. Glad to hear you've submitted a complaint already.

Chris Haynes said:
I was wondering about the single mumps vaccine, since the only mumps vaccine I know that is authorized in the UK is in the MMR.
Click to expand...
Aye. From the Babyjabs FAQ page: "No clinic in the UK, including BabyJabs, is currently able to obtain the single mumps vaccine. We are doing everything we can to obtain a safe and effective mumps vaccine. We will keep you updated with any news on this web site." I first criticised their alternative vaccine schedule in January 2010 and noted the unavailability of the single mumps vaccine but I'm pretty sure it's been unavailable for longer than that. So they've been doing everything they can to obtain a single mumps vaccine and promising updates for a while now...
 
I'll try and answer your questions.

1. The vaccine was tested before it was introduced. It is the opinion of Babyjabs that this testing was inadequate. I think it's true that the initial testing wouldn't have picked up rare or long-term side-effects - but the studies that have been done since then would.
2. Yes, you have to wait between vaccinations. The Babyjabs website says "We recommend between six months and one year between each immunisation" so kids would be unprotected against mumps & rubella for at least 6-12 months. In fact, they don't offer mumps vaccine - so kids are just unprotected full stop when it comes to mumps. I've criticised Halvorsen (their medical director) for this before on my blog.
3. I'm not sure a study can exclude that possibility, but some of the papers they cite actually show lower risk of autism / IBD in kids vaccinated with MMR. Lower. Risk. If the risk is lower in MMR-vaccinated kids how on earth can MMR be causing autism and IBD??

Richard Halvorsen is an anti-MMR doctor who wrote a book called "the truth about vaccines". You can read what I think of him here: http://jdc325.wordpress.com/category/richard-halvorsen/ (including some posts on his book).
Click to expand...


Thanks for the feedback and the link jdc324. Good work by the way on bringing it to the attention of the ASA.
 
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commandlinegamer said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19163717

The organisation still claims though:

It is very likely that the MMR causes autism and bowel disease in some children. It is probable that the single measles vaccine can also do this, but, if so, much more rarely than the MMR.
Click to expand...
http://www.babyjabs.co.uk/mmr.htm
Click to expand...

Cuddles said:
I've submitted a complaint about that. Since it's essentially identical to the claims they've already been forced to remove, I'd be surprised if they're not told to get rid of that as well.
Click to expand...
I noticed yesterday that the MMR page now has a 404 error and the website has been substantially amended.

Looks like those follow-up complaints have made a difference.
 
Well, "up to 10%" does include "zero", so it is technically a true statement...
 
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