Court Rules Against Vaccine-Autism Claims Again

Court Rules Against Vaccine-Autism Claims Again: "barnyjr writes 'According to a story from Reuters, 'Vaccines that contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal cannot cause autism on their own, a special US court ruled on Friday, dealing one more blow to parents seeking to blame vaccines for their children's illness. The special US Court of Federal Claims ruled that vaccines could not have caused the autism of an Oregon boy, William Mead, ending his family's quest for reimbursement. ... While the state court determined the autism was vaccine-related, [Special Master George] Hastings said overwhelming medical evidence showed otherwise. The theory presented by the Meads and experts who testified on their behalf 'was biologically implausible and scientifically unsupported,' Hasting wrote.''

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards

Another reason to dislike Texas!

Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards: "Because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks, the changes approved by the Texas School Board will have a broad influence.


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Doctors urge state to require childhood vaccinations against pneumococcal disease

Doctors urge state to require childhood vaccinations against pneumococcal disease: "

California doctors want the state to require that day care-age children get vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.

More than a dozen doctor’s groups, including the California Medical Assn., are sending a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday urging him to mandate the vaccine to increase vaccination rates statewide, especially among minorities. They argue that it is especially urgent to vaccinate children now, before they catch seasonal or H1N1 flu, which puts them at added risk of catching pneumococcal disease.

“The California Department of Public Health can and should act today to require children to receive the pneumococcal disease vaccine and help ensure that all Californians are protected from this increasingly dangerous threat,” the doctors wrote.

The vaccine protects children against pneumococcal bacteria, which can lead to deafness, blindness and fatal meningitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it for children age 5 and under. Nationwide, 35 states already require the vaccine, including Florida, New York and Texas. Officials in six additional states are considering whether to require the vaccine.

State legislators passed a law two years ago that would have required the vaccines, but the governor vetoed it, saying he was satisfied with the statewide vaccination rate of 86%.

The vaccination rate has since decreased to 83%, according to the latest National Immunization Survey. The survey showed vaccination rates were even lower among children in Los Angeles County (80%) especially Latino children (75%).

The doctors’ groups argue the state would recoup the cost of subsidizing the vaccinations—$198,000 to implement the requirement and $360,000 for Medi-Cal costs—through reduced doctor and hospital visits.

Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, director of the county’s Department of Public Health, called the proposal “reasonable,” but cautioned that state officials should ensure there are adequate supplies of the latest pneumococcal vaccine before mandating them.

“Otherwise, it becomes a burden on parents,” Fielding said.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Photo: L.A. Times file

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Divided appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate Constitution

Divided appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate Constitution: "A divided federal appeals court Thursday reversed itself, ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance doesn t violate the constitutional prohibition against state-mandated religious exercise even though it c

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The onset of daylight saving time can be hazardous to your health

The onset of daylight saving time can be hazardous to your health: "

Dreading this Sunday’s change to daylight saving time, when we'll all lose an hour of sleep? Fatigue isn’t the only thing you’ve got to worry about, according to scientists who have studied multiple aspects of the annual “spring forward” from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Consider:

• The number of serious heart attacks jumps 6% to 10% on the first three workdays after the start of daylight saving time, according to a 2008 Swedish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
  
• Men are more likely to commit suicide during the first few weeks of daylight saving time than they are during the rest of the year, according to a 2008 Australian study in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythms.
  
• The number of traffic accidents in the U.S. spikes on the Monday after the clocks move forward, researchers reported in the journal Sleep Medicine in 2001. Canadian researchers have pegged the increase there at 8%, according to a 1996 study in the New England Journal. In Sweden, it jumps by 11%, according to a 2000 study in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention.
  
• Economists have found that sleep-deprived traders typically produce “large negative returns on financial-market indices” in the week following the shift to daylight saving time, according to a 2000 paper in the American Economic Review.

Health concerns helped persuade officials in Kazakhstan to quit switching back and forth between standard time and daylight saving time in 2005, according to this report in Kazakhstan Today.

-- Karen Kaplan

Photo: Springing forward at the start of daylight saving time can be hazardous to your health. Photo credit: Los Angeles Times

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Most Believe God Gets Involved

Most Believe God Gets Involved: "New research shows that most Americans believe God is directly involved in their personal affairs, and that the good or bad things that happen are 'part of God's plan.''"

Not Noticing That You're Pregnant

Not Noticing That You're Pregnant: "How can you go through an entire pregnancy without realizing you are pregnant?"