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Physicians for Informed Consent goes after aluminum in vaccines again

physicians for informed consent

Recently, Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC) claimed they hold a bombshell, by claiming there is an erratum in the study published by Mitkus and colleagues (1). Using some PR mouthpiece (such as PRNewswire) to spread the breaking news around, PIC, under the patronage of Shira Miller (who runs PIC), claimed they provided a rebuttal to the study of Mitkus stating that there is an important factual error.

In this breaking news, Physicians for Informed Consent announced that a study published by Mitkus and colleagues (1) contained a major flaw in the estimation of aluminum burden, using differences in oral bioavailability used in the study (allegedly 0.78%) and reported by the FDA (0.1%). In their conclusion, the authors claim that such differences were significantly underestimating the exposure of aluminum from vaccines with the claim that the actual “safe” level is 7.8X lower than Mitkus established.

Is there any part of the truth in it? And does the PIC statement hold any scientific evidence? 
Let’s figure this out. Continue reading “Physicians for Informed Consent goes after aluminum in vaccines again”

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MMR vaccine causes seizures? Physicians for Informed Consent false claim

MMR vaccine causes seizures

Pseudoscience about the MMR vaccine pervades all corners of the internet. Many of us have spent years (I have been doing it for nearly two decades) debunking the ridiculous myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism.  Now we have a radical anti-vaccine religious group claiming that the MMR vaccine causes seizures, based on an opinion (not scientific evidence) from a renowned anti-vaccine activist.

The organization making this ridiculous claim is Physicians for Informed Consent, a California-based anti-vaccine group, that makes absurd claims that either vastly overstate the risks of vaccines, or vastly understate the benefits of vaccines. And they do this without a stitch of scientific evidence, meaning that their value in the discussions about vaccines approaches zero.

It’s time to take a look at their newest assertion that the MMR vaccine causes seizures. Let’s just say that, once again, they exaggerate the risk of vaccines while completely ignoring the benefits. I guess that is what happens when you’re a science denying group. Continue reading “MMR vaccine causes seizures? Physicians for Informed Consent false claim”

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Physicians for Informed Consent – another radical anti-vaccine group

Physician for Informed Consent

There are a bunch of anti-vaccine groups out there who invent legitimate sounding names in an attempt to appear to be rational, positive organizations. They’re mostly neither rational nor positive. A new one (at least for me) is a group called the “Physicians for Informed Consent,” whose “vision is to live in a society free of mandatory vaccination laws.”

Although there are individuals who are pro-vaccine but are opposed to mandatory vaccination, mostly on a politically libertarian point of view, almost all of these groups, especially in California, are specifically anti-vaccine. In fact, “informed consent” is one of those veiled code-words used by the anti-vaccine world, especially in the fight against SB277, California’s recently enacted law that removes personal belief exemptions to vaccinations for school age children.

This article is going to examine some of the issues around “informed consent,” then look at a recent statement from the radical anti-vaccine gourd, Physicians for Informed Consent. Continue reading “Physicians for Informed Consent – another radical anti-vaccine group”