On Vaccines and Autism, Gates and Gupta are an Odd Pair
By Anne Dachel
February 4, 2011, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed Bill Gates about his plan to eradicate polio by 2012. (HERE) Gates went into great detail about the benefits of vaccines and how he plans to distribute them around the world.
In the midst of the interview, Gupta posed a question about the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism. Seemingly perplexed about the whole thing, Gupta asked, “There has been a lot of news about is there a connection with autism, for example. What do you make of all that? Dr. [Andrew] Wakefield wrote a paper about this [in The Lancet in 1998] saying he thought there was a connection. And there were lower vaccination rates over a period of time as a result in Britain, then the United States. What are your thoughts?”
This opening gave Gates a chance to attack Wakefield for, as he described it, faking his data. He called the idea of a link as “an absolute lie.” That said, Gates went on to talk more about the “miracle of vaccines.”
While autism was only a one small part of the total interview, the title of CNN story was, Bill Gates: Vaccine-autism link 'an absolute lie.' It seems that Gates' plan to promote vaccinations around the world was another opportunity to blame the controversy on Andrew Wakefield. It's not going to work however. Thousands and thousands of parents everywhere will never stop talking about how their normally developing, healthy children went in for routine vaccinations and suddenly got sick with things like seizures, bowel disease, and life-threatening allergies. They stopped talking and lost learned skills and were eventually diagnosed with autism. Doctors call it a coincidence. They can't explain what happened to these children. The only thing they're sure of is that it's not connected to the ever-expanding vaccine schedule.
Bill Gates may call the autism-vaccine link 'an absolute lie,' but he doesn't ask for the one simple study that would answer the question once and for all. WHY HAS THERE NEVER BEEN AN OFFICIAL STUDY COMPARING THE AUTISM RATE IN CHILDREN WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED WITH CHILDREN WHO'VE NEVER BEEN VACCINATED? One percent of US kids now have autism, including almost two percent of boys. If one percent of never-vaccinated kids are also autistic, the evidence would be there for all to see. With so many parents now exempting their children from vaccinations, the study group is out there. Gates, Gupta, and everyone else denying a link should be demanding to see such a study done.
I'm amazed that SanjayGupta can sit with Bill Gates and allow him to call the link between vaccines and autism 'an absolute lie,' when in April 2008, in an interview with Dr. Jon Poling, he did not dispute Poling's claim that vaccines had caused his daughter's regression into autism.
Gupta: “We are here with Dr. Jon Poling, …he’s the father of Hannah Poling… Her case of autism diagnosis was conceded by the federal government as having been contributed to by vaccines. That was a pretty startling thing, I think, for a lot of people to hear. We talked to a lot of experts about this. They say vaccines in no way cause autism. You’re a neurologist. You’re also the father of Hannah. What do you say?”
Poling: “I think you bring up a really important point. The government, actually the Dept. of Health and Human Services, conceded that my daughter’s medical problems, which are autism encephalopathy, seizures, were brought on by vaccination.”
Gupta: “That’s startling for a lot of people to hear that because we’ve been taught for so long—I’m a doctor, you’re a doctor, we go to medical school…There’s so many good things about vaccines. They prevent life-threatening illnesses… But in your daughter’s case, it turned out to be a problem.”
Poling: “I wouldn’t have believed it until it happened to me. To be honest with you, as a doctor, until it happened to me, until I saw the regression, until I saw a normal eighteen month old toddler descend into autism, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible.”
Gupta: “The experts that I’ve talked to, including the director of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding says, ‘That was a rare case. That’s likely to be an exception.’ What do you say to that?”
Poling: “I think a lot of the media outlets have put out a statement that says rare, underlying, genetic, mitochondrial disease. Now that’s five words. Four of those are not accurate in the sense …that mitochondrial dysfunction is not rare. We don’t know if it was underlying or if it was something that developed later. Certainly, there are some genetic underpinnings to it. And the only word correct is mitochondrial. …”
Gupta: “So did Hannah have some sort of predisposition and then the vaccines tipped her over the edge into developing autism? What is your belief now?”
Poling: “I don’t believe that vaccines are the only way that you can tip over a child like Hannah to regress and have an encephalopathy, and regress into autism. There are probably multiple triggers. In my daughter, it was clearly the vaccinations. That was our experience. In other families’ experiences, it may be different. The other cases that were at Johns Hopkins, there were only a few like Hannah and then others regressed for other reasons. It’s not really a known entity.”
Gupta: “You know the thing that a lot of parents—and I have to tell you as doctor—now as a parent, as you know, I have two daughters. So I have a two and a half year old and a thirteen month old, what does that mean for me? …They’re perfectly normal. They seem to be. And they’re delightful. And I plan on getting them vaccinated. I got my two and a half year old vaccinated on time. What advice would you have now having gone through what you’ve gone through?”
Poling: “First and foremost, I’m pro vaccine. I’m in favor of safe vaccination. I’m the last person who wants to see measles or polio come back. ….
I think what a parents needs to do now is to talk with their pediatrician. And pediatricians need to actually have a grass roots movement amongst the pediatricians and the AAP to develop safe vaccine schedules for each individual patient. You and I are physicians. We took an oath to our individual patient. We didn’t take an oath for the public health or for the greater good, so each individual pediatrician has to focus on that.”
In closing Gupta talked about they were going to be following this story “all day long” on CNN.
So, after all that he learned in 2008 from Jon Poling about how vaccines caused his daughter’s autism, he brought up none of it in this latest interview with Bill Gates. He seems to have forgotten it all. In 2008, he was concerned about vaccinating his own daughters in light of the Poling concession. Today, he pretends, along with Bill Gates, that it’s all ‘an absolute lie.’
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
Gates is not lacking knowledge.
He is pursuing his agenda & doing so successfully.
Until we recognise what is being done to us, we are sitting ducks & children will be maimed & killed by him & his ilk...
As a nurse for 20 years, I never thought I would say this, but I am ANTI VACCINE.
They are weapons of mass destruction.
The evidence is there if you look for it, but in order to do so, you have to be prepared to go where truth takes you.
...& it ain't pretty!
Posted by: humanati | July 03, 2011 at 02:50 PM
Winning? Duh!
http://birdflu666.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/evidence-bill-gatess-vaccine-campaign-has-sparked-polio-outbreak-from-wsj/
“Bill Gates walked into the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva—for a meeting in an underground chamber where global pandemics are managed—and was greeted by bad news. Polio was spreading across Africa, even after he gave $700 million to try to wipe out the disease.”
“Mr. Gates asked: “So, what do we do next?”
“On the plane, Mr. Gates strategized about what else would help win the fight, balking at one religious leader’s suggestion: forced vaccinations. “Strap ‘em, down, I say! Let’s make it illegal” to not take the vaccine, Mr. Gates joked. Then he got serious again, citing failed attempts in the U.S. to enforce compulsory vaccinations.”
Posted by: patrons99 | March 09, 2011 at 06:03 PM
We cant fight Gates on every point, but why dont we take up just one - that might get us some media attention also. Suppose we make a petition to Gates, requesting him, to speak up and say that no child in the world should receive a mercury laden vaccine, and that his money will not go for such vaccines. We need only point out to him that his own grandchildren will surely not be receiving such vaccines. This is a real no brainer. No intelligent person would advocate mercury laden vaccines. If he refuses or ducks the question , we can be sure that he is controlled by the pharma companies. If he agrees, as any sane person should, his statement can be used to fight the use of mercury in third world countries.
Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | February 09, 2011 at 02:09 PM
London’s Hounds of Rascalville Making A Second Run At Dr. Andrew Wakefield
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/london%E2%80%99s-hounds-of-rascalville-making-a-second-run-at-dr-andrew-wakefield/
Bill Gates wants to register all new babies on the planet for vaccines
http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2011/01/bill-gates-wants-to-register-all-new-babies-on-the-planet-for-vaccines/
Posted by: Wrusssr | February 09, 2011 at 02:07 PM
The kind of "soft kill" is a trademark of vaccine policy-making. Vaccine manufacturing drug companies often employ former germ warfare specialists.
If Hitler were alive today, no doubt, he'd deploy vaccines. Anti-litigation rackeeters are paving the way for the "big one".
If you though the "bird flu" and "hoof and mouth" slaughters were bad...wait 'til it's people.
Posted by: Media Scholar | February 08, 2011 at 07:17 AM
Facinating data... thanks for the page... saving for future reference. So basically there isn't any proof that "thousands" of babies have died because of anything Dr. Wakefield did, said or wrote. That's completely made up. A total, blatent lie. One might even say - "fradulent."
Isn't there some recourse for slander in today's world? If someone went on TV and told people that something I had said had caused the deaths of thousands of children without any proof whatsoever - I can't hold them responsible for that accusation?
I suppose it's much like the lie that "all the mercury is out of vaccines" I hear quite often. It just feeds on itself and no one bothers to check if that's actually true or not. Both of my parents had measles. I just don't remember it being this big bad killer anyways. The other day I saw an episode of the Max & Ruby cartoon - it featured Ruby taking care of her baby doll who had the measles.
So. What.
Posted by: JessicaF | February 07, 2011 at 02:24 PM
Jessica F
It is a very good point. Although I don't think he can cite thousands of deaths he may be trying to link Andy with outbreaks of whooping cough in the US (which has much more to do with the fact that vaccines are not very effective). The real test case would be what happened in the UK with MMR after Andy's wellkown remarks. This was recently researched by Dr F Edward Yazbak who using official data could trace no inmpact either on the spread of the diseases or mortality.
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/measles-united-kingdom-wakefield-factor
Posted by: John Stone | February 07, 2011 at 01:54 PM
I would like to know exactly where the data is to back up the claim that "thousands" of mothers supposedly listened to Dr. Wakefield, didn't vaccinate their children, and now have dead children. Anyone know? How did they collect this data? Did they poll the parents of every dead baby?
Posted by: JessicaF | February 07, 2011 at 01:38 PM
We have to vaccinate otherwise our children won't be so healthy!
"One in four children in the U.S. are on chronic medications.
According to IMS Health data, 45 million children are on asthma medications, 24 million are on ADHD medications, almost 10 million are on antidepressants with another six and a half million on other antipsychotics. Then there are the antihypertensives, the sleep aids, the medications for Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, and on and on."
Posted by: Carol | February 06, 2011 at 02:13 PM
Concerned Mom and Autism Grandma
I agree this is why Gates will seem plausible to many people: I don't think it is a credible perspective for someone who has been at middle of the controversy for several years.
Posted by: John Stone | February 06, 2011 at 01:33 PM
Re: Post by CT Teacher:
This post is to me an excellent explanation as to why so many apparently otherwise intelligent people are sucked into the vaccine propaganda. Their eyes are closed to the truth because they are simply deceived by the propaganda and their lack of factual information prevents them from making logical decisions. This is exactly why so many parents are still taking their children into the pediatrician's office for this horrific vaccine schedule!!!
Yes, there is a major conspiracy going on here, but not everyone involved in doing the bidding of the conspirators really understands what they are doing. We are fighting a major indoctrination program that is well established by the vaccine industry. People need motivation to research the information in order to come to the logical conclusion that vaccines are playing a huge role in destroying the health of this nation's children and also adults.
Many people in high places do have knowledge of the factual information regarding vaccines and those at the top who run the show at the industry and government levels are chosing to support the vaccine industry in favor of their financial rewards. These people KNOW what they are doing and they willingly comply with the conspiracy. Bill Gates obviously isn't going to be swayed by money, he has plenty of that; therefore he is just one of the majority who have accepted the propaganda instead of researching the facts. Certainly the vaccine industry has cultivated his support in order to sell more vaccines to other unsuspecting nations. Bill Gates is being used by the vaccine industry due to his financial power and influence. WAKE UP Bill Gates, you are being USED.
Posted by: AutismGrandma | February 06, 2011 at 12:57 PM
CT Teacher, I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment about belief in vaccines in people over 50. When I had my first son back in 1993, I wanted to wait (just WAIT, not forgo them entirely) until he was older before vaccinating him. Well! The hue and cry from MY OWN parents! "You HAVE to get him vaccinated!! Now!! Or he will die!What is the matter with you? You're crazy! Waiting could kill him!" Being young and impressionable and still caring about what my parents thought, I had my son vaccinated according to the schedule at the time. I thank God every day that he grew up neurotypical (however, he suffered from terrible allergies, eczema, and athsma which, while not nearly as serious now as it was when he was little, still crops up in episodes of wheezing of varying intensity from time to time). It was the same with my other two sons. I wanted to wait but I was shouted down by my parents. Well, to make a long story short, I thank God every day that my second son, who was non-verbal and frighteningly, undeterrably stimmy until he was five, is nearly recovered. My third son, like my first, is neurotypical. A lot of the grandparents out there are of the same mind-set as my own parents who stood, and continue to stand, behind the vaccine program despite what it did to their own grandchildren. I don't think that's going to change anytime soon.
Posted by: Concerned Mom | February 06, 2011 at 12:31 PM
CT Teacher
Gates is dealing in stereo-types and cartoon strip history. I don't believe you but even if you are right he should know better.
Posted by: John Stone | February 06, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Sorry folks. I don't buy the Bill Gates conspiracy theory, and I am a conspiracy theorist extraordinaire. I believe in conspiracies from JFK and all the other assassinations to 9/11. I don't think Gates is lying about Wakefield He believes and trusts the advice he is getting from all the so-called experts. Do you think for one minute he took the time to investigate all of this on his own? He believes in the sanctity of vaccines. I listened to his speech about them on C SPAN. He travels with important people. They have his ear. Think about the Carters. Do you think Rosalyn and Jimmy would push vaccines if they thought they were harmful? Of course not. They are advised by influential people in the medical field. To just think that these people are evil and are lying denies the SCOPE of the problem. Very FEW older people question vaccine safety unless they have been personally affected like Dan Burton was. We grew up in the era of POLIO VACCINES SAVE LIVES. The PROPAGANDA convinced everyone that smallpox and polio vaccines saved the health and lives of millions of children. No one questioned the other illness that seemed to erupt at about that time and their possible connection to the vaccines, like dreadful autoimmune diseases, leukemia and other cancers, epilepsy etc. The doctors were GODS. You didn't question them. This mindset is pervasive among people over the age of 50 and perhaps younger. When my kids got their vaccines in the 70's and 80's,I never questioned either. Yet, I always wondered about some changes that I saw in them and what caused them...also infections, eye problems etc. Most people I know don't do that. I have suffered from chronic autoimmune disease my whole life and always wondered where it came from. Now I know. I taught school for many years, and whenever I brought up the subject of causes of ADD, asthma, diabetes, food allergies, eating disorders, etc. which didn't become scourges until perhaps the late 80's or early 90's, everyone looked at me like I had 2 heads. People are ready to blame the environment like food additives and pesticides, but if you mention vaccines, the conversation shuts right down. The subject of vaccine safety is off the table. It is this CLOSED mindset that is our biggest enemy, and we can't afford to wait around until the old folks die off so that new ideas can take hold. Our message needs to supplant the old propaganda. Without some kind of media coverage that won't happen soon. I wonder if Jenny McCarthy's friend ,Oprah ,might give this subject more coverage on her new network. Just a thought. Sorry for such a long comment.
Posted by: CT teacher | February 06, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Take vaccines to Africa - if chldren develop intestinal problems with bloating and diarrhea problems, no one will notice, because they already have them. Added benefit - take a continent with low vaccination rates and low autism rates, vaccinate them and up the autism rates, then do a comparative study showing how autism rates are the same there as in the U.S. Let me guess, they'll be starting in Somalia . . .
Posted by: Jenny | February 06, 2011 at 08:02 AM
Bill Gates is a eugenicist.
Please read the reports below that are referenced & show his involvement in eugenics through the use of vaccines, hi tech sterilants & GMO food.
It's time to start speaking the truth about these people.
This is planned 'soft kill' genocide. Autism is just one facet of this policy.
Love to all.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-population-reduction-agenda-for-dummies.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/bill-gates-use-vaccines-to-lower-population.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/bill-gates-and-neo-eugenics-vaccines-to-reduce-population.html
Endgame by Alex Jones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-CrNlilZho
Posted by: useless eater | February 05, 2011 at 09:36 PM
While Gupta and Gates go on with their blood sucking-I have a feel good story. At my appointment with my regular GP(whom I really like, anyway because he has always listened when I speak about vaccines) he told me he is now in favor of personal choice for everyone and even had me give a vaccine speech to the med students working that day at the practice. He also said he did not believe in "herd immunity" -the way vaccine pushers use it.
Tomight, a sangria for Anne and a pint of Ben and jerrys Cherry Garcia for me. Maurine
Posted by: Maurine meleck | February 05, 2011 at 09:29 PM
So giving him his due, Bill Gates is a college drop-out who made a lot of money. Of course he would become the perfect dupe of Paul Proffit and the vaccine industrial government complex. Bill Gates provides the quintessential example of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). He's good at critical paths, but not critical thinking.
Posted by: michael framson | February 05, 2011 at 09:11 PM
I find Mr. Gates lack of knowledge mind numbing. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER WINDOWS PRODUCT.
Posted by: Charlotte Lee | February 05, 2011 at 09:04 PM
Interesting.....Dr. Gupta only mentioned getting his 2 1/2
Year old vaccinated on time but also mentions having available 13 month old and asks Dr. Poling's advice on how to vaccine her. So it is okay for him to put his daughter on a delayed schedule but the rest of are jerks if we want one for ours.
Posted by: AnaB | February 05, 2011 at 08:19 PM
Infectious: double meaning there. I meant the IDEA of not vaccinating can become infectious. Our ideas are spreading.
Posted by: Cynthia Cournoyer | February 05, 2011 at 07:12 PM
Timeline:
Introduce vaccines during an epidemic. If people won't take them, scare them. If you want to sell more, make them mandatory for school entry. If that doesn't work, make them mandatory in health care workers and adoption and military and welfare. If that doesn't work, make more boosters and more vaccines. If that doesn't work give them to babies sooner. If that doesn't work, create a registry. Wow, you would think, of all people interested in the government staying out of your business, Gates would understand (anti-trust, etc.). Guess not. Vaccines are a product used by close to 100% of the population in the U.S. You just can't do better than that. It's not the coverage or the sales they are worried about, it's the dissent. People opting out of vaccines could become infectious.
Posted by: Cynthia Cournoyer | February 05, 2011 at 07:10 PM
Bill Gates is a smart, clever, intelligent person.
Don't under-estimate him.
After watching this interview, I conclude Bill Gates is evil.
Completely and utterly evil.
Why would he lie this way about Dr. Wakefield? A person as smart as him, who obviously spent considerable time in understanding vaccines - must know the truth. It takes just 2 minutes watching Dr. Wakefield speaks to realize he's a truthful person.
So why is Bill lying? Though I'm not much into 'conspiracies' the only explanation I can think of is that he's actually working to reduce world population through vaccination.
Posted by: Vaccine.Explorer | February 05, 2011 at 07:09 PM
I think Bill Gates has been lied too about the safety of these shots as much as we have.. he's invested money and probably can't comprehend that something as wonderful as vaccines could be seriously flawed. I don't see him as an evil man just one who has good intentions, lots of money but doesn't know the whole story. Wish we could have his ear unfortunately he probably lives in a bubble surrounded by a bunch of syncophants with ties to the industry.
Posted by: Sarah | February 05, 2011 at 06:56 PM
I often wonder how I would care for my sons with autism if I didn't have the conveniences of our modern world. How are these mothers going to do it in the third world?
Posted by: Amber | February 05, 2011 at 06:15 PM
Hey Bill,
If you have any spare cash after all those vaccines, how about ponying up some dough for the education my son needs, but the government refuses to pay for. I'm not sure how my son regressed into autism. But I do know right after his mistake/double dose of the MMR vaccine, he regressed. He is 9, going on 3 I do know, we better stop arguing about it and get proper help for our children. Families like mine are going broke, falling apart and desperate for real answers. It's too late for my kid, move on to helping the next generations end autism.
Posted by: HL | February 05, 2011 at 05:35 PM
Can we all be consistent on this and give the man the respect he deserves: he is Dr Andrew Wakefield, not "Wakefield.' Our enemies dismiss him with the simple use of just his surname.
Posted by: Elizabeth Gillespie | February 05, 2011 at 03:53 PM
Nancy,
According to this he is committing 10 billion dollars through his and his wife's Foundation over the next ten years to research, develop and deliver vaccines to the world's poorest countries.
Read this press release. Warren Buffet is part of the Gates Foundation and is in on this too.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/decade-of-vaccines-wec-announcement-100129.aspx
Posted by: Andrea | February 05, 2011 at 03:43 PM
The fact is that the pairing up of any vaccine endeavors (such as Gates') with Wakefield or autism or Poling or ANYTHING like that, is just killing them. And it will not go away. They can't make that happen no matter what. I get the feeling, though, that they are starting to realize it. They just don't know what to do about it.
Posted by: jen | February 05, 2011 at 02:54 PM
Is Bill Gates investing money in vaccines, or donating money for vaccines? Huge difference.
He may know computers and the machinations of big business, but I question his ethical judgment. I'm old enough to remember when only Macintosh computers had windows.
And Gates is the person who in February 2009 released a jar full of mosquitoes onto a captured conference audience in a reckless and creepy attempt to raise awareness about malaria. He said, "There is no reason only poor people should be infected."
Posted by: nhokkanen | February 05, 2011 at 02:48 PM
Did I miss the MD after Bill Gates name?
Posted by: LInda | February 05, 2011 at 02:24 PM
Whoa! Not so fast. Wait just a minute, Bill. We can opt-out of your scheme, right? What gives you the right to make our health choices for us? It has become eminently clear that this guy is a total nut-job! Bill Gates is promoting a plan to use wireless technology to register every newborn on the planet in a vaccine database. Don’t we have any say in this? How many God-given personal rights does Gates’ plan violate? Let me count the ways.
“Bill Gates wants to register all new babies on the planet for vaccines” by David Gutierrez on January 17, 2011.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z031031_Bill_Gates_vaccines.html
Posted by: patrons99 | February 05, 2011 at 01:59 PM
I used to assume that Gates was just a well intentioned guy who didn't really know much about the down side of vaccines, but this video shows him to be an active nay-sayer, cult follower, proselytizer, who's totally bought into the trashing of Wakefield, and the denial that Wakefield is only the tip of the iceberg. Currently Wakefield is more visible than the thousands of families affected by vaccine induced autism, the many other doctors and scientists who see the autism-vaccine link, the other 12 authors of his paper including the world renowned John Walker-Smith. And Gates has totally bought into the black/white either/or vaccine perspective, as if the only options are to believe in and accept all of the vaccines as they are and ignore the adverse effects, or simply stop vaccinating -- therefore the only response to stories of vaccine injury is knee-jerk defensiveness. Is this all that modern medicine has to offer? This way or the highway? No inquisitiveness about vaccine problems? No hope for prevention, treatment, or understanding vaccine injuries? Just blanket denialism?
Posted by: Twyla | February 05, 2011 at 12:58 PM
He's a stinking geek, he only knows computers. And oh Bill, were you vaccinated, because we know your on the spectrum? We see you stim all the time, tsk tsk tsk. Self awareness is lost these days....sigh...
Posted by: kathy blanco | February 05, 2011 at 12:55 PM
CT Teacher, you are absolutely right. I totally agree with you.
The bottom line of everything we are going through is misinformation.
Go figure! Instead of The era of communication we have become The era of smoke and mirrors...
Posted by: Erika | February 05, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Bill Gates is woefully underinformed or he is gullible. It may be that his billions will help undeveloped countries but since we so often hear of vaccines rejected elsewhere finding their way to Third World countries they will also leave a trail of destruction. It is truly sad that a man with so much money should not use part of it to resolve the biggest question on any parent's lips 'what is the truth about vaccines and autism?'
I called for studies on comparable prevalences in vaccinated and unvaccinated groups at the NVIC Conference in Arlington, Virginia in November 2002. I have never stopped since. It is dispiriting that virtually nothing has happened. In the UK I have been responsible for raising many millions of £s sterling for charities - it is about time, given that the UK has such good data, that we joined forces with the USA, I believe the two countries with the biggest stakes in this issue, to mount a major effort funded by private donations to get the answer. Please contact me anyone who agrees.
Tony Bateson, Oxford, UK
Posted by: tony bateson | February 05, 2011 at 11:19 AM
It's clear Gates is unwittingly determined to remain under the mind-control of the past and present Leaders of CDC and such as Tom Insel at NIH.
Though his (Gates) generation had maybe 4-5 immunizations (combined in 2-3 shots) at age 4-5, he doesn't sit back and reflect how incredibly healthy they were, having virtually zero autism and the other horrific consequences now rampant, escalating exponentially in tandem with increasing shots over the last 40 years.
Honest medical science such as Wakefield et al. will never get through to the Gates of the world, and he won't open his mind to begin to grasp there were 13 esteemed doctors, not just a solitary Wakefield, as authors of the Lancet paper. Gates is pitiful, but the carnage he finances cannot be forgiven.
It has fallen on the shoulders of millions of everyday parents paying attention to AoA, Barbara Loe Fisher/NVIC, VRAN (Vaccination Risk Awareness Network), the heroic doctors such as Wakefield, Boyd Haley, Russell Blaylock, Gary Null, and individual parents such as JB Handley and countless others to win the fight. And we are doing it.
Posted by: david burd | February 05, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Who cares what Bill Gates thinks about vaccines and autism? All he is doing is regurgitating what someone else has told him.
It's like Gupta just asked the brilliant Bill Gates his opinion and the stupid American Public will think he is right because he is so smart.
I know Gates implemented a clause within Microsoft's insurance company (self-insured) to pay 80% of ABA therapy for his employee's autistic kids. I wonder if any of this kids have the medical issues we know many children with autism have?
Someone got him to understand why ABA is important, maybe someone can get him to understand the medical aspects of autism?
Posted by: Andrea | February 05, 2011 at 10:09 AM
I think Bill Gates means well. He is just terribly misinformed. Remember, his money and influence allow him to hob nob with the Big Boys. He wants to eliminate polio in the 3rd world? He talks to the most important, most influential people in the medical profession. Their advice? Vaccinate everybody. He is probably assured that this is the only safe, effective way to do it. His billions are a real boon to Big Pharma. The corruption between Big Pharma and Big Medicine is a given, but Gates doesn't really see that. If the most influential researchers, doctors and govt officials tell him to put his money into vaccinations, he will follow their advice, assured that he is doing the right thing and saving millions of lives. If he has any questions, he is told that the anti- vaccination people are crazy and that Andrew Wakefield is a fraud and his study a lie. Gates probably trusts these important officials implicitly. So, misinformation, in my opinion, is at the heart of this tragedy, because those vaccines are probably killing and maiming thousands of children in the 3rd world. The suffering never ends.
Posted by: CT teacher | February 05, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Julie wrote:
"If Bill Gates is going to tell everyone how to medically treat their children, he should make public his own children's vaccine records."
Absolutely. And two of his three children should have received their Gardasil shots by now. We need to see evidence that his children are fully vaccinated on schedule. Same with Offit and all the rest of them.
Posted by: DAN fan | February 05, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Bill gates is a pro vaccine lunatic.
Posted by: victor pavlovic | February 05, 2011 at 09:28 AM
Bill Gates' position - for that is what it is - might suggest a certain moral / legal sensitivity about the vaccine regime his charity employs - particularly the spacing if any between the various inoculations.
Whilst we can appreciate the difficulty / cost of spreading such inoculations - the failure to do so and the consequences we know to expect within the autistic community only too well - will irreversibly damage / derail his otherwise excellent program.
Robin Rowlands
Guildford, UK.
Posted by: Robin Rowlands | February 05, 2011 at 09:20 AM
Julie, I doubt he's enlightened enough to have witheld any vaccines from his children. And if they do have any ongoing, chronic conditions, the connection to vaccination probably hasn't been made. After all, it's a generation of chronically ill children--it's the new 'normal'. In a country with the most (and most expensive) medical system in the world, the WHO has us ranked as 50th in 2010. Up from 38th in 2007.
Again, the double standard where it's not ok for parents to "know" anything because they're not "doctors"; but somehow, it's ok for Brian Deer, Bill Gates, Anderson Cooper, Sally Fields, George Stephanopoulus...ad nauseum.
Posted by: Zed | February 05, 2011 at 09:03 AM
Was it just me or did Gates seem somewhat disconnected about the subject under discussion? He seemed to be having difficulty keeping the thread--seemed to be unfocused and a tad strange looking. Maybe he's caught one of his own viruses, now that's what he should be spending his money on and spare the third world from his plans for PhArmageddon!
Posted by: ann russell | February 05, 2011 at 08:57 AM
How can a question be a lie?
If Bill Gates is going to tell everyone how to medically treat their children, he should make public his own children's vaccine records.
Posted by: julie | February 05, 2011 at 08:25 AM