diagnosis of African-American men with, 80
school vaccination laws, see vaccination laws
Schulte, Brigid, 92–95
Schwartz, George, 90
science, scientific establishment, 257, 307
history of, 155–59
interconnectedness of societal constructs and, 79, 80–81
Kirby’s mockery of, 208
McCarthy’s views on, 255–56
media’s effect on public understanding of, 163
power of, 37
progress and, 80n–81n, 158
scientific method, 154–55, 158–59, 194–95
Sears, Bob, 266–67, 268, 271, 272–73, 304
Sears, William (Dr. Bill), 266
Sears Family Essentials line, 272
“Sears Parenting Library,” 265
Second Industrial Revolution, 33
Secret, The (Byrne), 269, 270
seizures, 69, 101, 128, 253, 263, 271
Semmelweis, Ignaz, 94
Semmelweis Reflex, 94
Sencer, David, 63
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, 148n
Seychelles, 121, 122
shellfish allergy, 178n–79n
Shestack, Jonathan, 137, 228
Shots in the Dark (film), 14
Siegel, Bryna, 188
Simpsonwood conference (June 2000), 150–52, 221, 222–23
Singer, Alison, 244, 248
sinister attribution error (poor source credibility), 197n
smallpox, 23–33, 35, 283
Smith, Gregory, 88–89
SmithKline Beecham, 150
smoking, 93, 196, 210
Snyder, Colten, 263
Society for the Autistically Handicapped, 115
sodium fluoride, 58–59
Sokol, Dawn, 276
Somers, Suzanne, 269, 270
Souter, David, 179n
Spain, smallpox vaccination and, 32
Spanish-American War, 36
special education, 176
Special Masters, 148, 180, 183, 283–84, 301
Cedillo trial and, 190–91, 288, 289, 293, 294, 297
M. Geier and, 175–76
special relativity theory, 157n, 158n
speech, impaired, 144, 151, 218
spiritualist movements, 33
Stabenow, Debbie, 205
staphylococci bacteria, 119
“Starting the Biomedical Treatment Journey” (Ackerman), 263–64
Staten Island, 41
Statens Serum Institut, Danish (SSI), 154
Stetler, Joseph, 64
Stewart, Gordon, 68–69, 71–72
Stonyhurst, 100
strep throat, 133
Stricker, Raphael, 90, 91
Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The (Kuhn), 80n–81n
sulfate transporter, 143
sulfur-based proteins, 214
Sunstein, Cass, 196–97, 198
Supreme Court, U. S., 179n
swans, 155–56
Sweden, 132, 167, 277
Swedish Medical Society, 277
swine flu, 63, 65, 147
syphilis, 23, 36
“TACA and Jenny McCarthy” (Ackerman), 252
Taitz, Orly, 8–9
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), 16, 195, 229, 252, 256, 258
Taurel, Sidney, 204
Tayloe, David, 257
Teach2Talk, 258, 259
television, 259, 281–82
see also specific shows
Texas Board of Education, 307
Texas Board of Nursing, 95
Texas Medical Board, 89–90, 302–3
Texas sharpshooter’s fallacy, 194
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, 235–36
Thaler, Richard, 197n
thalidomide, 146
thimerosal, 7, 122–32, 167, 199, 204, 217, 242, 284
Danish studies and, 164, 167
Geiers’ views on, 176, 177, 210, 221
House hearings on, 141, 142
Kennedy’s views on, 221–27
Kirby’s book and, 207, 208, 212
neurological damage and, 148
politics of, 205
potential risks of, 122
as preservative, 6, 119, 122, 129, 144, 177, 207, 227
removed from pediatric vaccines, 6, 124–26, 167, 218, 227, 243
safety of, 131, 146–54, 170–71, 173, 207
Third World nations, 222
Thompson, Lea, 67–73, 148
Thomson, George, 118–19
Thoughtful House, 238, 291, 302, 303
thyroid problems, 269
Time, 19, 88, 90, 212, 272
Times, The (London), 61, 157n, 236, 300
Today (TV show), 88
Tonight Show, The (TV show), 252
Too Good by Jenny, 258
tooth decay, fluoride and, 57–58, 110n
toxic shock, 119
toxoplasmosis, 40n
tracheotomy, 4
Trillin, Calvin, 130
“True Story of Pertussis Vaccination, The” (M. Geier), 174
tumors, 93, 192
Tversky, Amos, 18
Type I errors (false positives), 193
Type II errors (false negatives), 193
typhoid, 39–40
ulcers, 104
Unigenetics, 186, 291
United Kingdom, 26n, 263, 277
MMR vaccine in, 99–102, 186
smallpox vaccination in, 32
see also Great Britain
United States:
attempt to replicate Wakefield paper results in, 105
decline of vaccination rates in, 7, 277, 305–6
flu in, 42, 62–66, 147, 181, 271
medical research in, 37
polio in, 39–56, 64, 146
toxoplasmosis in, 40n
vaccination laws in, 55–56, 67, 153
see also specific topics
United States Court of Federal Claims, 148n
University College London Medical School, Institute of Child Health at, 114
Unstrange Minds (Grinker), 83
U.S. News & World Report, 199
utopian movements, 33
vaccination laws, 55–56, 67, 153
exemptions to, 75, 305
Vaccine (Allen), 34
Vaccine Act, see National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 148, 153, 179
Vaccine Book, The (Sears), 266, 267, 273
Chin-Caplan’s law firm bill to, 293n
Compensation for “pain and suffering” and, 179
“no fault” standard and, 178
Omnibus Autism Proceeding and, 180–81, 190–91, 283–97
Poling case in, 218–19
Vaccine Damage Pay Unit, 102
Vaccine Injury Compensation Act, see National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act
vaccines, vaccination:
autism linked with, see autism, vaccines linked with
compensation systems for, 146–48, 175, 178, 179, 180
delayed, 112
distribution vs. administration of, 176–77
effect of autism advocacy groups on safety of, 169
effectiveness of, 30–31
fall in rates of, 5, 7, 19, 61, 66, 277, 305–6
Kennedy’s views on safety of, 226
lawsuits related to, see lawsuits, vaccine-related
neurological damage linked with, 150, 151, 213, 221
paradox of, 56–57
poor people and, 56
prices of, 179
reasons for lack of benefits from, 32
resistance to, see anti-vaccine movement
whole cell, 60–61, 277
see also specific vaccines
Vaccines (Offit), 128
Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), 149–50, 152, 167
Vanity Fair, 74n
Verstraeten, Thomas, 150�
��52, 164, 167
Very Low Birth Rate, 135
Viagra, 212–13
Vietnam War, 62
View, The (TV show), 281
viruses, 18
see also specific viruses
vitamins, 262
vomiting, 99, 119, 143–44, 276
Voodoo Histories (Aaronovitch), 237
Wakefield, Andrew, 5–6, 7, 14, 103–17, 148, 160–62, 186–90, 234–38, 284, 289n, 292, 306
at ARI/DAN! conference, 185, 291, 296, 303
Crohn’s disease and, 103–5
financial support for, 229, 238
GMC hearings and, 299–304
GMC investigation of, 236–37
Krigsman’s relationship with, 234–35, 238, 291
lab used by, 186, 291
Lancet paper of (1998), 5, 106–17, 150, 160, 172, 174, 179, 189, 229–30, 236, 291, 299, 302
use of anesthesia on children and, 236
Walk for Autism Research, 230
Wall Street Journal, The, 167–69
Ward, Walter, 50
Washington, George, 27–29
Washington, Lawrence, 27
Washington, University of, School of Medicine of, 171
Washington Post, The, 66, 69–70, 92–95, 130n
“Watch What You Think,” 85
water, fluoride in, 57–60, 110n
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), 9
West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition, 139
West Virginia, 75
WFAN-New York, 212
whale meat, 121
When Prophecy Fails (Festinger), 15
white blood cells, 30, 103, 277
white swan theory, 155–56
whooping cough, see pertussis
Winfrey, Oprah, 244–45, 253–56, 269–71, 282
Winkler, Pam, 94
Wired, 74n
Wisconsin, 19, 83
women:
benefits of vaccination for, 56
opioid excess theory and, 107n
as refrigerator mothers, 77, 78
thyroid problems in, 269
in World War II, 78–79
see also pregnancy
World Autism Awareness Day (2008), 257
World Health Organization (WHO), 19, 100, 223–24
World of the Autistic Child, The (Siegel), 188
World War I, 36, 263
World War II, 36, 37–38, 61, 78–79
WRC-TV, 67, 72
Wright, Bob, 232–33, 239–42, 247, 248
Wright, Katie, 231–34, 238, 240–48, 254
son Christian and, 231–34, 238–43, 245–46
Wright, Suzanne, 232–33, 234, 239–42, 247
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, 54, 64, 147, 150, 175
Wymore, Randy, 90–91
Yale University, 171
yellow fever vaccinations, 37–38
Young, Bobby, 68, 71
Yuma, Ariz., 181, 182
Zuckerman, Arie, 108
Table of Contents
Cover
Front Flap
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Cast of Characters
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part One
Chapter 1: The Spotted Pimple of Death
Chapter 2: Milkmaid Envy and a Fear of Modernity
Chapter 3: The Polio Vaccine: From Medical Miracle to Public Health Catastrophe
Chapter 4: Fluoride Scares and Swine Flu Scandals
Chapter 5: “Vaccine Roulette”
Chapter 6: Autism’s Evolving Identities
Chapter 7: Help! There are Fibers Growing Out of My Eyeballs!
Part Two
Chapter 8: Enter Andrew Wakefield
Chapter 9: The Lancet Paper
Chapter 10: Thimerosal and the Mystery of Minamata’s Dancing Cats
Chapter 11: The Mercury Moms
Chapter 12: The Simpsonwood Conference and the Speed of Light: A Brief History of Science
Chapter 13: The Media and Its Messages
Chapter 14: Mark Geier, Witness for Hire
Chapter 15: The Case of Michelle Cedillo
Chapter 16: Cognitive Biases and Availability Cascades
Part Three
Chapter 17: How to Turn a Lack of Evidence Into Evidence of Harm
Chapter 18: A Conspiracy of Dunces
Chapter 19: Autism Speaks
Chapter 20: Katie Wright’s Accidental Manifesto
Chapter 21: Jenny Mccarthy’s Mommy Instinct
Chapter 22: Medical Nimbyism and Faith Based Metaphysics
Chapter 23: Baby Brie
Chapter 24: Casualties of a War Built on Lies
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Back Flap
Back Cover