56 Comments
User's avatar
Zobot's avatar

I became an RN 19 days ago and I am committed to upholding my community. We're gonna get through this.

Diane M Dawson's avatar

The queen is always more powerful than the king. The US isn’t the only game in town.

Donna Burrell (LI, NY)'s avatar

I’m counting on international scientists and agencies to float us while we are busy planning on how to take the trash out. I rally my family constantly by saying, “ We will lean on other countries’ science and R & D for now. The world has not stopped spinning. The pendulum will swing back”. It buys us a little bit of hope to keep going.

Janine Frazzini Nelms's avatar

We are going backwards not forward. It is a very disturbing time for science and medicine.

Heather Jackson's avatar

I'm a mental health counselor in private practice AND have my MPH. I created a huge resource linktr.ee and have a section on public health info, research, science, etc (based on reality). Unbiased Science if obvi included. I always share this with clients, colleagues, listservs, friends, so on. Solidarity, we can keep fighting! https://linktr.ee/radicalacceptancecounseling :)

Donna Burrell (LI, NY)'s avatar

Heather, your resource list is amazing!!! Thank you so much for creating it & sharing it here! (DBT saved a family member’s life, so big ups for radical acceptance. Good on you).

Heather Jackson's avatar

awww, thanks! and yes I LOVE dbt, so so helpful to manage shit

Doreen Tetz's avatar

Thanks Jess...for giving up a night of sleep to restore a bit of sanity to the world.

Wren's avatar

To answer the question you asked in your post - when I need hope, I look to you. I look to other epidemiologists shouting from the rooftops that what is happening is not okay. I look to professional organizations that are setting their own science based standards for care. I even look at the dang insurance companies that are still, for now, covering my family’s vaccinations. You are the light. Thank you for all you do.

Cannuscio + Feuerstein Simon's avatar

You're doing incredible work. THANK YOU! I understand the need to weep. I feel it in my bones. And I'm also encouraged by next gen public healthers--like one I just interviewed, who felt so optimistic after working on a water and sanitation project for a rural community. She made a difference, and she knew it. Often in public health, we can't see our own impact, but you're making a difference, too. (I loved the question: what gives you reason for hope?) XOXO--Carolyn Cannuscio

Derwin Lester II's avatar

The burden of proof is on the people making the claim that vaccines cause autism, not the other way around.

BethC's avatar

The burden of proof lies with those who wish to change someone else's mind about the subject.

Chuck Almdale's avatar

So, RFK's CDC says t byhat saying vaccines don't cause autism “is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

Is this statement completely false, an outright lie? Are there reliable studies that rule out this possibility? Or is this one of those 'can't prove a negative' situations where no amount of studies can 'rule out' said possibility, but only to the (say) .0001 level of significance. If it's that, attack the statement as irrational or deliberately misleading.

It seems to me that RFK, Jr. can't 'rule out the possibility' that the worm he had in his brain ate up his cognitive or reasoning neural centers, or that he's actually a deranged communist mole, can he? Yes, that's over the top, but it's to make the point. If he's irrational or simply lying, say so and support it.

If he's right and is not lying, but additional studies directed to that point can be done and supply the 'ruling out,' then we must not simply continue to claim "we have the proof, believe us," and someone, somewhere must do them.

Final hint: studies have shown that when debunking myths, stating the myth first, followed by the debunking, actually reinforces the reader's belief in the myth. You must cite the truth first to get your message through.

Cat Parker Photography's avatar

I’m genuinely grateful this change happened. Why? Because for years, we’ve been screaming into the void, silenced and dismissed by those sworn to protect us. The truth was buried beneath layers of denial, censorship, and cruelty. For every parent of a vaccine-injured child, this moment feels like the first crack in the walls of that silence—a hard-fought validation. For those of us who’ve lived with the consequences ourselves—from injuries caused by COVID shots or other vaccines—this is proof that truth cannot be erased forever. Every censored post, every gaslighting doctor, every so-called expert who mocked or silenced us has been part of a system built to protect profits over lives.

This moment belongs to every person who did not live to see it because they were in unbearable pain, had no advocate to turn to, or lost someone precious. It’s for every devastated family, every soul broken beyond repair by hopelessness, and every person who felt abandoned and chose to end their pain by ending their life. For those of us who suffered vaccine injuries, including from the COVID vaccines—a new kind of trauma unseen and unheard for far too long—this acknowledgment means everything. This truth being finally recognized honors all of us who were brushed aside, doubted, and forced into silence.

It is for every tireless advocate who fought while being discredited, for every brave nurse and doctor who risked everything to speak out and save lives. It’s for every test, every pill, every treatment tried in desperation. Every tear of fear, every shudder of pain, every moment of helplessness, every injury, every death that was dismissed as coincidence or ignored altogether.

For those of us still fighting the lingering consequences from COVID vaccine injuries—the fatigue, the neurological damage, the invisible wounds—we know how isolating it is to be told it’s not real or that you’re imagining it. This change? It’s a lifeline. A sign that we are no longer alone in this fight, and that acknowledgment is starting to break through.

For those that have suffered from childhood vaccines that have caused autism and other diseases and conditions, their day has come for their truth. This moment also brings a chance for their stories to be heard and respected, after decades of being dismissed or denied.

This truth was forced into the shadows for too long. Now, those shadows are cracking open, and the light will no longer be denied. This isn’t the end—it’s a beginning. A reckoning. Every one of us who refused to be silent is part of it. This is the moment our truth can no longer be denied.

BethC's avatar

I think it is a good thing to provide more accurate information to the public. The statement that vaccines don't cause autism is propaganda, not science. As a promoter of unbiased science, shouldn't you favor the more accurate portrayal of what science actually tells us?

Shade Seeker's avatar

The science tells us that there is no correlation between vaccination and autism. That's it. Nothing. Nada. No correlation. The author is correct in her assertion based on the science.

There's also the fact that this whole nonsense stems from the Wakefield Autism Hoax and there was never any "there there" to begin with.

BethC's avatar

No, the data shows me that correlations exist. Correlations do not mean causation of course, but the correlations are there.

JB's avatar

That's the thing. The correlation is recognized. It has been studied over and over. This page and many others have rigorous articles on this topic if you search thru the archives.

BethC's avatar

Could you perhaps link to one or two? My assessment is that those correlations are dismissed as non causal and therefore nothing important, not that they have been studied over and over.

BethC's avatar

These are not rigorous articles exploring the correlation between vaccines and autism. The one in August I read when it was published. There is no discussion of what the correlations are and what they might mean. They are basically stating that the studies into the relationship should not be done. Which is not a good look for those promoting science.

Shade Seeker's avatar

Given the fact that studies worldwide show that autism rates are the same whether a child is vaccinated or unvaccinated, disproves correlation.

BethC's avatar

I'm don't agree that studies worldwide show autism rates being the same, but even if it was true, it doesn't follow that it would disprove correlations because correlations could be observed within subgroups.

Shade Seeker's avatar

The great thing about science is that it doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not.

If you’re commenting on this page, you’ve already been shown the studies I refer to dozens, if not 100, times over. So go ahead, stick your head in the sand and ignore reality. It doesn’t change a single thing in the real world. It will still be a fact that children remain at risk of severe injury and death from viral diseases and that a simple, safe vaccination will prevent this risk.

It’s been this way for over 50 years and no amount of people believing fairytales and ignoring science is going to change that.

Terri Seldon RN's avatar

Absolutely agreed as you’re extremely biased here!!!

Alix Mayer's avatar

I can only conclude that you are willfully ignorant. Every single true study of the vaccinated versus non-vaccinated shows there is very little autism in the non-vaccinated. All the autism - with the exception of a few cases here and there - is in The vaccinated, with a dose-dependent relationship. The more vaccines, the more autism.

If any of the authors here could pause for a second and stop thinking only about public health and instead think more about the individuals who have been devastated by vaccine injuries, we would be in a much better place.

Medical doctors in particular should not be thinking about public health. That is not their job. A medical doctor’s job is to prioritize the health of the patient in front of them. It is a conflict of interest for a medical doctor to prioritize public health over the health of their patient.

Steven's avatar

FLASH for Secretary Kennedy....you can't ever fully prove a negative.

https://bit.ly/4nlFAAc for my six rules of scientific thinking that Secretary Kennedy needs to learn.

Chris's avatar

Your site is far from biased!! I am unsubscribing from all..

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Nov 21
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Terri Seldon RN's avatar

The new information is pointing out the lack of sufficient studies. Plz watch An Inconvenient Study.

Shade Seeker's avatar

Because Bobby is an anti-VAX grifter who has made a living off of selling this nonsense. That’s the only reason.