Omnibus Hearing Update

I know many of you have been wondering what is happening with the Omnibus Autism Hearing and if they have made any rulings. They don't like to make things public and so we have basically had to look online to get current information. They only send information pertinent to our case by mail and the last thing we got was a notification that if we want to proceed with our case we need to let them know.

Recently, my husband received an email from a friend about the latest ruling. Evidently they ruled against the first theory of causation saying that there wasn't enough evidence. The first theory had to do with the MMR vaccine causing autism. This is the article my husband forwarded to me:

Officials say 'bad science' links vaccines, autism
Friday, February 13, 2009 4:40 AM EST
The Associated Press
By KEVIN FREKING and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press Writers


WASHINGTON (AP) — Bitter feuding over a possible link between vaccines and autism won't go away despite a strong rejection of that theory by a special federal court.

Thousands of families were hoping to win compensation and vindication through three test cases presented to the court. They contended that a combination of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine plus other shots triggered autism.

Officials with the U.S. Court of Claims said they sympathized with the families, but there was little if any evidence to support claims of a vaccine-autism link.

The evidence "is weak, contradictory and unpersuasive," concluded Special Master Denise Vowell. "Sadly, the petitioners in this litigation have been the victims of bad science conducted to support litigation rather than to advance medical and scientific understanding" of autism.

Attorneys for the families said an appeal is a distinct possibility. They also noted that the court still must rule on another theory that vaccines once carrying a mercury-containing preservative are to blame.

The head of a consumer group that questions vaccine safety said she still felt there were the possibility of a link.

"I think it is a mistake to conclude that because these few test cases were denied compensation, that it's been decided vaccines don't play any role in regressive autism," said Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center.

Science years ago concluded there's no connection, but Thursday's rulings in a trio of cases still have far-reaching implications. The move offers reassurance to parents scared about vaccinating their babies because of a small but vocal anti-vaccine movement. Some vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, are on the rise, and last fall a Minnesota baby who hadn't been vaccinated against meningitis died of that disease.

"We need ongoing research into the causes of autism but cannot let unfounded myths keep us from giving our children the proven protection they need against infectious diseases," said Dr. Joseph Heyman, chairman of the American Medical Association.

More than 5,500 claims have been filed by families seeking compensation through the government's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Thursday's rulings dealt with the first three test cases to settle which if any claims had merit — and unlike in civil court, the U.S. Court of Claims doesn't require the families to prove the inoculations definitely played a role, just that they probably did.

"I must decide this case not on sentiment but by analyzing the evidence," said Special Master George Hastings Jr., writing specifically about Michelle Cedillo of Yuma, Ariz., who is disabled with autism, inflammatory bowel disease and other disorders that her parents blame on a measles vaccine given at 15 months.

"Unfortunately, the Cedillos have been misled by physicians who are guilty, in my view, of gross medical misjudgment," Hastings concluded.

Lawyers for the families said they were disappointed.

"There was certainly no scientific proof that vaccines caused autism, but that's not the standard; the standard is likelihood," said Kevin Conway of Boston, who represented the Cedillos. "We thought our evidence was solid."

Autism is best known for impairing a child's ability to communicate and interact. Recent data suggest a tenfold increase in autism rates over the past decade, although it's unclear how much of the surge reflects better diagnosis.
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Okay... first of all, how can they say that the rest of the 5,000+ families are going to have the same evidence as these three "test cases"? That is ridiculous! What about the Poling Family? They had a ruling in their favor. What if they were one of the 5,000+ families? Would it be fair for them not to be heard? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for them to group all the cases into one big lump. It would be the same as saying, "Oh...let's look at three test cases out of 5,500 for reactions to this new drug." I can't believe my eyes. I really can't.

The other factor that I cannot overlook is the fact that in the U.S. Court of Claims, people don't have to prove that the vaccines absolutely caused autism, but that they "probably" did. I don't have to imagine how these families feel because I am one of those families and I feel like I got hit by a huge semi-truck. Our theory of causation has not been ruled on yet, but I can only imagine how it will go. You can't deny all these cases. If you have a perfectly normal, healthy, and vivacious child and you introduce something into their bloodstream and all of a sudden they start to have seizures, lose their ability to communicate, and in some cases go into a "zombie-like" state... then you can't tell me that there is not a correlation of some sort. The best evidence to me is the recovery of some of these individuals. I wish they would focus on that. My child has recovered almost fully and my doctor tried to deny it. If my child was born with something then I would accept it, deal with it, and move on. However, she was born a healthy and normal child.

The last point I want to make is that I am not sure if there will EVER be 100% proof that vaccines cause neurological problems in some kids because there are too many factors involved in the process of proving your case AND too much money available to disprove the theory. Vaccines are a billion dollar industry and encompasses the entire world, not just the United States. I am not sure what the answer is at this point. The numbers of children with neurological problems and developmental delays are rising faster than we can keep up with. If we don't figure out what is happening to our kids then we will end up with future adults who have social deficiencies, lack self-control, are underachievers, can't cope with change, and who have to depend on all of US to support them.
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Parents just want to know that the vaccine
manufacturers are listening.... and more
importantly, that they care.
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