Yet again, antivaxers are bringing up the Hannah Poling vaccine injury case as proof vaccines cause autism. This time, it is because JB Handley has published a new book and he has decided that the attorneys for the government admitted that vaccines cause autism and, therefore, all the Autism Omnibus cases are wrong and every child who has autism deserves compensation for a vaccine injury.
Except he is wrong.
It all started with JB Handley’s appearance on Del Bigtree’s show last week to promote his new book. I watched this 90 minute episode so you don’t have to. Guests included JB Handley, Jenny McCarthy, Rolf Hazelhurst, Robert Kennedy Jr, with Del Bigtree hosting. I will post some links at the bottom in case you want to learn more about these people.
Here’s my summary:
JB – my book is revolutionary, blah blah
Jenny – I love JB
Rolf Hazelhurst and RFKjr discuss Poling case.
Del uses paper people to illustrate how Autism Omnibus hearings work.
Rolf says that dept of justice attorneys on his case lied about link between mercury and autism and MMR and that is the fraud.
The end.
This is what they are excited about. This is a screenshot from the video. Mr. Matanoski and Ms. Ricciardella are attorneys who were involved in the Autism Omnibus hearings on the government’s side. Wiki actually has a really good explanation of these hearings, if this is new to you.
Del and JB, et al, think Matanoski and Ricciardella were lying when they made the above statement because Hannah Poling’s family was awarded compensation for vaccines injuring her and she is autistic. But, she was not awarded compensation for autism, a fact which Del and JB, et al, clearly refuse to understand. Here is the footnote from a more recent vaccine injury case, that of Brian Hooker:
I am well aware, of course, that during the years since the “test cases” were decided, in two cases involving vaccinees suffering from ASDs, Vaccine Act compensation was granted.
But in neither of those cases did the Respondent concede, nor did a special master find, that there was any “causation-in-fact” connection between a vaccination and the vaccinee’s ASD. Instead, in both cases it was conceded or found that the vaccinee displayed the symptoms of a Table Injury within the Table time frame after vaccination. (See Section I above).
In Poling v. HHS, the presiding special master clarified that the family was compensated because the Respondent conceded that the Poling child had suffered a Table Injury–not because the Respondent or the special master had concluded that any vaccination had contributed to causing or aggravating the child’s ASD. See Poling v. HHS, No. 02-1466V, 2011 WL 678559, at *1 (Fed. Cir Spec. Mstr. Jan. 28, 2011) (a fees decision, but noting specifically that the case was compensated as a Table Injury).
Second, in Wright v. HHS, No. 12-423, 2015 WL 6665600 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. Sept. 21, 2015), Special Master Vowell concluded that a child, later diagnosed with ASD, suffered a
“Table Injury” after a vaccination. However, she stressed that she was not finding that the vaccinee’s ASD in that case was “caused-in-fact” by the vaccination–to the contrary, she
specifically found that the evidence in that case did notsupport a “causation-in-fact” claim, going so far as to remark that the petitioners’ “causation-in-fact” theory in that case was “absurd.” Wright v. HHS, No. 12-423, 2015 WL 6665600, at *2 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. Sept. 21, 2015).
The compensation of these two cases, thus does not afford any support to the notion that vaccinations can contribute to the causation of autism. In setting up the Vaccine Act
compensation system, Congress forthrightly acknowledged that the Table Injury presumptions would result in compensation for some injuries that were not, in fact, truly vaccine-caused. H.R. Rept. No. 99-908, 18, 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 6344, 6359. (“The Committee recognizes that there is public debate over the incidence of illnesses that coincidentally occur within a short time of vaccination. The Committee further recognizes that the deeming of a vaccine-relatedness adopted here may provide compensation to some children whose illness is not, in fact, vaccine related.”
As you can clearly read, the Poling case does not lead to the conclusion that vaccines cause autism. Therefore, there is no fraud. Vaccines do not cause autism. There is no autism epidemic. There have been many, many vaccine safety studies done in the USA in the last 30 years. There are many vaccine safety studies done with saline placebo.
Remember: Del Bigtree lies. His friends lie. Everything they try to say about vaccines is a lie.
The characters
Who is JB Handley? He’s this guy who thinks his son’s autism was caused by vaccines and he never met a bad study he didn’t love. He ignores everything contrary to his view. Here are a few blog posts about him.
My friend, the real truther, put together a video on JB
Rolf Hazelhurst is another guy who thinks his son is autistic because of vaccines. He has gone thru vaccine court, and lost, and tried to sue the pharmaceutical company and also lost. Last I heard, he was trying to sue the doctor who gave his son the vaccine and Robert Kennedy Jr was one of his attorneys.
Link to his vaccine court case: https://www.autism-watch.org/omnibus/hazlehurst.pdf
Robert F Kennedy Jr has lately taken up a very distorted view of vaccines and has lumped them together with his environmental causes. Good read about him here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-robert-f-kennedy-jr-distorted-vaccine-science1/
Jenny McCarthy is a former actress/playmate who founded Generation Rescue with JB. She claimed her son was autistic but healed but many think she is not telling the truth about his health.
Del Bigtree is, well, Del. I have written about him often. You can read here and here and here.
Remember to always think for yourself. Always verify claims. Never take youtube videos as fact.
Kathy
vaccinesworkblog 