I caught this story a couple of days ago about a wealthy chiropractor trying to change Florida legislation on childhood vaccines. I was so annoyed by it that I wrote a letter to the editor of the St. Petersburg Times. They called yesterday to let me know they were going to publish it. Found it today:
Thank you for bringing this piece of disturbing legislation to my attention. I wrote my state senator, Arthenia L. Joyner, and my state representative, Michael Scionti, to encourage them to vote against this piece of legislation. I would not have known about it if not for you story. So, thank you.
But I’m also writing with a bit of criticism. In that story, Gary Kompothecras’ claims were basically left unchallenged. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics found no link between thimerosal and autism. By not mentioning this you are doing your readers a huge disservice. To date, there is no scientific evidence to suggest vaccines cause autism.
If people like Kompothecras get their way, the result won’t be a reduction in autism (autism rates are going up while thimerosal has been removed from childhood vaccines), but outbreaks of measles, as has already happened in the United States. Please do a good, scientific story on this topic. Educate the public, don’t spread fear.
Dr. Ryan T. Cragun, Tampa
On the agenda for tomorrow – posting footage of Toren. Stay tuned!
