Autism has been studied through the lens of deficits and challenges for an extended period. The world is designed for neurotypical minds, creating challenges for autistic individuals, yet their brains contain exceptional strengths that have produced numerous human innovations and discoveries.

Modern neuroscience research is transforming our understanding of autism by demonstrating that what were once considered limitations actually represent alternative, superior information processing methods. Our knowledge of autism has evolved from seeing it as a disorder to be fixed to recognizing it as a natural human neurodiverse variation that adds exceptional value to our communities. What are the areas where autism appears to hold an advantage over others without it?

Enhanced Pattern Recognition and Attention to Detail

Individuals with autism consistently demonstrate remarkable skills in detecting patterns and identifying details that often escape others. The autistic mind functions differently from typical brains when processing information, extending beyond basic numerical abilities. Research indicates autistic people excel at maintaining focus during extended periods while they identify intricate patterns in complex data, which neurotypical people tend to overlook.

The ability to focus on small details reaches beyond academic work. Autistic individuals demonstrate exceptional talent in quality control, software debugging, proofreading, and other fields that require precision. Their brains possess an innate ability to detect errors and inconsistencies that others typically overlook, thus making them essential for roles that require absolute precision.

As a medical consultant for Social Security Disability determinations, I worked alongside two men who appeared to be on the autism spectrum. They were superior in enabling consultants to ferret out inconsistencies in reports and ensure that they aligned with our agency’s guidelines. One of them had an incredible, detailed knowledge of steam locomotives and the development of the national train system in the United States, and he visited railroad museums in his free time. In fact, he planned his free time around railroad exhibitions and conferences across the United States.

While attending a conference on sleep medicine, I was seated next to a woman who, spontaneously, told me that her husband, a highly reputable psychiatrist, was autistic. During this brief exchange, his attention was totally on the speaker, and he never turned once to interact with either of us. Yes, he was totally focused.

Systematic and Logical Thinking

Autistic minds demonstrate exceptional abilities in systematic thinking because they understand systems, analyze operational mechanisms, and identify governing rules across different domains. The cognitive style proves highly beneficial for fields such as engineering, computer science, mathematics, and scientific research. Autistic individuals solve problems through logical consistency, which differs from the intuitive and social cue-based methods used by neurotypical people.

The systematic method also applies to creative work. Autistic artists, alongside musicians and writers, employ structured methods to create complex and beautiful works through the exploration of methodical patterns, themes, and techniques.

Deep Focus and Specialized Knowledge

The development of intense, specialized interests, which scientists refer to as “special interests,” stands as a significant strength. Individuals with autism who develop a strong interest in a subject tend to acquire knowledge that exceeds that of typical experts. The focused engagement of autistic individuals leads to innovative discoveries and new ideas. One outstanding example is Bill Gates, the pioneering computer expert who guided Microsoft to its success.

These deep interests, which some view as obsessive, form the foundation for outstanding scientific and technological achievements, as well as artistic and cultural contributions. The same trait that might be labeled “obsessive” during childhood will evolve into the powerful force behind pioneering research or artistic accomplishments in adulthood.

Honest Communication and Integrity

The direct and honest communication style of autistic people makes them highly valued by others. The autistic preference for direct communication stands out as refreshing and valuable in a society where social rules often hide the truth. Autistic individuals who maintain honesty and strong moral values become dependable colleagues and trustworthy team members.

Remarkable Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

Temple Grandin stands as the ultimate example of how autistic minds can create transformative change. During a time when autism understanding was minimal, Grandin received her diagnosis before becoming a global leader in livestock handling and animal welfare innovation. Through her visual thinking abilities, she gained the ability to see things from an animal’s viewpoint, which resulted in innovations that decreased distress for millions of animals.

The curved chute system designed by Grandin for cattle handling has become a worldwide standard, while her insights about animal behavior transformed our approach to livestock management. Through her work, Grandin shows how autistic traits such as visual thinking and intense focus on animal behavior can produce innovations that benefit both animals and humans.

Satoshi Tajiri, who created Pokémon, revealed his autism diagnosis while explaining how his childhood insect collection hobby led to the development of a worldwide entertainment phenomenon. His systematic approach to understanding different species developed into a game concept that became popular worldwide.

Through his story, Tajiri demonstrates how special interests can develop into revolutionary innovations that change the world. His childhood obsession evolved into a business that now generates billions of dollars annually, bringing happiness to people from diverse cultures and age groups.

Greta Thunberg has revealed her autism diagnosis while explaining how her autism influences her environmental perspective. According to Thunberg, her autism provides her with exceptional climate crisis awareness because it eliminates social norms and unrealistic thinking. Through her straightforward communication style and dedicated focus on climate science, she has become one of the leading environmental activists today.

The social change initiatives of Thunberg prove that autistic traits, including focused attention, systematic thinking and direct communication, can lead to societal transformations. Through her ability to simplify complex information, she has started a worldwide movement that communicates essential truths.

Economist Vernon Smith, who received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002, has explained how his autism affects his research methods. Through his systematic thinking and attention to detail, he became a pioneer in experimental economics by developing laboratory tests for economic theories. His research introduced fundamental changes to how economists study markets, along with human behavior.

Academic fields undergo paradigm shifts through the contributions of autistic cognitive styles, as noted in Smith’s work. Through his systematic testing of economic assumptions, he both challenged established beliefs and created new research possibilities.

Forward-thinking companies now understand the business value that neurodivergent employees bring to their organizations. The tech industry giants Microsoft, SAP, and JPMorgan Chase have established autism hiring programs because they understand that autistic employees bring competitive advantages to their organizations. These programs often involve tailored recruitment processes, inclusive environments, and ongoing support for neurodivergent employees.

In 2015, Microsoft established the Autism Hiring Program to recruit autistic people for full-time jobs. Candidates can also take advantage of their “Interview Academy” to get ready for their interviews. Established the Google Cloud Autism Career Program in 2021 with the goal of attracting and retaining autistic individuals within the cloud computing field. Working in tandem with Vocational Rehabilitation and PROVAIL, HP’s Spectrum Success Program seeks out, interviews, and hires autistic individuals who meet specific criteria.

Beyond Individual Success: Collective Benefits

Autistic individuals contribute value to society that goes beyond their individual accomplishments. Their distinctive viewpoints generate solutions that benefit all people. Solutions developed by autistic individuals lead to user-friendly software and designs that accommodate sensory needs, thus creating more accessible products.

Research facilities now understand that autistic researchers bring valuable analytical abilities and precise attention to detail to their work. Autistic scientists across various fields, including astronomy and genetics, make discoveries that both expand human understanding and enhance life quality.

Creating an Inclusive Future

The recognition of autistic minds’ exceptional abilities serves two purposes: it honors individual success while building a society that embraces neurodiversity. Educational systems need to adapt to different learning methods, while workplaces should provide communication accommodations.

Our growing understanding of autism beyond stereotypes will lead us to develop innovative solutions we have not yet conceived. The future will belong to diverse teams that unite different cognitive strengths and perspectives. The inclusion of autistic minds in our communities leads to both more inclusive environments and more innovative, successful, and creative communities.

Autistic individuals possess genuine strengths that enhance our world instead of being compensations for their challenges. Through neuroscience research and autistic voice listening, we discover that neurodiversity should be celebrated and utilized to benefit all people in society.

The post Beyond Stereotypes: The Exceptional Abilities That Make Autistic Minds Invaluable appeared first on Medika Life.

A young man with a neurodivergent disorder displayed emotion as he jumped up from his seat, tears running down his cheeks; it was nothing less than heart-wrenching. Those who understood cheered him on, and those who didn’t took the opportunity to try to bring him down with cutting remarks and foolish comments on blogs and TV sound bites. They paid a price for all that, and one quickly deleted her distasteful blog post after receiving significant blowback.

Famed magazine editor Tina Brown and her husband, Harold Evans, have a son with one of these disorders. She wrote an article in a recent issue of the New York Times in which she revealed one of her son’s actions after a party in an upscale area of Long Island. Brown’s son, who lives with her at home, is now 38, and rather than seeing him as disabled, it has opened her eyes to his “secret power.”

Brown’s son’s secret power, she said, was evident after the Hamptons party when he told the hostess, “Thank you very much. No one spoke to me, really, so it was a very boring evening. The food was OK. I doubt I will come again.” How many of us would be brave enough to have said that after one of these upper-crust power parties? Undoubtedly, few, if any, would dare utter those comments.

I once had a neurodivergent patient in a large hospital where he had been for several years and where the staff on the unit believed he was a dangerous man, given to rages. His diagnoses were many, including intellectual deficits, anxiety disorders, and the inability to accept the fact that he was not white.

Being relatively new at the hospital, I was summoned to the unit when the nurse described a terrifying scene of someone “rampaging through the unit.”

Yes, he was large but not very tall. His clothing was ill-fitting because they couldn’t find anything to hold up his pants, and he had a rope instead of a belt. What started the alleged rage that day? The staff had gone into his shared room and thrown out all of his comic books and his precious Frankenstein videotape. He identified with Frankenstein because, even with his intellectual disability, he knew people related to him that way, and he wanted something that would have hope in it.

Once I talked to him, we began to understand each other, and he knew he could trust me, I began to accompany him to the ward dining room, where he had always collected his food tray and immediately dumped it in the trash and asked to go back to the unit. Now, he would sit with me as I encouraged him to eat, and I would distract him with conversation. When I told him about famous Black basketball players, he became amazed and expressed his desire to have a poster for his room.

He had a severe case of social anxiety disorder that the staff chose to see as disruptive behavior and never explored the many facets of his personality. I managed, across a period of months, with the help of an intern, to reach the point where he could go to the dining room and eat with either my intern or me next to him.

Things progressed from there, and even though an experienced rehab woman said, “He’ll never leave this hospital,” indeed he did. He even went with a group to the mall. I can’t tell you how ecstatic he was the first time he bought a pair of sneakers for himself.

The “monster” wasn’t that at all, but a young man who was, in so many ways, terrified by the people around him and who tried to hide in his room as the only safe place he could find. The end of the story is truly heartening because they discharged him to a group home, where he actively engaged in all the activities, even accompanying the group to shop at the local supermarket.

We met there unexpectedly a few years later, and he yelled out to me. I felt an overwhelming sense of joy for him. His family was ecstatic that he had returned to the community and to the family that loved him. How many other patients like him are lingering in inappropriate settings and receiving too little attention?

Another patient I had at a similar hospital, who had been an abused, adopted child, had Klinefelter syndrome. Seven feet tall and with a love of making jokes and deceiving the staff with his little “lies” about hiding whiskey on grounds, he was a delight.

But the police on grounds didn’t see him that way, especially when three of them jumped him, and he broke one of their officer’s arms. They immediately shackled him and took him off in a police car to send him to a forensic unit. He didn’t belong there and he didn’t belong in that hospital either. I never knew what happened to him.

What Are Neurodivergent Disorders?

Primarily, we may associate neurodivergent disorders as autism, but it encompasses far more. Since the word was coined in 1943, researchers have been conducting an explosion of studies on autism. A developmental disorder now recognized as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by restricted and repetitive interests or behaviors as well as impaired social communication abilities.

More and more studies are shedding light on ASD, a complicated illness, providing information for all. Professionals and parents can benefit from a comprehensive awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by reading up on topics, including the disorder’s prevalence, its connections to hereditary factors, successful parent programs, and treatment options.

Some estimates put the prevalence of neurodiversity among adults at 8% worldwide. When people talk about neurodiversity, they usually mean a combination of conditions like dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

It is problematic for employers because these diagnoses are on the rise among adults already working. When faced with neurodivergent personnel, business owners may ask how they can best help their staff without negatively affecting the company.

Should we say “on the rise in adults,” or is it that the disorder is now being recognized as never before because it was an invisible disorder? Now, we are identifying more individuals with the disorders we previously failed to diagnose, and it’s not just about recognition but also about being willing to assist them with their needs in society.

The Disorders Under This Umbrella Term

How many neurodiverse disorders exist, and can an individual have more than one? Without a doubt, mental health professionals can diagnose individuals with multiple mental health disorders, so it would seem reasonable that anyone with one of these disorders could also have more than one. The list is long and some of the disorders are not often diagnosed.

Neurodivergent individuals may have some of the following symptoms:

Asperger’s syndrome is now part of the autism spectrum.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD)

DiGeorge syndrome
Down syndrome
Dyscalculia is a problem with numbers
Dysgraphia, a disorder of writing
Dyslexia is a reading disability
Dyspraxia with motor control issues
Problems with cognition
Mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, OCD, and others
Prader-Willi syndrome
Difficulties with processing sensory information
Social anxiety
Syndrome of tremors
Williams syndrome (WS)

Additionally, researchers have recently discovered that eating disorders should be included in the listing of neurodivergent ones.

Diagnosis, Treatment and Information

The diagnosis is often made by a mental health professional, where an individual may have been referred by either a pediatrician or other medical professional who has noted special needs in this individual.

In neurodiversity, the emphasis is not on “dysfunctions” or “deficits,” but on utilizing an individual’s distinct strengths to compensate for their weaknesses and assist them in adjusting to their surroundings, be it at home, in the classroom, or on the job.

Individuals with neurodiversity may require individualized support to achieve their goals. Changes to the classroom setting, such as allowing students to use noise-canceling headphones, increasing opportunities for mobility, or granting students additional time to complete tests, may be necessary.

A neurodivergent test is a battery of questions designed to ascertain whether an individual’s brain operates in a neurotypical fashion. Although the patient can do some of these tests at home, only a doctor’s examination can definitively identify a neurodivergent disorder.

Neurodivergent exams are mostly used for educational purposes. Seeking further information from a medical expert would be helpful for individuals who obtain high scores on neurodivergent tests.

There are many resources available online that will direct individuals to information on neurodivergent disorders, and they include:

Raising Children Net (Australia)

Children’s Health Council

American Autism Center

ADDitude

ChildMind Institute

Association for Autism and Neurodiversity

Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee

CHADD

LD Resources Foundation

Autism Speaks

This is not an all-inclusive list; others may be found online. When searching, please keep in mind that some of the offerings may be privately owned facilities or practices, not no-profit groups that provide information and direction for parents.

The post Invisible Disabilities Need Our Attention and Understanding Like No Others appeared first on Medika Life.

We want to teach them they do not need to “fit in”, but rather learn to accept who they are, understand their needs and progress into verbalizing and protecting those needs.

What Is Masking?

Masking is defined as “wearing a mask.” This is a coping mechanism that children, and many times, adults on the Autism Spectrum employ to withstand over stimulating and confusing environments.

The results are extremely unhealthy and manifest in various ways.

Especially in young children, it can look like physical, verbal or emotional detachment, a glazed affect, overly compliant behaviour, extreme fatigue, depressive ideology or actions, combative, angry, or exaggerated responses to minor issues, or adult-like backtalk (retortive).

Many parents find these symptoms difficult to verbalize.

In children with ASD, masking is an involuntary response to extreme stress and confusion that occurs when they attempt to meet the demands of their environment, but either do not have the tools to do so or cannot function safely in that environment to begin with (thus degrees on the Spectrum). It can be explained as tangibly putting one’s “presence” on hold, and placing that presence on a parallel dimension to exist next to their peers and/or school staff in a desperate attempt to “get by” without the emotional, mental and physical investment needed. They cannot safely (nor at all, usually) produce these things when their unique needs are not met.

They begin to simply, emotionally “stand by” to observe their present experiences, instead of feeling them, not (properly or at all) processing any reaction, communication or event, because their unique learning and social needs are not being met. They are literally “out of pocket” in their own daily life experience.

Compare their social experiences to watching a movie that is very difficult to follow. At times, you think you understand what is happening on the screen, but repeatedly a scene occurs which appears to you to be out of context to your momentary understanding of the storyline. You then lose your place in the sequence of things all over again. You spend the majority of time during this movie trying to “catch up” and understand what you are looking at. Movements and sounds feel 3D and can be shocking or feel invasive.

“Masking” emerges to support and protect a child’s self and psyche in controlling the multi-faceted internal dysregulation that occurs when he/she attempts to comprehend and respond to their perceived disorderly and demanding surroundings (creating a lack of safe haven).

The need for masking is compounded by environments (like classrooms) which are truly chaotic and disorderly to begin with.

This type of detachment is very painful, confusing and mentally exhausting for them to maintain.

What Causes Masking?

Incidental or chronic exposure to an overstimulating and confusing environment (such as a daily chaotic home environment or the extended hours of a daily school environment) cause negative coping mechanisms and distraught feelings in many children, but for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder there are additional neurological and social alterations that occur with such experiences.

Several necessary learning abilities and functions become compromised and often damaged in these children due to the physical, emotional and social stress occurring in an environment that is not specifically tailored to promote the wellbeing, integration and neurological safety of ASD children. Individual integrative care plans in school are an absolute necessity for their success and safety in their school lives.

Their ability to retain information, understand and respond appropriately to communication (instructions, conversations etc.) and a substantial decreased ability to tolerate any variations in noise level (even when previously acclimating and adjusting to these things through therapies) are further gravely affected.

This creates a fundamental discombobulation of previously compromised processing abilities, a breakdown in accessing cues to self composure and for the processing of events such as social interactions, verbal direction and stimulations, and confidence in “feeling safe.”

A mental and emotional shutdown occurs, necessitating the need to detach to “glide” through the day without engaging any or appropriate feelings about the day’s occurrences/human interactions or appropriating successful responses to such.

My Personal Experience With Masking

Journal excerpt:

It’s quiet today in the car on the way home from school. Watching Charlie in the rearview mirror, I see him sigh deeply as he looks out the window.

“How was school?” I ask. “It’s fine.” he says, without looking at me.

Attempting to briefly engage him again, I ask “What did you do that was fun to you? Did you play with anyone particular in recess?” He responds, frustrated. “I don’t remember, Mom, I told you that.” Most days, he recounts that he “does not remember” his occurrences in school.

This is a coping mechanism that allows him to separate his school environment and his safe home environment. For him, the first must not invade the latter.

Yesterday, Charlie’s response to his day at school was comparatively non-passive. By the time we had walked the 10 feet from the school office at dismissal time to the car, he already had a serious, public meltdown over the day’s swim plan cancellation, which continued intermittently until after 8 pm. Combative behaviour, resisting direction, aggression and backtalk are all common responses to over-stimulation causing the need to mask in school.

I am raising my 6 1/2 year old grandson whose diagnoses include Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Since 18 months old, we have attempted both regular and private daycare, Montessori (worked the best and the longest) and now finally a charter (public) school for his education and introduction to social development.

We have had many negative experiences that left Charlie detached and alienated in the classroom and even physically unsafe as the staff/teachers in the schools refused to follow through on safety and inclusion plans for him. I was not aware until very recently that the responses he had been having in subsequence to the poor care and exclusions he was experiencing was masking.

As a smaller child, he would pull his pants down at home, poke himself with items and generally run around like a madman, unable to properly re-acclimate to the home environment after school. I knew his sensory issues were the source, but I did not connect his (ASD) detached school environment to his behaviour at the time.

Understanding how autistic children respond to society’s idea of “normal” social situations is imperative. ASD children placed in public schools whose environment does not properly recognize nor support neurodivergence (or any sort of divergence from the norm, for that matter) causes these children to develop strenuous coping mechanisms that are exhausting and unhealthy.

Our family’s experience exemplifies this problem.

Practical Ways To Reduce The Effects of Masking At Home To See Your Child Happier and More Content

Reiterating the concept of home as their safe space fosters their belief that they are free to be themselves at home. This builds a reliable, daily source to de-acclimation from both hypo and hyper stimulations and the associated confusion and exhaustion of circumstances outside the home.

The following are effective ways to do this:

• Quiet time with books or drawing (see environment suggestions below)
• (Yes) TV time with time limits. Using an alarm for activities helps them know what to expect and for how long
• Manipulatives to center their nervous system: legos, blocks, both small and large motor skill sensory activities (bead threading, sand play, water play, finger-painting )
• Yoga poses
• Breathing exercises
• Pressure massage to arms, legs, back, chest, shoulders and head (for those who can tolerate touch)
• Tell short stories or read to them as they play
• One on one parent-child time…just sitting or lying on the floor on your backs with them, allowing feelings to flow in the room with quiet, non-judgemental atmosphere, using gentle words and supportive observation.
• ABA therapy (research and monitor this method), PT, OT and ST therapy (separate from the ABA facility.) See this link.
• Counselling: helps them understand their unique diagnosis and responses to stimulation. The goal is to increase their self confidence in their individuality and unique self. This enables them to see themselves as part of the diverse group of children in their environments and not as an “outlier.”

Summary:

Children with sensory challenges and disorders have bodies and nervous systems that do not respond, under-respond or desperately over-respond to “normal” contextual language, body language, and voice tone. They perceive things as concrete literal and cannot decipher a “play on words” or receive teasing or joking in a “normal” healthy way. They cannot process the events occurring around them in linear time.

We can often forget that our ASD children are usually desperately trying to “keep up” with and integrate into their surrounding environment. We want to teach them they do not need to “fit in”, but rather learn to accept who they are, understand their needs and progress into verbalizing and protecting those needs.

Because their self image and confidence build upon the way they see others respond to them, as we all do, they often internalize all responses and begin to feel ostracized and isolated even as they appear to be socializing.

The difference for them is that they cannot control the thought processes of their often dismembered inner dialogue and need help understanding that things are not always as they appear to be. To them, what they see…just is… and they do not know how to process, respond or function in a way that is “accepted by their peers” and the adults around them.

Masking shows up to provide an emotional and neurological “cushion” from the noises, movements, other human responses to their ASD behaviours and thought processes.

We can recognize this phenom and implement loving methods to decrease its stress sources occurring in their daily lives.

The post How To Spot Sensory “Masking” In Autism Spectrum Disorder appeared first on Medika Life.

Date of Release: Nov. 11, 2021

BRISBANE, Australia,  /PRNewswire/ — Results published in Cell, led by Mater Research and The University of Queensland, show that dietary restriction drives microbiome diversity changes in autistic individuals.

In the largest study in the field to date, researchers analyzed stool samples using Microba’s metagenomic analysis, alongside other clinical and biological measures, to identify associations between the gut microbiome and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The collaborative study examined the complex relationship between the microbiome, diet, and other traits in autistic individuals, leveraging samples and dietary data of 247 children from the Australian Autism Biobank and Queensland Twin Adolescent Brain Project and involving more than 40 researchers across Australia.

Chloe Yap from Mater Research and The University of Queensland and lead author on the paper explained that the research represents a critical advancement in developing an evidence base on the gut microbiome-autism link, and challenges existing findings within the field.

“With Microba’s expertise, we were able to achieve high-resolution taxonomic information about the microbiome, as well as the functional information, to really examine the microbiome community at a deeper level than has been done before to investigate what link – if any – may exist.”

“While the data did not demonstrate a direct association between the microbiome and a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the quality of that data enabled us to find that behavior and dietary preferences were driving the changes observed in the microbiome, with a less diverse diet resulting in a less diverse microbiome,” Ms. Yap said.

Given the increasing coverage on changes observed in the gut microbiome of people on the autism spectrum, Dr. Jake Gratten, senior study investigator and head of Mater Research’s Cognitive Healthy Genomics Group, said the results were significant.

“Microbiome-based interventions claiming to treat or minimize autistic traits are becoming more common, but there is yet to be convincing evidence that the microbiome drives autism,” Dr. Gratten said.

“Our findings provide much-needed clarity to parents and autistic people about the autism-microbiome link, something that was only possible using the latest technology. What our results highlight is that rather than relying on “fad” diets, we need to better support families at mealtimes,” he added.

Associate Professor Lutz Krause, Chief Scientific Officer at Microba and contributing author on the paper, said these results demonstrate the importance of high-quality research in investigating the microbiome and health connection.

“What we can see from this research is that precise and comprehensive measurement, with rich metadata associated with each sample, is critical in uncovering the complexity of the microbiome and elucidating the various factors that may be influencing the results,” he said.

“This level of precision is at the core of Microba’s approach, and it’s exciting to see our research partners making important new discoveries to advance the knowledge of how the microbiome is involved in our health to improve people’s lives.”

The paper, Autism-related dietary preferences mediate autism-gut microbiome associations, can be accessed online at the Cell website at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.015

SOURCE Microba Life Sciences

The post Research into gut microbiome-autism link reveals new perspective appeared first on Medika Life.

We know the levels of devotion Bush elicits, as his supporters continuously spam us with hate and righteous indignation.

Examining Zach Bush’s Health Cult

I wrote an article back in January of this year on Dr. Zack Bush, in which I categorized him as a quack, a new age one, but a quack nonetheless, based on many of his views. We won’t be listing links in this article unless they are to claims or statements we make. Bush receives enough promotion without having to rely on us.

The danger for all doctors, and even Dr. Bush is aware of this, is that no matter how much good you do, and I am certain he manages in his own way to achieve some good, jeopardizing the life of any patient, even one, with advice that negatively impacts the patient’s health and choice of care, is considered a cardinal medical sin.

To the extent that any good you may have in fact managed to achieve, can simply be set aside in an instant, negated by the damage, however co-incidental, of your misplaced advice. Such, I believe is the fate suffered by Zach Bush and all that is still open to debate is whether his preaching is based on misplaced belief or intentional deception.

In fairness to his very vocal and at times, insanely belligerent supporters, we decided to re-examine my earlier assessment of the good doctor. I’m saddened to say the indictment stands, and if anything, is now more pronounced.

The main problem posed by Zach Bush

A lot of what Bush proclaims is in fact true and I can easily find myself in agreement with some of his statements. I’ve even highlighted a few of these below to try and produce a more balanced overview of the man. There is however an incredibly important distinction that needs to be drawn early into this article, and if as a supporter of the man and his views, you’re not willing to concede the following, then this article most certainly won’t appeal to you.

If however, you remain open to logical and reasonable debate, let’s press ahead.

So to that distinction. Uttering truths some of the time, halfbaked or otherwise, does not mean I must or should interpret everything else you utter to be the gospel truth. Where health and wellness are concerned, especially our own health, we need to remain critical of everything we’re told. This statement doesn’t merely apply to the utterances of Zach Bush, it’s applicable across every sphere of healthcare, modern or alternate. 

Health is not a religion of blind faith, it is a scientific study of the processes and diseases that affect our physiology, an effort to understand these processes, and where possible, to master them.

The problem, as I see it with Zach Bush, is that he manipulates the truths he professes to earn the undying and unquestioning loyalty of his followers. It’s an unhealthy position for any person to enjoy, irrespective of their chosen profession. It is the same failed logic that fuels the blind pursuit of religion and it most certainly has no place in healthcare.

It’s also a position Bush does nothing to discourage and it exposes the people who buy into his new-age vision of healthcare to complete and utter exploitation. 

Let’s examine a few of the controversial statements he’s made of late.

Zach Bush on the mitochondria

Bush believes that the root of all chronic diseases can be traced to the malfunctioning of the mitochondria in our cells. In a roundabout way, there is some scientific validation to this statement, as emerging science, documented in various journals, confirms the active involvement of mitochondria in many, but not all diseases. Note the use of the word INVOLVEMENT.

It is a very simple matter to quote this science to your millions of followers. Making the jump or inference, however, from “associated with” to “responsible for all” is where the wheels come off.

There is zero scientific evidence to back this claim. Absolutely not one shred and I challenge anyone reading this to produce it, including Bush if he happens across this piece. It’s a childish logic flaw, which Bush has exploited to legitimize his theories. You may as well call out the nostrils as being responsible for all disease. Every human has them and they’ve been noted in all cases of disease therefore they must be to blame.

None of the scientific literature suggests that mitochondria are at the root of all diseases. They are merely present and play a role. So are the nostrils.

Zach Bush on Germ Theory

The entirety of Bush’s germ theory rests on a common false construct, that in many ways is reminiscent of the anti-vaxx campaigner’s insistence that the MMR vaccine causes autism. The MMR fallacy has been proven to be a fabrication concocted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield (now thankfully banned from practicing medicine) to promote his own vaccine in place of the MMR.

Germ denialism has been proven to be complete nonsense and Bush’s insistence that the viral and bacterial worldsare not to blame for disease and infections boggles the mind.

Here’s a fact to kick us off. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites of all sorts are very real, can very much cause disease and do. Ask anyone in India currently battling for breath from a Covid infection what their opinions on viruses are. 

According to Bush, they’ve all brought it on themselves. If he is in fact so sure that viruses and bacteria are not the cause of disease, why does he pursue antibiotics and pesticides so aggressively, falsely labeling, for instance, the pesticide glyphosate (a synthetic compound which is a nonselective systemic herbicide, particularly effective against perennial weeds) as an antibiotic, which it most certainly is not?

The glyphosate is an interesting case in point so let’s stay with that for a moment. Why would Bush describe it as an antibiotic? It is simply a lack of understanding on his part and poor research. Licensing of the compound was based on its antimicrobial properties, which allowed it to include the category of antibiotic during the licensing process, increasing access to funds for later research.

The product works by impacting the Shikimate pathway in plants, a mechanism absent in mammals and humans. While it may exhibit antimicrobial properties in plants, glyphosate cannot be classified as an antibiotic. It’s an easy mistake to make and the result of sloppy research. 

So rather than killing us, according to Bush, viruses exist merely to update our genetic software. They are innocent and innocuous messengers of genetic code, life’s happy little programmers. If you happen to fall ill it’s the fault of pesticide manufacturers and antibiotics that have corrupted your system’s ability to be happy and healthy. This absolute drivel, particularly given the current pandemic, doesn’t even justify a response.

Pasteur provided ample evidence in support of his germ theory, as did Koch after him, and thousands of microbiologists following in their footsteps, to the point where the germ theory of disease is as established as the theory of evolution, plate tectonics, and a round planet (no, its not flat, unless of course Bush proclaims it to be) that revolves around a stationary sun. To me, the most simple deconstruction of this nonsense idea is to be found in the remote jungles of South America.

Tribes previously unknown to man were discovered in the course of the 1900s by explorers venturing into previously inaccessible portions of South America’s jungles. These tribes had no prior exposure to modern-day toxins or antibiotics, living a life of complete isolation. Contact with outsiders soon decimated their villages as they died in large numbers, stricken by viruses and bacteria they had never previously encountered. An unwelcome and unintended gift shared by the explorers. Viruses kill, bacteria kill, no matter your health status or toxicity levels. 

No doubt, had Bush been around, he would have saved the unfortunate villagers with a tonic and a little positive earth energy.

Zach Bush is the not anti, anti-vaccinist

Bush is outspoken about the covid vaccine and you’re unlikely to find his converts queueing outside the local covid vaccination center, patiently awaiting their shot. A far more likely course of action for his followers is the path he so disingenuously guides them down. Purchasing his products and following his advice in the hopes of boosting their immune systems. Here’s a news flash for converts of the Zach Bush Church of Health.

Under the right circumstances, the coronavirus will kill you, irrespective of your immune system. You can be a yoga monk perched among the rocks in the Himalayas or an Olympic athlete. If you have an undiagnosed physiological condition, are in an at-risk category, or possess a genetic predisposition towards Covid (these are documented) then it’s got your ticket punched. All the immunity, Youtube video’s and supplements in the world aren’t going to save you, but the vaccine probably will. At least, you’ll give your body a fighting chance.

Zach Bush on Autism

Autism is possibly the most used and abused condition by alternate health gurus and quacks. As modern medicine has come up pretty much empty-handed, opportunists seize on this to offer up their own theories and treatments, and while I am not discounting the possibility that someone, somewhere may have identified the actual root cause of autism, I doubt it’s Bush.

I also seriously question the wisdom of him offering an opinion on the disease if he fails to understand the simple concept of passive immunity, that mothers pass on their immunity to their newborn children, who benefit from it after birth, allowing their little bodies time to develop their own defenses. They arent “perfectly balanced against disease and organisms” as Bush ridiculously claims, they are in fact sporting mom’s immunity.

I would be more than a little cautious in even entertaining Bush for an instant on the topic of autism. 

Generations of scientists, far better qualified than Dr. Bush, have been examining autism for decades. The fact their research is only now starting to yield marginal success in understanding the disease doesn’t entitle Bush to share insights possibly obtained from a spiritual interlude with a tree.

Particularly when that advice may lead a very vulnerable sector of the community to begin experimenting on their children based on his ramblings. His reference to the runaway incidence of autism is also complete nonsense. We’ve dealt with that before and you can refer to our older article on him.

The Health Cult Lives

We are sorry to dash the hearts and minds of thousands across the globe, ardent supporters who latch onto Zach Bush’s every word but the facts, if viewed objectively, are damning in their conclusion. Dr. Bush is a quack par excellence, a gifted and highly intelligent orator and businessman who has lost the plot, either intentionally or through a firm belief in the deluded principles he espouses.

It’s hard to imagine that someone boasting his education would follow his current course out of mistaken beliefs, but we will allow him the benefit of the doubt.

Either way, with con artists and grifters, there are always financial rewards, and Bush masks his monetization strategies behind his clinics, websites, therapeutic courses, and health products he markets to his eager flock. It is, as I’ve noted before, the slickest of slick operations, carefully orchestrated and flawlessly executed.

In many ways, Bush has perfected the alternative health scam, connecting health and the environment in a seamless package he pawns incessantly to his followers, and I am certain aspiring quacks look to his model for inspiration. His work is littered with trending catchphrases, ideas like “optimize your gut brain”, “gut brain connection”, “natural ancient soil extracts”, “regenerative agriculture” and “soil extracts that work’. The eco-health warrior has arrived.

Where real solid science is concerned, however, Bush has long since parted company with it. It no longer serves his purpose, other than to selections of choice misrepresentations, abused for the sake of validating his lie. While he may not be the most ethical doctor we’ve ever encountered, he’d make one hell of a poker player. Watch your wallets!

Zach Bush, MD, images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Worshiping at The Alter of Zach Bush’s Messianic Health Cult appeared first on Medika Life.

Who is Polly Tommey?

Tommy was a former body double for actor Charlotte Rampling and rose to prominence highlighting autism. Her Linkedin profile describes her as Editor in Chief of Autism File magazine, founder of The Autism Trust, and director of Autism Media Channel. She is vocally outspoken on a number of medical issues, some of which border on conspiracy, and most of which are based on either pseudoscience or disproven fallacies. She is also a known purveyor of autism quackery.

Her obsession with vaccines and trying unsuccessfully to link them to autism has led her to become a crusading convert for the likes of disgraced doctor, Andrew Wakefield. To understand where Tommey left the path of rational fact-based reason for the rocky road of fake science, we need to first examine Andrew Wakefield.

Andrew Wakefield is a disgraced English doctor who published a controversial research paper in 1998 claiming a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism. He was forced to withdraw the paper and admit to having falsified the data it contained. The paper was simply a fabrication, one Wakefield had created to try and substantiate his unfounded theory of a link between autism and vaccines. 

Wakefield’s public acknowledgment of having falsified the paper was followed by a humiliating medical hearing over a period of three years. What the hearing discovered was massively concerning and showed Wakefield for the unethical and unprincipled person he is. The panel ruled that Wakefield repeatedly breached the fundamental principles of research medicine during the course of the study, which it said involved carrying out unnecessary and invasive tests on children without official permission. In 2010 he was stripped of his right to practice medicine.

One incident that garnered a great deal of attention was a birthday party in which Wakefield admittedly took blood samples from a group of children, rewarding them with £5 each, an act that “showed callous disregard for any distress or pain the children might suffer,”

Wakefield disappeared into temporary obscurity, resurfacing again on the American anti-vax circuit, where he is entertained by Republicans that foster conspiracy theories and have links to radical organizations. It is ironic that an individual found guilty of unsanctioned medical experimentation on children should be seen as a champion of children’s rights. His agenda appealed to Tommey. She became one of his most devout supporters, absorbing and spreading his self acknowledged lies surrounding the MMR vaccine.

Tommey soon abandoned the limited UK market for America, following in the footsteps of Wakefield. Eager to expand her impact and reach, the booming, mostly unregulating alt-health market of the US offered prime pickings. She relocated from the UK to Austin, in Texas from where she continues to promote her alternate health mumbo jumbo and anti-vaccine lies, through platforms like the Children’s Health Defense website and an active following on social media.

Autism, the Autism ‘Trust’ and deadly advice

Tommey founded the Autism Trust UK in 2007 after her son was diagnosed with the condition. Its purported goals are’ to provide education, support, and skills training for adults with autism. Tommey is still listed as one of the charity’s trustees on the Charity Commission website, although she now lives in Austin, Texas, according to the charity. A quick check of the Trust website confirms this.

In 2017, Third Sector posted an article entitled “Regulator contacts Autism Trust after media stories on ‘dangerous treatments” which explores a story first broken by the Times and pursued by Buzzfeed. 

The article followed a news story in The Times newspaper on 2 February of the same year, which described the charity’s founder Polly Tommey of being “at the forefront of the dangerous anti-vaccine campaign” after she produced Vaxxed, a film repeating the now-discredited link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The Buzzfeed article claimed the following.

The Buzzfeed article said the charity’s Twitter and Facebook accounts linked to various websites that promote treatments for autism. These included: GcMAF, a stem-cell blood treatment; Mineral Miracle Solution, a chlorine-based bleach; chelation, which is the chemical removal of heavy metals from the bloodstream; and vitamin B12 injections

The UK’s largest autism charity, the National Autistic Society, has described MMS as a “bleach banned for human consumption”, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has warned people not to use GcMAF, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence explicitly warns that chelation and B12 injections should not be used as core autism treatments.

The NAS has also said it is clear that there is no link between MMR vaccines and autism.

According to the Buzzfeed article, many of the links that appear on the charity’s social media go to Autism Mothers, a Facebook page started by Tommey that contains links to various websites promoting such treatments and claiming that there are links between MMR vaccines and autism.

In response to the allegations, Tommey had the following to say in a Periscope video, which appeared on the charity’s Twitter page. In it, she said she was not involved in the day-to-day running of the charity, repeatedly denied knowing what GcMAF and Mineral Miracle Solution were, and said people on the Autism Mothers page were free to post any links they wanted to share.

Clear lies. Any person actively engaged in the autism community as she claims to be would know of the darker side of autism, of the quackery and concoctions offered to a gullible and desperate public. We call you out Ms. Tommey, either you’re an autism expert, or you aren’t? Which is it? Don’t bother answering, the question is rhetorical.

Tommey earns her pound of flesh or commission for all the referrals, and the practice continues. Public censure simply drives these groups underground, to closed Whatsapp and Facebook groups. The income stream is lucrative, hugely so in some cases and individuals like Tommey, Roby Mitchell (aka Dr. Fitt) and others are not going to abandon their exploitation of a hugely vulnerable segment of the population simply because of a little public censure. 

Activists and campaigners who try to combat the poisoning and abuse of autistic children by individuals like Tommey are all too familiar with her name.

In terms of the Autism Trust, the question is a simple one. Can it be trusted? The answer would seem self-explanatory. Any desire to actually assist and further the causes of autistic adults would require an immediate and permanent act of separation from Polly Tommey. Until this occurs, any and all activities engaged in by the trust would need to be viewed as extremely suspect.

Vaxxed

In a 2018 article in Left Brain Right Brain, a science-based autism publication, Matt Carey wrote an article highlighting just how profitable Tommeys little side hustle had become. For relevance, Carey holds a Ph.D. in physics and has been an active researcher for 30 years. More importantly, he is the parent of an autistic child. The title hints loudly at where the article leads. VAXXED pulled in over $1.3M in donations, and most of it went to Wakefield and Tommey’s company

A few years ago Andrew Wakefield (one of Time Magazine’s Great Science Frauds) headed a team promoting a faux documentary called “Vaxxed”. I wrote about this film a great deal at the time, but suffice it to say it exemplified much of what is wrong with the way the anti-vaccine community uses and abuses the autism community.

If memory serves, VAXXED concluded with a long list of sponsors. So they apparently had a fair amount of money to work with to produce the film. The film was a product of the Autism Media Channel, which is a limited liability corporation (LLC) owned by Polly Tommey and Andrew Wakefield, based on tax records. At the same time, Vaxxed was associated with a charity: AMC Foundation. Said foundation is run by Andrew Wakefield with Polly Tommey and Brian Burrowes also listed as directors (at least on past tax forms).

Vaxxed came out in 2016, and nonprofit tax forms for 2016 are now public. Here are the tax forms for 2015 and 2016:

Please refer to the linked article above to see exactly how most of the charitable donations received were sidelined for the benefit of Tommey and Wakefield. 

Children’s Health Defense (CHD)

The brainchild of Robert F. Kennedy, Jnr, this website’s main focus is on discrediting traditional vaccine science and has of late expanded its reach to spread misinformation on the covid pandemic. For Tommey, hooking up with CHD was a no-brainer. Bigger names and broader agendas would lend her more credibility and expand her reach and popularity. She has been warmly embraced by CHD and is now part of their disinformation machine.

In the last two days, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF-Manhattan), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to permanently suspend Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Twitter account (@RobertKennedyJr) and the organization he founded and chairs, Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD), for repeatedly spreading misinformation about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines as evidence of a new surge of COVID-19 grows in the northeast and in other parts of the country. According to the Senator;

“Now, it’s more important than ever to recognize Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for what he is: A public health menace who should be banned from Twitter.”

Tommey shares the CHD spotlight with other well know quacks and medical charlatans, including the likes of Joseph Mercola, Zach Bush, and individuals like the disgraced Andrew Wakefield. She enjoys a regular video slot on the platform, a summary of the week’s “manipulated news” that she co-hosts with Mary Holland. If you’re left with a feeling of two neighbors discussing world politics across their garden fence, then you’re pretty close to the format. Lots of opinions and the few facts offered are distorted to suit their anti-vaccine agenda.

Kennedy’s association with these groups and individuals remains puzzling as he has achieved groundbreaking success in the environmental field against commercial interests like Monsanto and joining forces with individuals like Tommey and doctors disavowed for experimenting on children will do nothing to further his causes.

Can Tommey be trusted?

If you’re still in doubt, the answer is a resounding no. Her so-called ‘medical’ advice and interpretation of facts and research are based on falsehoods and lies and either ignorance or willful intent to mislead for financial gain. Our research tends to indicate the latter, but we’ll allow her the benefit of the doubt. What is glaringly clear though is that if you accept any advice from Polly Tommey that is health-related you are endangering yourself and your children.

If your child has autism, you’d be well advised to tune out, switch off or click back to escape the quackery of Polly Tommey. While she may not be medically qualified, she epitomizes the characteristics of a predatory health practitioner. Unfollow, unlike, and de-platform her wherever possible.

Polly Tommey images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Why Polly Tommey Poses a Threat to Your Health and Your Children appeared first on Medika Life.

From an editorial point of view, Medika tends to be vocal on matters we feel negatively impact the health of the general public. I find myself at an ethical and personal crossroad of sorts this morning as I plan ahead for our next series of articles. My dilemma centers around vaccines, or to be more specific, the Covid vaccines.

The problem, simply stated, is this. Do we promote the coronavirus vaccine as being safe? What about the people actively trying to discredit or “warn” the public about the vaccine? Do we discredit them publically, as we’ve done with many quacks peddling snake-oil and fake cures? Are these individuals motivated by anything other than a concern for public safety, and more importantly, are they wrong? 

Question everything. It’s my favorite T-shirt.

As an author and editor, I have a clear understanding of the power of ideas, seamlessly translated in the hands of skilled craftspeople into stories, and served up to you on a dizzying number of media, across the globe. The process is instant and the effects can be indelible, on both minds and societies. 

Words carry weight. They are the vehicles we use to convey our ideas, our thoughts, and our agendas and as such, they demand a certain level of respect and responsibility from their users.

We live in an age where they enjoy neither. They are abused for political, personal, and financial gain. That isn’t what we stand for though and Medika spends as much time contemplating the social impact of what we publish as we do fact-checking our articles. The public-facing documents we produce have consequences and if it’s the public’s health and safety that motivates us, we need to proceed accordingly. For these reasons, Covid vaccines have become a somewhat thorny issue. 

Allow me to explain my dilemma through the use of a very relevant example, namely Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg. He personifies the problems surrounding these vaccines. Most of you will be unfamiliar with the good doctor so let‘s have a quick look at his bio.

Who is Wolfgang Wodarg?

Wikipedia shows us the following: Wolfgang Wodarg (born 2 March 1947) is a German physician and politician for SPD.

As chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Health Committee Wodarg co-signed a proposed resolution on 18 December 2009, which was briefly discussed in January 2010 in an emergency debate and he called for an inquiry into alleged undue influence exerted by pharmaceutical companies on the World Health Organization’s global H1N1 flu campaign. You can read more on this hearing in this report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

Early into the 2020 Covid outbreak, Wodarg became an outspoken critic of the media and government’s responses to the pandemic, claiming their responses were disproportionate to a disease that for the most part, would have gone by undiscovered a few years ago. In his opinion, Covid was just another aggressive influenza virus doing the rounds. No need for panic. 

So convinced was he, that he made a fundamental error in judgment. 

He turned to radical groups within the health industry to make his voice heard. The same groups promoting the imagined risks of vaccines, offering quackery and ridiculous unsanctioned treatments for cancers, autism, and other medical conditions. 

Wodarg decided to use their platforms to get his message out. It cost him any last shred of credibility he may have retained within his profession, and he has now been firmly embraced by the pseudo-science fringe, or the Looney Tunes channels as we refer to them. That was in early April, then this month, this happened.

On December 1, the ex-Pfizer head of respiratory research and founder of Novartis, Dr. Michael Yeadon and Wodarg filed an application with the EMA, the European Medicine Agency responsible for EU-wide drug approval, for the immediate suspension of all SARS CoV 2 vaccine studies, in particular the BioNtech/Pfizer study on BNT162b (EudraCT number 2020–002641–42).

What’s the Petition about?

They’re demanding that all actions relating to vaccine distribution be halted pending further testing and subject to the satisfactory resolution of the following concerns.

 PCR Testing

They suggest that due to the known lack of accuracy of the PCR test in a serious study, a so-called Sanger sequencing must be used as an alternative. This is the only way, they claim, to make reliable statements on the effectiveness of a vaccine against Covid-19. On the basis of the many different PCR tests of highly varying quality, neither the risk of disease nor a possible vaccine benefit can be determined with the necessary certainty, which is why testing the vaccine on humans, using current protocols, is unethical per se.

Non- neutralizing antibodies

The formation of so-called “non-neutralizing antibodies” can lead to an exaggerated immune reaction, especially when the test person is confronted with the real, “wild” virus after vaccination. This so-called antibody-dependent amplification, ADE, has long been known from experiments with corona vaccines in cats, for example. In the course of these studies, all cats that initially tolerated the vaccination well, died after catching the wild virus.

Syncytin-1

The vaccinations are expected to produce antibodies against spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2. However, spike proteins also contain syncytin-homologous proteins, which are essential for the formation of the placenta in mammals such as humans. It must be absolutely ruled out that a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 could trigger an immune reaction against syncytin-1, as otherwise, infertility of indefinite duration could result in vaccinated women.

PEG,Polyethylene Glycol

The mRNA vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer contain polyethylene glycol (PEG). 70% of people develop antibodies against this substance — this means that many people can develop allergic, potentially fatal reactions to the vaccination.

Inadequate Testing

The short duration of the clinical study does not allow a realistic estimation of the late effects. As in the narcolepsy cases after the swine flu vaccination, millions of healthy people would be exposed to an unacceptable risk if an emergency approval were to be granted and the possibility of observing the late effects of the vaccination were to follow. Nevertheless, BioNTech/Pfizer apparently submitted an application for emergency approval on December 1, 2020.

It’s time for a divorce

So here is where things get tough. Yeadon has a clear conflict of interest here as a former employee of Pfizer, albeit 11 years ago, but brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Wodarg has gone over to the dark side, or has he? He’s been a vocal campaigner for public health safety for many years. 

As if the whole Covid issue wasn’t complicated enough to start with, any voice that offers dissent with the public narrative is immediately latched onto by the nutter brigade. Latched onto and amplified as proof or validation of the other crazy claims they make. 

Claims like 5G, bleach enema’s, and bark from weird trees growing in obscure South American jungles. I deal with these head cases on a daily basis and it’s both depressing and demoralizing to see the depths we can sink to, just to turn a quick buck off the backs of suffering people.

The effects of this adoption and amplification are twofold. Any materials, however relevant, are immediately discredited by association and medical professionals have now become circumspect about voicing dissent with the public covid narrative. Doing so means instant adoption by the Looney Tunes family and potential professional suicide. It makes things really difficult for those of us sifting through the dross, in search of validated data and actual scientific credibility for posited theories or concerns.

Another innocent victim of this debacle will be vaccines. Not the Covid vaccine, but vaccines in general, the MMR vaccine, Polio, Tetanus, and a host of other essential preventative treatments our children need for their protection. The anti-vaccine campaigners have just been gifted their biggest windfall for a while in terms of the covid-19 virus and they’re latching on with both hands.

Here are some facts about vaccines if you’re still on the fence and I’ve linked below to one of the best deconstructions of an anti-vaccine proponent, Dr Suzanne Humphries, that I’ve seen in a while. It’s a well-written and well-researched article that totally debunks Humphries and her ridiculous use of pseudoscience to justify avoiding vaccines.

Why Dr. Suzanne Humphries, an anti-vaccine activist, is lying to you about measles.

So here is what happens if we don’t vaccinate our children. I’m not even going to look at the continued use of vaccination programs, as I am assuming we don’t completely lose our sanity in the coming months. This is a simplistic overview of the basic initial problems not vaccinating our children will lead to.

Diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, and polio will return, bringing with them, the associated costs to healthcare systems that will be forced to deal with the fallout. Your children will contract these diseases and some of them will die. These are not harmless diseases. While most people can cope with the diseases, some children will not be able to. For adults, contracting many of these childhood conditions later in life can prove fatal.

For some children and adults, their systems will be overwhelmed and they will require hospitalization. Some will die, despite advances in medicine. Polio will once again cripple children. There is also every reason to believe these diseases will return in a more virulent form than their predecessors.

Our antibiotics are outdated and more and more people experience antibiotic-resistant infections. Any mechanism we can deploy to prevent the expanded use of antibiotics (like for example vaccination) in the general population should be strongly encouraged.

Vaccines do pose a risk. There no point claiming they are 100% safe, that’s a lie and we need to highlight this. Every form of medication is potentially lethal or life-threatening to someone, somewhere. Vaccines are no different and there is an accepted level of “adverse reaction” that is considered unavoidable in terms of the development of vaccines. 

We know there is risk, but the health of the public outweighs the two potential individuals who may react badly to a vaccine.

Also, to be absolutely clear, many new studies have proved beyond doubt that vaccines do not cause autism. This is complete rubbish and is a textbook case of confusing, often intentionally, correlation with causation. All the vaccinated children also ate broccoli, you don’t see that getting the blame. 

If you want to meet the medical fraud, Dr. Wakefield, the quack that kicked off this urban vaccine myth with his fraudulent and now infamously retracted Lancet report, follow this link. Wakefield had his medical license revoked in the wake of this scandal by the British Medical Council.

Now, on top of having to deal with an ongoing smear campaign that will hopefully be addressed by the FDA post-pandemic, vaccines have a new worst enemy. Coronavirus. Any and all vaccines developed to combat the virus will be bundled under the generic term, vaccine. It’s a massive marketing fuck up of monumental proportions, for reasons I will explain below, that could potentially undo vaccines and generations of back-breaking work.

How Covid could destroy Vaccines

Test much? Nope, we haven’t. Sorry about that, but it’s been a bit of a rush. 

Isn’t that a problem, you know what happened with the Pandemrix vaccine? Yes, well, we don’t really have an option, do we? Also, our company’s future could depend on us being first.

So not only are you rolling out an essentially untested product, but you’ve also decided to try a whole new delivery approach using mRNA? Yeah, so did you see the game last night?

Responsible science has taken a backseat to madness, frenzy, politics, pressure, and common sense on this one. Sorry, but there’s nothing else to be said about it. While all these vaccines currently lining up for EUA’s could potentially be wonderful products, they could just as easily be killers with long term consequences waiting for us, our children, and future generations. I pray that I m wrong. We just don’t know for sure, not beyond any reasonable level of safety, so what have we decided to do in the absence of solid science? GAMBLE!

I appeal to any one of the vaccine developers to produce the following and Medika will then happily and unreservedly endorse your product. I’m not being facetious, please understand the intent. It is a desire to ensure that whatever is fed to the general populace, among which I number, is as safe as we can possibly get it. So here’s my Christmas wishlist of common sense.

• Clear proof that your vaccine is safe within the limits determined for normal vaccine development protocols. Short cut, Lightspeed production protocols just don’t cut it.
• Conclusive evidence that your clinical trials have been accompanied by proper testing of candidates, not utilizing the (flawed?) PCR methodology but with more specific assays, able to correctly identify SARS-nCov2 with a high level of accuracy. Your Pharma, this shouldn’t be a big ask right?
• Scientific rebuttal of the questions posed by Dr. Yeadar and Wodarg, listed above, sufficient and evidence-based to satisfy the concerns raised.
• In addition, a list of the long term side-effects you envisage for your product would be welcomed. If we are going to be transparent, let’s go the whole hog, should we, If there are sharks in the water and we’re going swimming, I’d prefer being prepared.

So there it is. The vaccines that should never ever have been referred to as vaccines. Call them Covid treatments, antivirals, or retrovirals, whatever floats your boat, but stop referring to them as vaccines. They just aren’t and shouldn’t be referred to as such. mRNA is new, it’s cutting edge medicine not broadly understood and the mRNA products adopt a totally new and unique approach to delivering their engineered payloads. 

For the more technically minded, this excellent article describes their action in great depth. A hugely promising platform for the delivery of targeted treatments in the future and for those concerned about DNA manipulation, this article explains why that is not an issue. So exciting times ahead, but marred slightly by the current circumstances.

The current covid vaccines being released fail to satisfy old-established FDA safety protocols that have been in place for generations, safety protocols that exist for very good reasons, mainly to protect you and me. We keep seeming to forget that in our haste to cure the “pandemic” and get back to what we so loosely term “normal”. Rewriting FDA protocols to enable rapid production has in effect rendered both the vaccines and the protocols unsafe in traditional terms.

By gambling, essentially placing our bet before we’ve seen our cards, we risk the following;

• catastrophic health consequences across the globe if we’ve somehow gotten things wrong, and with each EUA that gets issued, the odds stack up against us.
• complete loss of confidence in science and medicine, the two groups that have folded in the face of public and political pressure. It’s the political and business sectors applying the pressure now, but they’re old hands at the game and if the wheels come off, we know who the scapegoats are going to be.
• total loss of faith in vaccines, in any shape or form, and the accompanying resurgence of diseases that will accompany this.

The above are obviously worst case scenarios, “What if’s” that we have to consider if we are to be responsible in weighing risk. It’s my sincere hope that in 12 months from now, I’m proven completely wrong and in five years we aren’t saddled with the unpleasant possibilities explored above.

So, patient reader, if you’re still with me after this epic internal ethical dialogue, here’s my final decision. 

I won’t, for now, be publically jumping on the persecution bandwagon of some of the scientists I see raising valid concerns about a rushed Covid vaccine and the dangers potentially posed to the public. A valid question remains a valid question, irrelevant of the motivation behind it. Medika will, however, still aggressively be persecuting the quacks selling misinformation and misery to the vulnerable.

There is one final aspect to this that is important. We aren’t in such bad shape. I know doctors up to their eyeballs in sick and dying patients won’t agree with the following statement, but the virus could have been far more deadly. We could easily have faced another Spanish Influenza, (over 50 million dead, by estimates) but we’ve been spared that horror.

The coronavirus’s preference for the older and immune-compromised members of the population (a far smaller demographic than the Spanish flu’s favored victims) has spared us millions of deaths. Possibly hundreds of millions. 

I am in no way belittling the deaths of those we have lost to Covid. If we could have spared any lives without risking the health of the entire globe in the process, then I would be fully behind the vaccine drive. The truth though, is that we could or should have waited another six months, possibly even a year, to establish a safer vaccine, a more thoroughly tested, trialed, and rigorously considered product. We still can, but we know that isn’t a likely scenario.

I know many people are deeply divided and confused by the various options and rumors circulating about the Covid vaccines. Educating yourself on the topic is difficult at best, and when the reams of disinformation that exist on the topic are considered, then it seems an almost impossible task. If you are able to take away one thing from this article, I’d like it to be this.

Vaccines are safe and effective tools for combatting disease. They aren’t some Orwellian plot to turn you into a lizard or intentionally make you ill. They are designed by large companies with reputations to protect and billions of dollars of product sales that are potentially forfeit if they harm you, thereby damaging their brand. In many ways and because of the safety protocols, intentionally put in place to protect you, vaccines are one of the safest forms of medicine the public has access to.

The risk we run now is that, unintentionally, we may have missed something in our haste to get a finished product to market. We need to be a little hesitant and perhaps a little more cautious than usual. That is all. It isn’t a Koolaid moment.

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