"How did this happen when all the scientific data points otherwise?"
Because all the scientific data does not point otherwise.
You have to understand that you are under a huge misconception that there is no research that supports the vaccine autism connection, because you are listening to industry mouthpieces that say, "No evidence of any link" and then you guys spend all day parroting that line back and forth to one another, and you really believe that it is true. So of course this ruling sounds absurd to you. Paul Offit has admitted in the press that he is a "vaccine salesman". He flat out lies in the press, and you guys are just swallowing it with out asking any critical questions.
That is not science.
I have put together a page where I just started listing the research that supports the vaccine, autism theory. There are more than forty listed, and it is by no means a complete list. You can find it here:
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2007/06/no-evidence-of-any-link.html
And you need to pay attention to the completely absurd statements the government is making in regards to this case. An elementary school teacher would not accept such bad excuses from her students as they are offering to the public. Get this email from HRSA's communication office:
"From: Bowman, David (HRSA) [mailto:DBowman@hrsa.gov]
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 5:22 PM
To: 'dkirby@nyc.rr.com'
Subject: HRSA Statement
David,
In response to your most recent inquiry, HRSA has the following
statement:
The government has never compensated, nor has it ever been ordered to
compensate, any case based on a determination that autism was actually
caused by vaccines. We have compensated cases in which children
exhibited an encephalopathy, or general brain disease. Encephalopathy
may be accompanied by a medical progression of an array of symptoms
including autistic behavior, autism, or seizures.
Some children who have been compensated for vaccine injuries may have
shown signs of autism before the decision to compensate, or may
ultimately end up with autism or autistic symptoms, but we do not track
cases on this basis.
Regards,
David Bowman
Office of Communications
Health Resources and Services Administration
301-443-3376"
Read that again. Then let me translate this for you:
The Office of Communications is saying that, 'We don't compensate for vaccine induced autism, we compensate for vaccine induced encephalopathy (which is just a term that means a change in brain functioning) that turns into autism. And also we don't track if encephalopathy turns into autism, even though most of the symptoms are seen in autism'.
So according to this reasoning, guns cannot kill people, they just cause a perforation that "may be accompanied by a medical progression of an array of symptoms including , sepsis, serious blood loss, organ damage, symptoms of extreme pain or death. Also we just track gun related perforations, not whether or not they bleed or get infected or result in death".
And if you have not seen the Head of CDC embarassing appearance on CNN, please take a few moments to watch this woman behave like an idiot trying to explain this case away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh-nkD5LSIg&feature=player_embedded
You all are very bright people who have been fed a line of garbage, and you are swallowing it. Please, start thinking critically about the messages that you are being fed by people with very vested interests in there NOT being an association between vaccines and autism.
Hannah Poling, who had a Johns Hopkins neurologist for a father and a nurse/lawyer for a mother proved their case. HRSA conceded this case because her parents had closed every single way for them to wiggle out of it. Now there are more than 5,600 cases in that court. If HRSA admits that vaccines cause autism, that is more than 100 BILLION DOLLARS in pay outs. And there are 300,000 other potential cases out there who have not filed in the court.
The global vaccine industry is only 27 billion per year.
So can you start with the idea that yes... people like Offit, Merck and HRSA have a very, very strong incentive to lie to the point of absurdity to keep the vaccine/autism link from becoming accepted science? And then can you maybe perhaps check their stories that there is no science that supports it? You can start by looking at the review that came out this summer that 74% of the thimerosal research done SUPPORTS the theory that thimerosal containing vaccines can cause autism? http://www.ane.pl/pdf/7021.pdf
You guys are smart.... don't be fooled.
If there was no link, you never would have heard of Hannah Poling, there would be no 20 million pay out, and HRSA/CDC could give you answers that made sense instead of making asses of themselves in public.