The WaPo notes the next concern:
Since the virus emerged in April, the swine flu has sickened at least 22 million Americans, hospitalized 98,000 and killed at least 4,000, the CDC estimates. While the seasonal flu typically hits the elderly hardest, the H1N1 virus has affected children and young adults much more because most have little or no immunity against it.
Experts suspect another surge in cases could occur this month or the beginning of 2010, similar to what happened during the 1957 flu pandemic, which most resembles the H1N1 pandemic.
But if you've seen one pandemic, you've seen one pandemic. No prediction is possible, just be prepared. Do not interpret that the way Glenn Beck does. No one said we're all gonna die next week.
In something totally unrelated to vaccines, there's good news on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) front.
A new, home-based program for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that combines behavioral change techniques in a playful environment boosted the children's IQ, language ability, and social interaction skills more than a community-based program, according to a new study.
The home-based program included up to 20 hours a week of therapist intervention, plus the intervention of parents, who were taught the same skills.
It's important to document things that work, as well as things that don't so they can be properly paid for (see health reform debate.)
So when Pardo and his colleagues published their paper in the Annals of Neurology in 2005, they added an online primer that clearly explained their findings in layman's terms and sternly warned doctors not to use them to develop treatments.
"We were concerned that the study would raise a lot of controversy and be misused," Pardo said. "We were right."
Over and over, doctors in the autism recovery movement have used the paper to justify experimental treatments aimed at reducing neuroinflammation.
More...
The causes of most cases of autism are unknown. Scientists say they do not know what has gone wrong in the brains of children with autism. There are no cures. Most physicians recommend intensive behavioral therapy and, if asked, warn parents away from experimental treatments.
Even so, studies have found that up to three-quarters of families with children who have autism try at least some alternative therapies.
You're not a bad parent if you try stuff. But some "stuff" can be both expensive and do harm without doing any good. And you cannot use anecdotes to insist something works with something as variable as humans. You must rely on reproducible studies, slow as they are to appear or to do, or you are simply flying blind or at risk of being preyed on by the ghouls peddling snake oil.