{news} Deadly Immunity: Vaccines and Autism by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

[John Battista]

> > >Published on Thursday,  June 16, 2005 by _Salon.com_
> > >(http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/06/16/thimerosal/print.html)
> > >Deadly Immunity
>
> > >When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may  have
caused
> > >autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to  conceal the
data -- 
> > >and to prevent parents from suing drug companies  for their role in the
> epidemic.
> > >
> > >by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
>
> > >In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health
officials
> > >gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood  conference center
in
> > >Norcross,
> > >Ga. Convened by the Centers for  Disease Control and Prevention, the
meeting
> > >was held at this  Methodist retreat center, nestled in wooded farmland
next
> > >to the  Chattahoochee River, to ensure complete secrecy. The agency had
> > >issued no public announcement of the session -- only private
invitations to 52
> > >attendees. There were high-level officials from  the CDC and the Food
and
> > >Drug Administration, the top vaccine  specialist from the World Health
> > >Organization in Geneva, and  representatives of every major vaccine
manufacturer,
> including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth and Aventis Pasteur. All of the
scientific
> > >data under discussion, CDC officials repeatedly reminded  the
participants,
> was strictly "embargoed." There would be no making  photocopies of
documents,
> > >no taking papers with them when they left.
> > >The federal officials and industry representatives had assembled  to
> > >discuss a disturbing new study that raised alarming questions  about
the safety
> of a host of common childhood vaccines administered  to infants and young
> > >children.
> > >According to a CDC epidemiologist  named Tom Verstraeten, who had
> analyzed the
> > >agency's massive  database containing the medical records of 100,000
> > >children, a  mercury-based preservative in the vaccines -- 
thimerosal -- 
> > >appeared  to
> > >be responsible for a dramatic increase in autism and a host of  other
> > >neurological disorders among children. "I was actually stunned  by what
I
> > >saw,"
> > >Verstraeten told those assembled at Simpsonwood,  citing the staggering
> > >number of
> > >earlier studies that indicate a link  between thimerosal and speech
> delays,
> > >attention-deficit disorder,  hyperactivity and autism. Since 1991, when
> the
> > >CDC
> > >and the FDA had  recommended that three additional vaccines laced with
> the
> > >preservative be given to extremely young infants -- in one case,
within
> > >hours of
> > >birth -- the estimated number of cases of autism had  increased
> > >fifteenfold,
> > >from one in every 2,500 children to one in  166 children.
> > >Even for scientists and doctors accustomed to confronting issues  of
life
> > >and
> > >death, the findings were frightening. "You can play with  this all you
> > >want,"
> > >Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American  Academy of Pediatrics,
told
> > >the
> > >group. The results "are  statistically significant." Dr. Richard
> Johnston,
> > >an
> > >immunologist  and pediatrician from the University of Colorado whose
> > >grandson
> > >had  been born early on the morning of the meeting's first day, was
even
> > >more alarmed. "My gut feeling?" he said. "Forgive this personal
>  comment -- 
> > >I do
> > >not want my grandson to get a thimerosal-containing  vaccine until we
> know
> > >better what is going on."
> > >But instead of taking immediate steps to alert the public and rid  the
> > >vaccine supply of thimerosal, the officials and executives at
> Simpsonwood
> > >spent
> > >most of the next two days discussing how to cover  up the damaging
data.
> > >According to transcripts obtained under the  Freedom of Information
Act,
> > >many at the
> > >meeting were concerned about  how the damaging revelations about
> thimerosal
> > >would affect the  vaccine industry's bottom line.
> > >"We are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any
> lawsuits,"
> > >said Dr. Robert Brent, a pediatrician at the Alfred I.  duPont Hospital
> for
> > >Children in Delaware. "This will be a resource  to our very busy
> plaintiff
> > >attorneys in this country." Dr. Bob Chen,  head of vaccine safety for
the
> > >CDC,
> > >expressed relief that "given the  sensitivity of the information, we
have
> > >been able
> > >to keep it out of  the hands of, let's say, less responsible hands."
Dr.
> > >John
> > >Clements,  vaccines advisor at the World Health Organization, declared
> > >flatly
> > >that the study "should not have been done at all" and warned that  the
> > >results "will be taken by others and will be used in ways beyond  the
> > >control of
> > >this group. The research results have to be handled."
> > >In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at  handling
the
> > >damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC  paid the
Institute
> of
> > >Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash  the risks of thimerosal,
> > >ordering
> > >researchers to "rule out" the  chemical's link to autism. It withheld
> > >Verstraeten's findings, even  though they had been slated for immediate
> > >publication, and
> > >told  other scientists that his original data had been "lost" and could
> > >not be
> > >replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it  handed
its
> > >giant database of vaccine records over to a private  company, declaring
> it
> > >off-limits to researchers. By the time  Verstraeten finally published
his
> > >study in
> > >2003, he had gone to work  for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to
> > >bury the
> > >link between  thimerosal and autism.
> > >Vaccine manufacturers had already begun to phase thimerosal out  of
> > >injections given to American infants -- but they continued to  sell off
> > >their
> > >mercury-based supplies of vaccines until last year.  The CDC and FDA
gave
> > >them a hand,
> > >buying up the tainted vaccines for  export to developing countries and
> > >allowing drug companies to  continue using the preservative in some
> > >American vaccines
> > >--  including several pediatric flu shots as well as tetanus boosters
> > >routinely given to 11-year-olds.
> > >The drug companies are also getting help from powerful lawmakers  in
> > >Washington. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has received
$873,000
> > >in
> > >contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, has been  working to
> > >immunize vaccine
> > >makers from liability in 4,200 lawsuits  that have been filed by the
> > >parents of
> > >injured children. On five  separate occasions, Frist has tried to seal
> all
> > >of
> > >the government's  vaccine-related documents -- including the
Simpsonwood
> > >transcripts  -- and shield Eli Lilly, the developer of thimerosal, from
> > >subpoenas. In 2002, the day after Frist quietly slipped a rider  known
as
> > >the "Eli
> > >Lilly Protection Act" into a homeland security  bill, the company
> > >contributed
> > >$10,000 to his campaign and bought  5,000 copies of his book on
> > >bioterrorism.
> > >Congress repealed the  measure in 2003 -- but earlier this year, Frist
> > >slipped
> > >another  provision into an anti-terrorism bill that would deny
> compensation
> > >  to
> > >children suffering from vaccine-related brain disorders. "The  lawsuits
> are
> > >of
> > >such magnitude that they could put vaccine producers  out of business
and
> > >limit our capacity to deal with a biological  attack by terrorists,"
says
> > >Andy
> > >Olsen, a legislative assistant to  Frist.
> > >Even many conservatives are shocked by the government's effort to
cover
> up
> > >the dangers of thimerosal. Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican  from Indiana,
> > >oversaw
> > >a three-year investigation of thimerosal after  his grandson was
> diagnosed
> > >with autism. "Thimerosal used as a  preservative in vaccines is
directly
> > >related
> > >to the autism  epidemic," his House Government Reform Committee
concluded
> > >in
> > >its  final report. "This epidemic in all probability may have been
> > >prevented
> > >or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch  regarding a
lack
> of
> > >safety data regarding injected thimerosal, a  known neurotoxin." The
FDA
> > >and
> > >other public-health agencies failed  to act, the committee added, out
of
> > >"institutional malfeasance for  self protection" and "misplaced
> > >protectionism of the
> > >pharmaceutical  industry."
> > >The story of how government health agencies colluded with Big  Pharma
to
> > >hide
> > >the risks of thimerosal from the public is a chilling  case study of
> > >institutional arrogance, power and greed. I was drawn  into the
> controversy
> > >only
> > >reluctantly. As an attorney and  environmentalist who has spent years
> > >working on
> > >issues of mercury  toxicity, I frequently met mothers of autistic
> children
> > >who
> > >were  absolutely convinced that their kids had been injured by
vaccines.
> > >Privately, I was skeptical. I doubted that autism could be blamed on  a
> > >single
> > >source, and I certainly understood the government's need to  reassure
> > >parents that
> > >vaccinations are safe; the eradication of  deadly childhood diseases
> > >depends
> > >on it. I tended to agree with  skeptics like Rep. Henry Waxman, a
> Democrat
> > >from California, who  criticized his colleagues on the House Government
> > >Reform
> > >Committee  for leaping to conclusions about autism and vaccinations.
"Why
> > >should we scare people about immunization," Waxman pointed out at  one
> > >hearing,
> > >"until we know the facts?"
> > >It was only after reading the Simpsonwood transcripts, studying  the
> > >leading
> > >scientific research and talking with many of the  nation's preeminent
> > >authorities on mercury that I became convinced  that the link between
> > >thimerosal and
> > >the epidemic of childhood  neurological disorders is real. Five of my
own
> > >children are members  of the Thimerosal Generation -- those born
between
> > >1989 and
> > >2003 --  who received heavy doses of mercury from vaccines. "The
> elementary
> > >grades are overwhelmed with children who have symptoms of  neurological
> or
> > >immune-system damage," Patti White, a school nurse,  told the House
> > >Government
> > >Reform Committee in 1999. "Vaccines are  supposed to be making us
> > >healthier;
> > >however, in 25 years of nursing  I have never seen so many damaged,
sick
> > >kids.
> > >Something very, very  wrong is happening to our children." More than
> > >500,000 kids
> > >currently suffer from autism, and pediatricians diagnose more than
> 40,000
> > >new cases every year. The disease was unknown until 1943,  when it was
> > >identified and diagnosed among 11 children born in the  months after
> > >thimerosal was
> > >first added to baby vaccines in 1931.
> > >Some skeptics dispute that the rise in autism is caused by
> > >thimerosal-tainted vaccinations. They argue that the increase is a
> result
> > >of better diagnosis
> > >-- a theory that seems questionable at  best, given that most of the
new
> > >cases
> > >of autism are clustered  within a single generation of children. "If
the
> > >epidemic is truly an  artifact of poor diagnosis," scoffs Dr. Boyd
Haley,
> > >one of
> > >the  world's authorities on mercury toxicity, "then where are all the
> > >20-year-old autistics?" Other researchers point out that Americans  are
> > >exposed to a
> > >greater cumulative "load" of mercury than ever  before, from
contaminated
> > >fish
> > >to dental fillings, and suggest that  thimerosal in vaccines may be
only
> > >part
> > >of a much larger problem.  It's a concern that certainly deserves far
> more
> > >attention than it  has received -- but it overlooks the fact that the
> > >mercury
> > >concentrations in vaccines dwarf other sources of exposure to our
> > >children.
> > >What is most striking is the lengths to which many of the leading
> > >detectives
> > >have gone to ignore -- and cover up -- the evidence  against
thimerosal.
> > >From
> > >the very beginning, the scientific case  against the mercury additive
has
> > >been overwhelming. The  preservative, which is used to stem fungi and
> > >bacterial
> > >growth in  vaccines, contains ethylmercury, a potent neurotoxin.
> Truckloads
> > >of
> > >studies have shown that mercury tends to accumulate in the brains of
> > >primates and other animals after they are injected with vaccines -- 
and
> > >that the
> > >developing brains of infants are particularly  susceptible. In 1977, a
> > >Russian
> > >study found that adults exposed to  much lower concentrations of
> > >ethylmercury
> > >than those given to  American children still suffered brain damage
years
> > >later.
> > >Russia  banned thimerosal from children's vaccines 20 years ago, and
> > >Denmark,
> > >Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian  countries have
> > >since
> > >followed suit.
> > >"You couldn't even construct a study that shows thimerosal is  safe,"
> says
> > >Haley, who heads the chemistry department at the  University of
Kentucky.
> > >"It's
> > >just too darn toxic. If you inject  thimerosal into an animal, its
brain
> > >will
> > >sicken. If you apply it to  living tissue, the cells die. If you put it
> in
> > >a
> > >petri dish, the  culture dies. Knowing these things, it would be
shocking
> > >if
> > >one  could inject it into an infant without causing damage."
> > >Internal documents reveal that Eli Lilly, which first developed
> > >thimerosal,
> > >knew from the start that its product could cause damage  -- and even
> death
> > >--
> > >in both animals and humans. In 1930, the  company tested thimerosal by
> > >administering it to 22 patients with  terminal meningitis, all of whom
> died
> > >within
> > >weeks of being injected  -- a fact Lilly didn't bother to report in its
> > >study
> > >declaring  thimerosal safe. In 1935, researchers at another vaccine
> > >manufacturer, Pittman-Moore, warned Lilly that its claims about
> > >thimerosal's safety "did
> > >not check with ours." Half the dogs Pittman  injected with
> thimerosal-based
> > >vaccines became sick, leading  researchers there to declare the
> > >preservative
> > >"unsatisfactory as a  serum intended for use on dogs."
> > >In the decades that followed, the evidence against thimerosal
continued
> to
> > >mount. During the Second World War, when the Department  of Defense
used
> > >the
> > >preservative in vaccines on soldiers, it  required Lilly to label it
> > >"poison."
> > >In 1967, a study in Applied  Microbiology found that thimerosal killed
> mice
> > >when added to  injected vaccines. Four years later, Lilly's own studies
> > >discerned
> > >  that thimerosal was "toxic to tissue cells" in concentrations as low
> as
> > >one
> > >part per million -- 100 times weaker than the concentration  in a
typical
> > >vaccine. Even so, the company continued to promote  thimerosal as
> > >"nontoxic" and
> > >also incorporated it into topical  disinfectants. In 1977, 10 babies at
a
> > >Toronto hospital died when an  antiseptic preserved with thimerosal was
> > >dabbed
> > >onto their umbilical  cords.
> > >In 1982, the FDA proposed a ban on over-the-counter products that
> > >contained
> > >thimerosal, and in 1991 the agency considered banning it  from animal
> > >vaccines. But tragically, that same year, the CDC  recommended that
> infants
> > >be
> > >injected with a series of mercury-laced  vaccines. Newborns would be
> > >vaccinated for
> > >hepatitis B within 24  hours of birth, and 2-month-old infants would be
> > >immunized for  haemophilus influenzae B and
diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis.
> > >The drug industry knew the additional vaccines posed a danger.  The
same
> > >year
> > >that the CDC approved the new vaccines, Dr. Maurice  Hilleman, one of
the
> > >fathers of Merck's vaccine programs, warned the  company that
> 6-month-olds
> > >who
> > >were administered the shots would  suffer dangerous exposure to
mercury.
> He
> > >recommended that thimerosal  be discontinued, "especially when used on
> > >infants and
> > >children,"  noting that the industry knew of nontoxic alternatives.
"The
> > >best
> > >  way to go," he added, "is to switch to dispensing the actual
vaccines
> > >without adding preservatives."
> > >For Merck and other drug companies, however, the obstacle was  money.
> > >Thimerosal enables the pharmaceutical industry to package  vaccines in
> > >vials that
> > >contain multiple doses, which require  additional protection because
they
> > >are
> > >more easily contaminated by  multiple needle entries. The larger vials
> cost
> > >half
> > >as much to  produce as smaller, single-dose vials, making it cheaper
for
> > >international agencies to distribute them to impoverished regions at
> risk
> > >of
> > >epidemics. Faced with this "cost consideration," Merck  ignored
> Hilleman's
> > >warnings, and government officials continued to  push more and more
> > >thimerosal-based
> > >vaccines for children. Before  1989, American preschoolers received
only
> > >three
> > >vaccinations -- for  polio, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and
> > >measles-mumps-rubella. A  decade later, thanks to federal
> recommendations,
> > >children were
> > >receiving a total of 22 immunizations by the time they reached first
> > >grade.
> > >As the number of vaccines increased, the rate of autism among  children
> > >exploded. During the 1990s, 40 million children were  injected with
> > >thimerosal-based vaccines, receiving unprecedented  levels of mercury
> > >during a period
> > >critical for brain development.  Despite the well-documented dangers of
> > >thimerosal,
> > >it appears that  no one bothered to add up the cumulative dose of
mercury
> > >that
> > >children would receive from the mandated vaccines. "What took the  FDA
so
> > >long to do the calculations?" Peter Patriarca, director of  viral
> products
> > >for
> > >the agency, asked in an e-mail to the CDC in  1999. "Why didn't CDC and
> the
> > >advisory bodies do these calculations  when they rapidly expanded the
> > >childhood
> > >immunization schedule?"
> > >But by that time, the damage was done. Infants who received all  their
> > >vaccines, plus boosters, by the age of 6 months were being  injected
with
> > >levels of
> > >ethylmercury 187 times greater than the  EPA's limit for daily exposure
> to
> > >methylmercury, a related  neurotoxin. Although the vaccine industry
> insists
> > >that
> > >ethylmercury  poses little danger because it breaks down rapidly and is
> > >removed by  the body, several studies -- including one published in
April
> > >by the
> > >National Institutes of Health -- suggest that ethylmercury is  actually
> > >more
> > >toxic to developing brains and stays in the brain  longer than
> > >methylmercury.
> > >Officials responsible for childhood immunizations insist that the
> > >additional
> > >vaccines were necessary to protect infants from disease  and that
> > >thimerosal
> > >is still essential in developing nations, which,  they often claim,
> cannot
> > >afford the single-dose vials that don't  require a preservative. Dr.
Paul
> > >Offit,
> > >one of CDC's top vaccine  advisors, told me, "I think if we really have
> an
> > >influenza pandemic  -- and certainly we will in the next 20 years,
> because
> > >we
> > >always do  -- there's no way on God's earth that we immunize 280
million
> > >people
> > >with single-dose vials. There has to be multidose vials."
> > >But while public-health officials may have been well-intentioned,  many
> of
> > >those on the CDC advisory committee who backed the  additional vaccines
> had
> > >close ties to the industry. Dr. Sam Katz,  the committee's chair, was a
> > >paid
> > >consultant for most of the major  vaccine makers and shares a patent on
a
> > >measles
> > >vaccine with Merck,  which also manufactures the hepatitis B vaccine.
Dr.
> > >Neal
> > >Halsey,  another committee member, worked as a researcher for the
vaccine
> > >companies and received honoraria from Abbott Labs for his research  on
> the
> > >hepatitis B vaccine.
> > >Indeed, in the tight circle of scientists who work on vaccines,  such
> > >conflicts of interest are common. Rep. Burton says that the CDC
> "routinely
> > >allows
> > >scientists with blatant conflicts of interest to  serve on intellectual
> > >advisory
> > >committees that make recommendations  on new vaccines," even though
they
> > >have
> > >"interests in the products  and companies for which they are supposed
to
> be
> > >providing unbiased  oversight." The House Government Reform Committee
> > >discovered that  four of the eight CDC advisors who approved guidelines
> for
> > >a
> > >rotavirus vaccine laced with thimerosal "had financial ties to the
> > >pharmaceutical
> > >companies that were developing different versions of  the vaccine."
> > >Offit, who shares a patent on the vaccine, acknowledged to me  that he
> > >"would
> > >make money" if his vote to approve it eventually  leads to a marketable
> > >product. But he dismissed my suggestion that a  scientist's direct
> > >financial stake
> > >in CDC approval might bias his  judgment. "It provides no conflict for
> me,"
> > >he
> > >insists. "I have  simply been informed by the process, not corrupted by
> it.
> > >When I sat  around that table, my sole intent was trying to make
> > >recommendations  that best benefited the children in this country. It's
> > >offensive to  say
> > >that physicians and public-health people are in the pocket of  industry
> and
> > >thus
> > >are making decisions that they know are unsafe for  children. It's just
> not
> > >the way it works."
> > >Other vaccine scientists and regulators gave me similar  assurances.
Like
> > >Offit, they view themselves as enlightened  guardians of children's
> health,
> > >proud
> > >of their "partnerships" with  pharmaceutical companies, immune to the
> > >seductions of personal  profit, besieged by irrational activists whose
> > >anti-vaccine
> > >campaigns are endangering children's health. They are often  resentful
of
> > >questioning. "Science," says Offit, "is best left to  scientists."
> > >Still, some government officials were alarmed by the apparent
conflicts
> of
> > >interest. In his e-mail to CDC administrators in 1999,  Paul Patriarca
of
> > >the
> > >FDA blasted federal regulators for failing to  adequately scrutinize
the
> > >danger
> > >posed by the added baby vaccines.  "I'm not sure there will be an easy
> way
> > >out of the potential  perception that the FDA, CDC and
> immunization-policy
> > >bodies may have  been asleep at the switch re: thimerosal until now,"
> > >Patriarca
> > >wrote. The close ties between regulatory officials and the
> pharmaceutical
> > >industry, he added, "will also raise questions about  various advisory
> > >bodies
> > >regarding aggressive recommendations for  use" of thimerosal in child
> > >vaccines.
> > >If federal regulators and government scientists failed to grasp  the
> > >potential risks of thimerosal over the years, no one could claim
> ignorance
> > >after the
> > >secret meeting at Simpsonwood. But rather than  conduct more studies to
> > >test
> > >the link to autism and other forms of  brain damage, the CDC placed
> > >politics
> > >over science. The agency  turned its database on childhood vaccines -- 
> > >which had
> > >been  developed largely at taxpayer expense -- over to a private
agency,
> > >America's Health Insurance Plans, ensuring that it could not be used
for
> > >additional research. It also instructed the Institute of  Medicine, an
> > >advisory
> > >organization that is part of the National  Academy of Sciences, to
> produce
> > >a study
> > >debunking the link between  thimerosal and brain disorders. The CDC
> "wants
> > >us
> > >to declare, well,  that these things are pretty safe," Dr. Marie
> McCormick,
> > >who chaired  the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee, told her
> > >fellow
> > >researchers when they first met in January 2001. "We are not ever
going
> to
> > >come
> > >down that [autism] is a true side effect" of  thimerosal exposure.
> > >According
> > >to transcripts of the meeting, the  committee's chief staffer, Kathleen
> > >Stratton, predicted that the IOM  would conclude that the evidence was
> > >"inadequate
> > >to accept or reject  a causal relation" between thimerosal and autism.
> > >That,
> > >she added,  was the result "Walt wants" -- a reference to Dr. Walter
> > >Orenstein,
> > >director of the National Immunization Program for the CDC.
> > >For those who had devoted their lives to promoting vaccination,  the
> > >revelations about thimerosal threatened to undermine everything  they
had
> > >worked for.
> > >"We've got a dragon by the tail here," said Dr.  Michael Kaback,
another
> > >committee member. "The more negative that  [our] presentation is, the
> less
> > >likely
> > >people are to use  vaccination, immunization -- and we know what the
> > >results of
> > >that  will be. We are kind of caught in a trap. How we work our way out
> of
> > >the trap, I think is the charge."
> > >Even in public, federal officials made it clear that their  primary
goal
> in
> > >studying thimerosal was to dispel doubts about  vaccines. "Four current
> > >studies
> > >are taking place to rule out the  proposed link between autism and
> > >thimerosal," Dr. Gordon Douglas,  then-director of strategic planning
for
> > >vaccine
> > >research at the  National Institutes of Health, assured a Princeton
> > >University
> > >gathering in May 2001. "In order to undo the harmful effects of
research
> > >claiming
> > >to link the [measles] vaccine to an elevated risk  of autism, we need
to
> > >conduct and publicize additional studies to  assure parents of safety."
> > >Douglas
> > >formerly served as president of  vaccinations for Merck, where he
ignored
> > >warnings about thimerosal's  risks.
> > >In May of last year, the Institute of Medicine issued its final
report.
> > >Its
> > >conclusion: There is no proven link between autism and  thimerosal in
> > >vaccines. Rather than reviewing the large body of  literature
describing
> > >the toxicity
> > >of thimerosal, the report relied  on four disastrously flawed
> > >epidemiological
> > >studies examining  European countries, where children received much
> smaller
> > >doses of  thimerosal than American kids. It also cited a new version of
> the
> > >Verstraeten study, published in the journal Pediatrics, that had  been
> > >reworked
> > >to reduce the link between thimerosal and autism. The  new study
included
> > >children too young to have been diagnosed with  autism and overlooked
> > >others who
> > >showed signs of the disease. The  IOM declared the case closed and -- 
in
> a
> > >startling position for a  scientific body -- recommended that no
further
> > >research
> > >be  conducted.
> > >The report may have satisfied the CDC, but it convinced no one.  Rep.
> David
> > >Weldon, a Republican physician from Florida who serves on  the House
> > >Government
> > >Reform Committee, attacked the Institute of  Medicine, saying it relied
> on
> > >a
> > >handful of studies that were  "fatally flawed" by "poor design" and
> failed
> > >to
> > >represent "all the  available scientific and medical research." CDC
> > >officials
> > >are not  interested in an honest search for the truth, Weldon told me,
> > >because "an association between vaccines and autism would force them
to
> > >admit that
> > >their policies irreparably damaged thousands of  children. Who would
want
> > >to
> > >make that conclusion about themselves?"
> > >Under pressure from Congress, parents and a few of its own panel
> members,
> > >the Institute of Medicine reluctantly convened a second  panel to
review
> > >the
> > >findings of the first. In February, the new  panel, composed of
different
> > >scientists, criticized the earlier  panel for its lack of transparency
> and
> > >urged the
> > >CDC to make its  vaccine database available to the public.
> > >So far, though, only two scientists have managed to gain access.  Dr.
> Mark
> > >Geier, president of the Genetics Center of America, and his  son,
David,
> > >spent a
> > >year battling to obtain the medical records from  the CDC. Since August
> > >2002,
> > >when members of Congress pressured the  agency to turn over the data,
the
> > >Geiers have completed six studies  that demonstrate a powerful
> correlation
> > >between thimerosal and  neurological damage in children. One study,
which
> > >compares
> > >the  cumulative dose of mercury received by children born between 1981
> and
> > >1985 with those born between 1990 and 1996, found a "very  significant
> > >relationship" between autism and vaccines. Another study  of
educational
> > >performance
> > >found that kids who received higher doses  of thimerosal in vaccines
were
> > >nearly
> > >three times as likely to be  diagnosed with autism and more than three
> > >times
> > >as likely to suffer  from speech disorders and mental retardation.
> Another
> > >soon-to-be-published study shows that autism rates are in decline
> > >following the
> > >recent elimination of thimerosal from most vaccines.
> > >As the federal government worked to prevent scientists from  studying
> > >vaccines, others have stepped in to study the link to  autism. In
April,
> > >reporter Dan
> > >Olmsted of UPI undertook one of the  more interesting studies himself.
> > >Searching for children who had not  been exposed to mercury in
> vaccines -- 
> > >the kind
> > >of population that  scientists typically use as a "control" in
> experiments
> > >--
> > >Olmsted  scoured the Amish of Lancaster County, Penn., who refuse to
> > >immunize
> > >their infants. Given the national rate of autism, Olmsted calculated
> that
> > >there should be 130 autistics among the Amish. He found only  four. One
> had
> > >been
> > >exposed to high levels of mercury from a power  plant. The other
three --
> > >including one child adopted from outside  the Amish community -- had
> > >received
> > >their vaccines.
> > >At the state level, many officials have also conducted in-depth
reviews
> of
> > >thimerosal. While the Institute of Medicine was busy  whitewashing the
> > >risks,
> > >the Iowa Legislature was carefully combing  through all of the
available
> > >scientific and biological data. "After  three years of review, I became
> > >convinced
> > >there was sufficient  credible research to show a link between mercury
> and
> > >the
> > >increased  incidences in autism," says state Sen. Ken Veenstra, a
> > >Republican
> > >who oversaw the investigation. "The fact that Iowa's 700 percent
> increase
> > >in
> > >autism began in the 1990s, right after more and more  vaccines were
added
> > >to
> > >the children's vaccine schedules, is solid  evidence alone." Last year,
> > >Iowa
> > >became the first state to ban  mercury in vaccines, followed by
> California.
> > >Similar bans are now  under consideration in 32 other states.
> > >But instead of following suit, the FDA continues to allow
manufacturers
> to
> > >include thimerosal in scores of over-the-counter  medications as well
as
> > >steroids and injected collagen. Even more  alarming, the government
> > >continues to
> > >ship vaccines preserved with  thimerosal to developing countries -- 
some
> of
> > >which
> > >are now  experiencing a sudden explosion in autism rates. In China,
where
> > >the
> > >  disease was virtually unknown prior to the introduction of
thimerosal
> by
> > >U.S. drug manufacturers in 1999, news reports indicate  that there are
> now
> > >more
> > >than 1.8 million autistics. Although  reliable numbers are hard to come
> by,
> > >autistic disorders also appear  to be soaring in India, Argentina,
> > >Nicaragua and
> > >other developing  countries that are now using thimerosal-laced
vaccines.
> > >The
> > >World  Health Organization continues to insist thimerosal is safe, but
it
> > >promises to keep the possibility that it is linked to neurological
> > >disorders
> > >"under review."
> > >I devoted time to study this issue because I believe that this is  a
> moral
> > >crisis that must be addressed. If, as the evidence suggests,  our
> > >public-health
> > >authorities knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical  industry to poison an
> > >entire
> > >generation of American children, their  actions arguably constitute one
> of
> > >the biggest scandals in the  annals of American medicine. "The CDC is
> > >guilty of
> > >incompetence and  gross negligence," says Mark Blaxill, vice president
of
> > >Safe
> > >Minds,  a nonprofit organization concerned about the role of mercury in
> > >medicines. "The damage caused by vaccine exposure is massive. It's
> bigger
> > >than
> > >asbestos, bigger than tobacco, bigger than anything  you've ever seen."
> > >It's
> > >hard to calculate the damage to our country  -- and to the
international
> > >efforts
> > >to eradicate epidemic diseases  -- if Third World nations come to
believe
> > >that
> > >America's most  heralded foreign-aid initiative is poisoning their
> > >children.
> > >It's  not difficult to predict how this scenario will be interpreted by
> > >America's enemies abroad. The scientists and researchers -- many of
them
> > >sincere,
> > >even idealistic -- who are participating in efforts to  hide the
science
> on
> > >thimerosal claim that they are trying to advance  the lofty goal of
> > >protecting
> > >children in developing nations from  disease pandemics. They are badly
> > >misguided. Their failure to come  clean on thimerosal will come back
> > >horribly to haunt
> > >our country and  the world's poorest populations.
> > >Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is senior attorney for the Natural  Resources
> Defense
> > >Council, chief prosecuting attorney for  Riverkeeper and president of
> > >Waterkeeper Alliance. He is the  co-author of "_The Riverkeepers_
> >
>
>(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068484625X/commondreams-20/ref=nosi
> m)
> > >."
> > >© 2005  Salon.com
> >
> >
>