Activists Allege Influence Over Vaccine Studies

April 19, 2006

Todd Zwillich

April 10, 2006 — Debate over a possible tie between mercury-containing

vaccines and autism flared up recently as activist groups launched a

campaign accusing federal health agencies and prominent researchers of

manipulating scientific findings on the link.

Parents of autistic children have long blamed vaccines containing the

preservative thimerosal for an alarming rise in the disorder. A series of

reports by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) ending in 2004 concluded no

evidence could be found linking the vaccines to neurologic diseases,

including autism.

But groups this week mounted a campaign to publicize previously undisclosed

transcripts and emails that they say point to efforts by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention to manipulate the IOM’s scientific

conclusions on the safety of vaccines containing thimerosal. The groups

accuse the CDC of trying to defend a long-held policy promoting childhood

vaccinations.

“In the interest of protecting the immunization program, they forgot about

child safety. They are continuing that pattern of behavior and denial that

thimerosal causes harm,” Bobbie Manning, vice president of Advocates for

Children’s Health Affected by Mercury, said in an interview.

Thimerosal has not been used in US vaccines since 2002, mainly because of a

desire to limit mercury exposure in infants. But parents say millions of

exposures before then helped cause a spike in autism cases since the 1980s.

The CDC contracted with the IOM in 2001 to generate a series of reports on

possible links between vaccines and a variety of health problems. An IOM

committee of outside experts, chaired by Harvard researcher Marie McCormick,

MD, found no evidence of a link and concluded that proposed biological

explanations for a mercury-autism relationship were “theoretical.”

Allegations of Bias

Activist groups released transcripts of closed-door conversations in 2001

between Dr. McCormick and Kathleen Stratton, PhD, the IOM study director.

Groups say the conversation suggests that the committee would fashion its

findings to meet CDC’s desires to play down a link between thimerosal and

autism.

“[CDC] wants us to declare, well, these things are pretty safe on a

population basis,” McCormick said to Stratton, according to the transcript,

posted on a Web site called Putchildrenfirst.com.

Thirty-four pages later in the transcript, McCormick states, “...we are not

ever going to come down that [autism] is a true side effect.”

Ms. Manning said the transcript shows that the CDC “directed that committee

to find what they wanted to find, which was no causation” between vaccines

and autism.

In an interview, Dr. McCormick confirmed that the statements in the

transcript are “accurate and true.” But she there was “no truth” to

allegations that CDC officials influenced the IOM or that the committee

reached conclusions before its scientific review.

Dr. McCormick said her comments reflected a debate over whether the

committee would look at vaccine effects in individuals or across

populations, and not what any specific findings would be.

The conversation also took place in late 2001, before the committee’s final

2004 report on vaccines and autism was planned, Dr. McCormick said. “In 2001

we did not know we were going to look at autism again. To use those as

evidence for what we did in 2004 is really inappropriate,” she said.

Dr. McCormick added that the committee’s experts were chosen specifically

for their scientific independence and for a lack of ties to both vaccine

manufacturers and the CDC.

CDC’s Role

Parents groups allege that CDC officials had worked to dissuade agency

scientists from looking more deeply into links between thimerosal and

autism.

The groups also alleged that CDC officials narrowed the scope of IOM’s

report to include a handful of studies, most of which the agency had a role

in funding or planning. Those studies generally showed little evidence of a

link between vaccination and autism.

Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman, said that the agency has been “very

transparent” about its ongoing studies of autism and vaccines and that the

emails have been taken “out of context.” He said the agency closely guards

its scientific credibility and “in no way” tried to influence IOM experts.

“We stand behind our science that’s been done to this date and we will

certainly do more in the future,” he said.

Louis Z. , MD, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at Columbia

University and a founder of the National Network for Immunization

Information, said in an interview that some of the emails and transcripts

“cause some anxiety” because they may help fuel fear among parents about the

safety of vaccines and the motivations of health officials.

Still, Dr. , who noted he has known Dr. McCormick professionally for

at least 20 years, called accusations of bias against her or other members

of IOM’s committee “rubbish, scurrilous, and awful.”

If I wanted a group who were committed to objectivity and were committed to

science, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people,” said Dr.

, a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Ms. Manning said that her group and others would continue to push for

congressional investigations into how the IOM conducted the studies and

whether they were influenced by the CDC. “We believe that this is a serious

issue that needs to be examined,” she said.

Reviewed by D. Vogin, MD

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Todd Zwillich is a freelance writer for WebMD.

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April 19, 2006