a fwd re: Baltimore Sun editorials

[Guest guest]

Good Morning Everyone, For those of you who do not receive the Baltimore Sun, I thought I would send you part of today's editorial page. These editorials take up one third of the the top left two-page editorial section with a huge animated drawing of a hypodermic needle ( vaccine?) with a somewhat sick version of a "skull and crossbones" but the skull has been replaced with a happy face . Many thanks to everyone who wrote especially those who are featured....Dr. Whiting, Charlottesville, VA; Joe Dent, Greenwood, DE (who has helped us considerably in our attempts to get legislation in land) and Darren Tucker (also helping recently). Obviously, They felt the need to give rebuttal. The lies this time came from Deborah Wexler, the Director of the Immunization action Coalition. I am told there is more to come. I will keep you posted. Tuesday is our big day. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Mike Dow, polis, MD

Are vaccines making kids sick?

April 1, 2006

I must disagree with the thrust of The Sun's editorial "Vaccine jitters" (March 28). The editorial suggests that if we take mercury out of the influenza shot, the vaccine supply will be diminished. Why should this be the case? In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service issued a joint statement urging that the mercury preservative used in children's vaccines be removed "as soon as possible." Here we are seven years later, and while mercury has been removed from other immunizations, it continues to be present in more than 90 percent of this year's influenza vaccine stock. Furthermore, the recommendation for who should receive the influenza shot has been drastically expanded in recent years; the latest recommendations are that all children ages 6 months to 5 years should get the vaccine. In 1999, when it was first publicly acknowledged that American children were getting more mercury from their vaccines than Environmental Protection Agency limits mandated, only children who were at high risk for respiratory disease got flu shots. Now all children are deemed to benefit from these shots. There is a risk-benefit ratio for all medical procedures. And since mercury, by all accounts, is a poison, and there is no known threshold at which it can be considered safe, it makes no sense to expose an entire generation of children to this risk when there is a relatively low benefit to the average individual. It makes no sense to have poison in vaccines. And the public would have more trust in the National Immunization Program if vaccines were mercury-free.

Dr. Whiting Charlottesville, Va.

The writer is an emergency physician and the parent of an autistic child. I read The Sun's editorial "Vaccine jitters" and was deeply disappointed in its lack of attention to the science regarding the potential dangers of mercury, even when taken in small doses. Mercury is a known neurotoxin that is rapidly absorbed and accumulated in selected cells and tissues (the nervous system, kidneys, etc.) Even at low levels, mercury can also act synergistically with other chemicals or factors to promote the development of diseases. The belief that because thimerosal has been used in vaccines for years, it is therefore "safe" is a gross misconception. We all must admit that "safety" is a relative concept. Many chemicals or exposure levels considered "safe" in the past are now deemed to be health risks (for example, the "safety guidelines" for lead and arsenic, two other toxic metals, have been revised or updated multiple times in the past decade in response to public health concerns). While these vaccines may have been considered "safe" years ago, with new information available, their health risks must seriously be questioned and addressed.

Joe Dent Greenwood, Del. The Sun's editorial "Vaccine jitters" urges the rejection of state legislation that would ban mercury from childhood vaccines, contending that no link between vaccines containing mercury and autism has been scientifically confirmed. In fact, several studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals have concluded that vaccines containing mercury contributed to the autism epidemic in America. A June 2000 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that vaccines containing mercury were linked to several developmental disabilities, including autism. Autism rates skyrocketed in the 1990s, only to fall in recent years - a pattern that closely tracks the addition of mercury-based vaccines to the recommended vaccination schedule in the 1990s, then their phase-out beginning in 1999. The Sun's contention that the legislation would lead to a vaccine shortage is belied by the fact that land accounts for a trivial percentage of worldwide vaccine demand, by the two-year window before the legislation would take effect and by the opt-out provision in the event of a pandemic. Removing mercury from vaccines would help protect our children and restore trust in the vaccination system.

Darren Tucker Bethesda I agree with The Sun's editorial opposing the attempt to pass legislation that would restrict the use of vaccines that contain thimerosal. Thimerosal, which contains ethylmercury, is a preservative used to prevent contamination of some vaccines, most notably injectable influenza vaccine. Erroneous information has implicated the ethylmercury contained in thimerosal as a cause of certain health problems. However, there is abundant evidence that refutes the notion that the quantities of thimerosal in vaccines cause any risk to health. These findings have been confirmed by the Institute of Medicine, a highly respected and independent national scientific body. Concern over the ethylmercury in vaccines most likely arises because it is confused with methylmercury, which, in sufficient doses, has been shown to be neurotoxic. It is the presence of methylmercury in certain fish and shellfish, for example, that has caused governments to caution pregnant women to limit consumption of these foods. Influenza kills an average of 36,000 people in the United States per year, including between 75 and 150 children during the two most recent flu seasons. The land bill would restrict access to some of the injectable vaccines for influenza because they contain thimerosal as a preservative. Enacting anti-thimerosal legislation would create the false impression that vaccines that contain thimerosal are not safe and should not be used. On the contrary, vaccines - including vaccines that contain thimerosal - save lives and protect health. If this legislation passes, it will put lives at risk.

Deborah L. Wexler St. , Minn.

The writer is executive director of the Immunization Action Coalition.

To Our Readers: The Sun welcomes letters from readers. All letters become the property of The Sun, which reserves the right to edit them. Letters should include your name and address, along with day and evening telephone numbers. E-mail us: letters@...; write us: Letters to the Editor, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001; fax us: 410-332-6977

[Guest guest]

Keep at it. The Baltimore Sun is obviously willing to take on this debate (whether they agree or not) and now the lies can be exposed in a public forum. Stay calm, collected and armed with undisputable facts - as long as the Sun is willing to publish both sides. JaneBJBlackler@... wrote: Good Morning Everyone, For those of you who do not receive the Baltimore Sun, I thought I would send you part of today's editorial page. These editorials take up one third of the the top left two-page editorial section with a huge animated drawing of a hypodermic needle ( vaccine?) with a somewhat sick version of a "skull and crossbones" but the skull has been replaced with a happy face . Many thanks to everyone who wrote especially those who are featured....Dr. Whiting, Charlottesville, VA; Joe Dent, Greenwood, DE (who has helped us considerably in our attempts to get legislation in land) and Darren Tucker (also helping recently). Obviously, They felt the need to give rebuttal. The lies this time came from Deborah Wexler, the Director of the Immunization action Coalition. I am told there is more to come. I will keep you posted. Tuesday is our big day. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Mike Dow, polis, MD Are vaccines making kids sick? April 1, 2006 I must disagree with the thrust of The Sun's editorial "Vaccine

jitters" (March 28). The editorial suggests that if we take mercury out of the influenza shot, the vaccine supply will be diminished. Why should this be the case? In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service issued a joint statement urging that the mercury preservative used in children's vaccines be removed "as soon as possible." Here we are seven years later, and while mercury has been removed from other immunizations, it continues to be present in more than 90 percent of this year's influenza vaccine stock. Furthermore, the recommendation for who should receive the influenza shot has been drastically expanded in recent years; the latest recommendations are that all children ages 6 months to 5 years should get the vaccine. In 1999, when it was first publicly acknowledged that American children were getting more mercury from their vaccines than Environmental Protection Agency limits mandated, only

children who were at high risk for respiratory disease got flu shots. Now all children are deemed to benefit from these shots. There is a risk-benefit ratio for all medical procedures. And since mercury, by all accounts, is a poison, and there is no known threshold at which it can be considered safe, it makes no sense to expose an entire generation of children to this risk when there is a relatively low benefit to the average individual. It makes no sense to have poison in vaccines. And the public would have more trust in the National Immunization Program if vaccines were mercury-free. Dr. Whiting Charlottesville, Va. The writer is an emergency physician and the parent of an autistic child. I read The Sun's editorial "Vaccine jitters" and was deeply disappointed in its lack of attention to the science regarding the potential dangers of mercury, even when

taken in small doses. Mercury is a known neurotoxin that is rapidly absorbed and accumulated in selected cells and tissues (the nervous system, kidneys, etc.) Even at low levels, mercury can also act synergistically with other chemicals or factors to promote the development of diseases. The belief that because thimerosal has been used in vaccines for years, it is therefore "safe" is a gross misconception. We all must admit that "safety" is a relative concept. Many chemicals or exposure levels considered "safe" in the past are now deemed to be health risks (for example, the "safety guidelines" for lead and arsenic, two other toxic metals, have been revised or updated multiple times in the past decade in response to public health concerns). While these vaccines may have been considered "safe" years ago, with new information available, their health risks must seriously be questioned and addressed. Joe Dent Greenwood, Del. The Sun's editorial "Vaccine jitters" urges the rejection of state legislation that would ban mercury from childhood vaccines, contending that no link between vaccines containing mercury and autism has been scientifically confirmed. In fact, several studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals have concluded that vaccines containing mercury contributed to the autism epidemic in America. A June 2000 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that vaccines containing mercury were linked to several developmental disabilities, including autism. Autism rates skyrocketed in the 1990s, only to fall in recent years - a pattern that closely tracks the addition of mercury-based vaccines to the recommended vaccination schedule in the 1990s, then their phase-out beginning in 1999. The Sun's contention that the legislation would lead to a vaccine shortage is

belied by the fact that land accounts for a trivial percentage of worldwide vaccine demand, by the two-year window before the legislation would take effect and by the opt-out provision in the event of a pandemic. Removing mercury from vaccines would help protect our children and restore trust in the vaccination system. Darren Tucker Bethesda I agree with The Sun's editorial opposing the attempt to pass legislation that would restrict the use of vaccines that contain thimerosal. Thimerosal, which contains ethylmercury, is a preservative used to prevent contamination of some vaccines, most notably injectable influenza vaccine. Erroneous information has implicated the ethylmercury contained in thimerosal as a cause of certain health problems. However, there is abundant evidence that refutes the notion that the quantities of thimerosal in vaccines cause any risk to health. These

findings have been confirmed by the Institute of Medicine, a highly respected and independent national scientific body. Concern over the ethylmercury in vaccines most likely arises because it is confused with methylmercury, which, in sufficient doses, has been shown to be neurotoxic. It is the presence of methylmercury in certain fish and shellfish, for example, that has caused governments to caution pregnant women to limit consumption of these foods. Influenza kills an average of 36,000 people in the United States per year, including between 75 and 150 children during the two most recent flu seasons. The land bill would restrict access to some of the injectable vaccines for influenza because they contain thimerosal as a preservative. Enacting anti-thimerosal legislation would create the false impression that vaccines that contain thimerosal are not safe and should not be used. On the contrary, vaccines - including vaccines

that contain thimerosal - save lives and protect health. If this legislation passes, it will put lives at risk. Deborah L. Wexler St. , Minn. The writer is executive director of the Immunization Action Coalition. To Our Readers: The Sun welcomes letters from readers. All letters become the property of The Sun, which reserves the right to edit them. Letters should include your name and address, along with day and evening telephone numbers. E-mail us: letters@...; write us: Letters to the Editor, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001; fax us: 410-332-6977

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