(Mass.) Worcester Telegram & Gazette series on Autism: Part 3

[Guest guest]

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060618/NEWS/606180513/1116

Sunday, June 18, 2006 Autism groups want mercury banPreservative used in vaccines for children

By Nangle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFrnangle@...

A battle pitting many parents of autistic children against the bulk of the state’s medical establishment, with state lawmakers squarely in the middle, could spill onto the House floor this week as debate begins on a bill to ban mercury from children’s vaccines. The bill itself is a decidedly watered-down version of what supporters originally wanted. That, though, has done little to stave off behind-the-scenes maneuvering by a number of official medical organizations. What spurred the proposed legislation is a rise in autism rates that coincides with an increase in the required number of children’s vaccines. Since 1989 the number of required injections is up from about 8 to 22. In that same time period, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidences of autism have risen from 2 in 10,000 to 1 in 166.

Many of the opposing organizations first surfaced a year ago when backers of the legislation tried to add it to the fiscal 2006 budget. In three hours of testimony before the Legislature’s Public Health Committee in December, only one speaker testified in person in opposition, while several medical experts, advocates and family members pleaded their case in support of the measure. The lone opponent, however, was the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is spearheading the opposition. Dr. Palfrey invoked the specter of avian bird flu and warned committee members that a ban on multiple-dose vials of influenza vaccine could result in illness or death for hundreds of children or more. “What you as legislators need to hear from me is that despite fears, and rumors, articles and books in the lay press, and numerous personal anecdotes alleging a

causal relationship between thimerosal and autism or other mental or developmental illnesses, there is no confirmed scientific evidence that the particular form of mercury in this preservative causes any of these conditions,†he testified. Dr. Jerome O. Klein, a Boston University School of Medicine professor of pediatrics, submitted written testimony noting that, “Mercury, in the form of the preservative thimerosal, has already been reduced or eliminated from almost all childhood vaccines. Current and future influenza vaccines will continue to contain thimerosal because of its importance in preventing microbial contamination.†The list of opponents to the legislation reads like a who’s who of medical organizations: the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians, Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, Massachusetts Association of Public Health Nurses, Massachusetts Environmental Health Association, Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society,

Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts School Nurse Organization and the health departments in Lowell, Watertown and Burlington. It all comes under the umbrella of the MCAAP Immunization Initiative, which is funded by the Massachusetts Immunization Program at the state Department of Public Health. State Rep. Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham, a sponsor of the bill, said the House leadership has been under siege from opponents of the legislation and that the pressure resulted in major revisions. He said he expects to meet with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, this week with the goal to bring the matter to a vote on the House floor. The bill already has passed muster with the Public Health, Health Care Finance and Ways and Means committees. Originally, the bill would have banned mercury in vaccines for children younger than 8. At present, it would be in effect only for children younger than 3. The

original bill would have taken effect at the end of this year, while the legislation now in the House would kick in at the end of 2007. There is a provision for the state public health commissioner to invoke a two-year exemption, rather than the one-year exemption in the original legislation. In the current legislation, the public health commissioner would not need approval from the governor to invoke the exemption. “We compromised as much as we could,†Mr. Bradley said. As a result, the bill falls comfortably in the middle of similar laws that have been passed in New York, California, Delaware, Iowa, Missouri, Washington and Illinois. Meanwhile, many states in addition to Massachusetts are considering legislation. The list includes Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, land, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont. The Hawaii legislature has passed an anti-mercury

bill which has not been signed into law. The Massachusetts bill was broken out from broader-based legislation controlling mercury pollution and has bipartisan support. “I think obviously there are some who feel these vaccines and thimerosal and things of that sort are not linked to autism, but there’s also a very big group that thinks that it is and there’s evidence that points to that,†said state Rep. Bradford R. Hill, R-Ipswich, who sponsored the bill along with state Rep. Barbara A. L’Italien, D-Andover. “Some of the leaders of the House were getting pressure from a lot of outside sources, but just as many legislators feel strongly that we have to address this problem,†Mr. Hill said. Ms. L’Italien, who has an autistic son, links his illness to mercury contained in a vaccination the boy was given. “He broke out in hives and he couldn’t sleep,†she said. “I’m convinced of the link. There is no refuting the

evidence that all developmental disorders have gone through the roof in the past 15 years. But a lot of folks don’t want to believe that we could have been unwittingly doing harm to our children.†Mr. Bradley said a virtual absence of media coverage of the issue leaves many parents with the false impression that the federal government has already eliminated mercury from children’s vaccines. “We’re trying to get the message out that you still have to ask and be vigilant,†he said. It has been a difficult fight in the face of opposition that labels bill proponents as anti-vaccine. MCAAP program manager Hadassah Kubat, in an e-mail sent to every state legislator, maintained that “The evidence that mercury has serious toxic ill effects on the neurological development of infants is based on studies of methyl mercury. Physicians and other scientists agree that mercury poisoning is caused primarily by eating fish and shellfish contaminated

with methyl mercury. The preservative thimerosal is made with ethylmercury, a different chemical, and its use as a preservative has allowed hundreds of millions of children to be protected from illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases for over half a century. Scientific studies have shown no evidence to relate the ethylmercury in thimerosal to any cases of human mercury poisoning.†That prompted a response e-mail from Mr. Bradley in which he noted that it is only since 1988 that children have been exposed to multiple vaccines and therefore multiple doses of thimerosal. On the issue of ethylmercury, he wrote, “Can you please tell me how many studies have been done? I am not aware of any, but I am aware of one done on monkeys that shows that ethylmercury crosses the blood brain barrier the same as methyl mercury and is just as damaging.â€

[Guest guest]

Wow, Cheryl. A great series!!! I will write to the journalist. maurineCheryl Gaudino <CherylGaudino@...> wrote: http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060618/NEWS/606180513/1116 Sunday, June 18, 2006 Autism groups want mercury banPreservative used in vaccines for children By Nangle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFrnangle@... A battle pitting many parents of autistic children against the bulk of the state’s medical establishment, with state lawmakers squarely in the middle, could spill onto the House floor this week as debate begins on a bill to ban mercury from children’s vaccines. The bill itself is a decidedly watered-down version of what supporters originally wanted. That, though, has done little to stave off behind-the-scenes maneuvering by a number of official medical organizations. What spurred the proposed legislation is a rise in autism rates that coincides with an increase in the required number of children’s vaccines. Since 1989 the number of required injections is up from about 8 to 22. In that same time period, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidences of

autism have risen from 2 in 10,000 to 1 in 166. Many of the opposing organizations first surfaced a year ago when backers of the legislation tried to add it to the fiscal 2006 budget. In three hours of testimony before the Legislature’s Public Health Committee in December, only one speaker testified in person in opposition, while several medical experts, advocates and family members pleaded their case in support of the measure. The lone opponent, however, was the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of

Pediatrics, which is spearheading the opposition. Dr. Palfrey invoked the specter of avian bird flu and warned committee members that a ban on multiple-dose vials of influenza vaccine could result in illness or death for hundreds of children or more. “What you as legislators need to hear from me is that despite fears, and rumors, articles and books in the lay press, and numerous personal anecdotes alleging a causal relationship between thimerosal and autism or other mental or developmental illnesses, there is no confirmed scientific evidence that the particular form of mercury in this preservative causes any of these conditions,†he testified. Dr. Jerome O. Klein, a Boston University School of Medicine professor of pediatrics, submitted written testimony noting that, “Mercury, in the form of the preservative thimerosal, has already been reduced or eliminated from almost all childhood vaccines. Current and future influenza vaccines will continue

to contain thimerosal because of its importance in preventing microbial contamination.†The list of opponents to the legislation reads like a who’s who of medical organizations: the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians, Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, Massachusetts Association of Public Health Nurses, Massachusetts Environmental Health Association, Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society, Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts School Nurse Organization and the health departments in Lowell, Watertown and Burlington. It all comes under the umbrella of the MCAAP Immunization Initiative, which is funded by the Massachusetts Immunization Program at the state Department of Public Health. State Rep. Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham, a sponsor of the bill, said the House leadership has been under siege from opponents of the legislation and that the pressure resulted in major revisions. He said he

expects to meet with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, this week with the goal to bring the matter to a vote on the House floor. The bill already has passed muster with the Public Health, Health Care Finance and Ways and Means committees. Originally, the bill would have banned mercury in vaccines for children younger than 8. At present, it would be in effect only for children younger than 3. The original bill would have taken effect at the end of this year, while the legislation now in the House would kick in at the end of 2007. There is a provision for the state public health commissioner to invoke a two-year exemption, rather than the one-year exemption in the original legislation. In the current legislation, the public health commissioner would not need approval from the governor to invoke the exemption. “We compromised as much as we could,†Mr. Bradley said. As a result, the bill falls comfortably in the middle of similar

laws that have been passed in New York, California, Delaware, Iowa, Missouri, Washington and Illinois. Meanwhile, many states in addition to Massachusetts are considering legislation. The list includes Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, land, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont. The Hawaii legislature has passed an anti-mercury bill which has not been signed into law. The Massachusetts bill was broken out from broader-based legislation controlling mercury pollution and has bipartisan support. “I think obviously there are some who feel these vaccines and thimerosal and things of that sort are not linked to autism, but there’s also a very big group that thinks that it is and there’s evidence that points to that,†said state Rep. Bradford R. Hill, R-Ipswich, who sponsored the bill along with state Rep. Barbara A. L’Italien, D-Andover. “Some of the leaders of the

House were getting pressure from a lot of outside sources, but just as many legislators feel strongly that we have to address this problem,†Mr. Hill said. Ms. L’Italien, who has an autistic son, links his illness to mercury contained in a vaccination the boy was given. “He broke out in hives and he couldn’t sleep,†she said. “I’m convinced of the link. There is no refuting the evidence that all developmental disorders have gone through the roof in the past 15 years. But a lot of folks don’t want to believe that we could have been unwittingly doing harm to our children.†Mr. Bradley said a virtual absence of media coverage of the issue leaves many parents with the false impression that the federal government has already eliminated mercury from children’s vaccines. “We’re trying to get the message out that you still have to ask and be vigilant,†he said. It has been a difficult fight in the face of opposition

that labels bill proponents as anti-vaccine. MCAAP program manager Hadassah Kubat, in an e-mail sent to every state legislator, maintained that “The evidence that mercury has serious toxic ill effects on the neurological development of infants is based on studies of methyl mercury. Physicians and other scientists agree that mercury poisoning is caused primarily by eating fish and shellfish contaminated with methyl mercury. The preservative thimerosal is made with ethylmercury, a different chemical, and its use as a preservative has allowed hundreds of millions of children to be protected from illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases for over half a century. Scientific studies have shown no evidence to relate the ethylmercury in thimerosal to any cases of human mercury poisoning.†That prompted a response e-mail from Mr. Bradley in which he noted that it is only since 1988 that children have been exposed to multiple vaccines and therefore multiple

doses of thimerosal. On the issue of ethylmercury, he wrote, “Can you please tell me how many studies have been done? I am not aware of any, but I am aware of one done on monkeys that shows that ethylmercury crosses the blood brain barrier the same as methyl mercury and is just as damaging.â€

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