Re: Activist Groups Spar With CDC Over Claims of Link Between Autism and Thimerosal

[Guest guest]

Hi Ladies,

An ombudsman on Wikopedia asked me to contribute to the Autism Epidemic entry.

I

don't really know much about the controversy. If any of you do, please consider

helping

edit the online encyclopedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_epidemic

>

> BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO! Just like with the Breast Implant Industry, the

> Vaccination Industry wants the public to draw the conclusion that

> vaccinations are safe ...

>

> Also, the parents in this cause are attacked the same way the

> support group leaders in the breast implant cause are attacked ...

> Moms & Dads who saw their perfect babies health change 180 degrees

> after vaccinations, are told they are 'crazy' and that 'science' has

> proven otherwise.

>

> No it hasn't ... nor in our case.

>

> http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/120/114005.htm?printing=true

>

> Original page:

> http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/120/114005.htm

>

>

>

>

> Activist Groups Spar With CDC Over Claims of Link Between Autism and

> Thimerosal

>

> By Todd Zwillich

> WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

> on Friday, April 07, 2006

>

> April 7, 2006 -- Debate over a possible tie between mercury-

> containing vaccines and autism flared up this week as activist

> groups launched a campaign accusing federal health agencies and

> prominent researchers of manipulating scientific findings on the

> link.

>

> Some parents of autistic children have long blamed vaccines

> containing the preservative thimerosal for an alarming rise in the

> disorder. Thimerosal contains a type of mercury. A series of reports

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

> evidence could be found linking the vaccines to neurological

> 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 CDC 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, tells WebMD.

>

> According to the CDC, all vaccines recommended for children are

> available in thimerosal-free versions. But some parents say millions

> of previous exposures helped caused 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, led 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

>

> Allegations of Bias

>

> Activist groups released transcripts of closed-door conversations in

> 2001 between McCormick and Kathleen Stratton, the study director.

> Groups say the conversation suggests that the committee would

> fashion its findings to meet the CDC's desires to play down a link

> between thimerosal and autism.

>

> " [The 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. "

>

> 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, McCormick confirmed that the statements in the

> transcript are " accurate and true. " But she said there was " no

> truth " to allegations that CDC officials influenced the IOM or that

> the committee reached conclusions before its scientific review.

>

> 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,

> 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.

>

> McCormick added that the committee's experts were chosen

> specifically for their scientific independence and for a lack of

> ties to both pharmaceutical manufacturers and the CDC.

>

>

> CDC Perspective

>

> CDC Perspective

>

> Parents groups alleged 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 the

> 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 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, , who noted he's known 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 , a former president of the American Academy of

> Pediatrics.

>

> Manning said 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.

>

>

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------

> -----------

>

> SOURCES: Bobbie Manning, vice president, Advocates for Children's

> Health Affected by Mercury. www.putchildrenfirst.com. Marie

> McCormick, MD, professor of maternal and child health, Harvard

> University School of Public Health. Tom Skinner, spokesman, CDC.

> Louis Z. , MD, professor emeritus, Columbia University.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you. And thanks for updating the site on implants too. Can you

please post that link?

--- In , " Molly Bloom " <mollyb54@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi Ladies,

> An ombudsman on Wikopedia asked me to contribute to the Autism

Epidemic entry. I

> don't really know much about the controversy. If any of you do,

please consider helping

> edit the online encyclopedia article:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_epidemic

>

>

> --- In , " colibrimama " <colibrimama@>

wrote:

> >

> > BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO! Just like with the Breast Implant Industry,

the

> > Vaccination Industry wants the public to draw the conclusion

that

> > vaccinations are safe ...

> >

> > Also, the parents in this cause are attacked the same way the

> > support group leaders in the breast implant cause are

attacked ...

> > Moms & Dads who saw their perfect babies health change 180

degrees

> > after vaccinations, are told they are 'crazy' and that 'science'

has

> > proven otherwise.

> >

> > No it hasn't ... nor in our case.

> >

> > http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/120/114005.htm?printing=true

> >

> > Original page:

> > http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/120/114005.htm

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Activist Groups Spar With CDC Over Claims of Link Between Autism

and

> > Thimerosal

> >

> > By Todd Zwillich

> > WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

> > on Friday, April 07, 2006

> >

> > April 7, 2006 -- Debate over a possible tie between mercury-

> > containing vaccines and autism flared up this week as activist

> > groups launched a campaign accusing federal health agencies and

> > prominent researchers of manipulating scientific findings on the

> > link.

> >

> > Some parents of autistic children have long blamed vaccines

> > containing the preservative thimerosal for an alarming rise in

the

> > disorder. Thimerosal contains a type of mercury. A series of

reports

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

> > evidence could be found linking the vaccines to neurological

> > 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 CDC 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, tells

WebMD.

> >

> > According to the CDC, all vaccines recommended for children are

> > available in thimerosal-free versions. But some parents say

millions

> > of previous exposures helped caused 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, led 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

> >

> > Allegations of Bias

> >

> > Activist groups released transcripts of closed-door

conversations in

> > 2001 between McCormick and Kathleen Stratton, the study

director.

> > Groups say the conversation suggests that the committee would

> > fashion its findings to meet the CDC's desires to play down a

link

> > between thimerosal and autism.

> >

> > " [The 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. "

> >

> > 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, McCormick confirmed that the statements in the

> > transcript are " accurate and true. " But she said there was " no

> > truth " to allegations that CDC officials influenced the IOM or

that

> > the committee reached conclusions before its scientific review.

> >

> > 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,

> > 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.

> >

> > McCormick added that the committee's experts were chosen

> > specifically for their scientific independence and for a lack of

> > ties to both pharmaceutical manufacturers and the CDC.

> >

> >

> > CDC Perspective

> >

> > CDC Perspective

> >

> > Parents groups alleged 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

the

> > 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 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, , who noted he's known 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 , a former president of the American Academy

of

> > Pediatrics.

> >

> > Manning said 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.

> >

> >

> > -----------------------------------------------------------------

----

> > -----------

> >

> > SOURCES: Bobbie Manning, vice president, Advocates for

Children's

> > Health Affected by Mercury. www.putchildrenfirst.com. Marie

> > McCormick, MD, professor of maternal and child health, Harvard

> > University School of Public Health. Tom Skinner, spokesman, CDC.

> > Louis Z. , MD, professor emeritus, Columbia University.

> >

>