Vaccine-autism link firmed up?

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---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Mar 28, 2006 11:05 AM

Subject: Vaccine-autism link firmed up

To: me

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/columns/article_1070718.php

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Vaccine-autism link firmed up

Disease declines since removal of a mercury-based preservative from

many vaccines

By Arnold Glueck

A new study shows that autism is probably linked after all to the use

of a mercury-based preservative in childhood vaccines.

This writer has previously commented on a suspected mercury-autism

link and takes some solace in the hope that this new information will

clarify the causes of autism, which afflicts many of our children and

grandchildren.

An article in the March 10 issue of the Journal of American Physicians

and Surgeons (JPandS.org) shows that since mercury was removed from

the vaccines, an alarming increase in reported rates of autism and

other neurological disorders in children not only stopped, but

actually dropped by as much as 35 percent.

Authors and independent researchers A. Geier Mark R. Geier

analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control's Vaccine Adverse

Event Reporting System (VAERS) and the California Department of

Developmental Services (CDDS) for their study, " Early Downward Trends

in Neurodevelopmental Disorders Following Removal of

Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines. "

From 1989 to 2003, there was an explosion of autism. The incidence of

autism (and other related disorders) went from about 1 in 2,500 U.S.

children to 1in 166. There are more than 500,000 autistic children in

the United States.

In California, reported autism rates peaked in May 2003. If that trend

had continued, the rate would have skyrocketed by the beginning of

2006. But, in fact, the Geiers report that the number actually went

down – with a real decrease of 22 percent.

This analysis directly contradicts 2004 recommendations of the

Institute of Medicine (IOM), which examined vaccine-safety data from

the CDC's National Immunization Program. The IOM, not willing to

either rule out or corroborate a relationship between mercury and

autism, soft-pedaled its findings.

Geier and Geier wrote: " The IOM stated that the evidence favored

rejection of a causal relationship between Thimerosal (mercury-based)

and autism, that such a relationship was not biologically plausible

and that no further studies should be conducted to evaluate it. "

As more and more vaccines were added since 1889 to the mandatory

schedule of vaccines for children, the dose of the mercury-based

preservative Thimerosal rose, so that the cumulative dose injected

into babies exceeded the toxic threshold set by many government

agencies. Mercury is known to damage nerve cells in very low

concentrations.

The Iowa Legislature banned Thimerosal from the state after it

documented a 700-fold increase in cases in Iowa. California followed

suit, and 32 states are considering doing so.

Up until about 1989 preschool children were given three vaccines:

polio, DPT, MMR). By 1999 the CDC recommended a total of 22 vaccines

before the first grade, including hepatitis B, which is given to

newborns within 24 hours of birth. Many of these vaccines contained

mercury. In the 1990s approximately 40 million children were injected

with vaccines containing mercury. The cumulative amount of mercury in

the total recommended vaccinations would be 187 times the EPA daily

exposure limit.

In 1999, on the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics

and U.S. Public Health Service, Thimerosal was removed from most

childhood vaccines as a " precautionary " measure – i.e., without

admitting to any causal link between Thimerosal and autism.

While now out of many childhood vaccines, Thimerosal is still

routinely added to some formulations of flu (influenza) vaccine

administered to U.S. infants, as well as to several other vaccines

(e.g., tetanus-diphtheria and monovalent tetanus) administered to

older children and adults.

Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the American Association of

Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), said, " Concerns about mercury and

sushi have gotten a lot more play in the press than mercury and

autism.

" Though epidemiological findings are always problematic to interpret,

we have the equivalent of a 'challenge/dechallenge' experiment. Autism

rates, as measured by two independent government databases, went up as

mercury dose increased and are going down as mercury dose decreases, "

Orient said.

Unfortunately, we may be imprudently undertaking a " rechallenge " phase

by mandating Thimerosal-containing influenza vaccine for children. As

a consequence, assessing the safety of Thimerosal-containing vaccines

remains a matter of significant importance.

Until there is solid scientific evidence to the contrary, parents

would be wise to avoid all mercury-containing vaccines. When we make

decisions regarding the future health of our children and

grandchildren – and the well-being of our families – why take any

risk?

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