Autism - Cut
The Crap
Evelyn Pringle, July 30, 2005
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In their public
statements, officials within the FDA and CDC are always claiming
that researchers and scientists who conduct studies, not funded
by drug companies or the government, are making unfounded claims
about a link between thimerosal-laced vaccines and autism, and
other neurological disorders, which could lead to reduced
vaccine coverage, resulting in preventable outbreaks of disease
affecting the entire planet.
I say cut the crap.
Think about it. Why would so many highly respected scientists,
researchers and physicians go to such great lengths to concoct
bogus studies and issue false reports, in essence putting their
professional reputations on the line, if there was no
connection? I want these officials to do two things. First I
want them to give me one good reason why these professionals
would make this up, and two, I want them to give me one logical
alternative theory for the current epidemic of disorders.
Lets look at a few of these experts.
Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet, is a practicing physician who treats
children with autism and other brain-damage disorders. While in
the Air Force, he was trained in toxicology and environmental
health. His duties as an Officer included the responsibility for
military personnel who had exposure to a wide variety of toxins,
including mercury.
Dr. Bradstreet has evaluated well over 2000 children with
neurological disorders. He also directs a school for children
with neurodevelopmental disorders where his responsibilities
include supervising occupational therapists, speech and language
pathologists, and applied behavioral analysts. Dr. Bradstreet is
a Harvard Certified Medical Education Instructor in autism and
has written three peer reviewed papers regarding the
relationship between thimerosal, developmental disorders and
biological markers for Mercury-Susceptibility.
In addition, he has conducted research regarding these disorders
and has worked with some of the most highly respected
professionals in the country, including Dr Jane El-Dahr of the
Tulane University Medical Center; Dr V.K. Singh of the Utah
State University Biotechnology Center; the University of
Michigan Department of Pharmacology; Dr Vas Aposhian of the
University of Arizona; Dr Anne Connolly of the Washington
University Hospital; Dr Walter Spitzer of McGill University; the
Department of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School;
Dr. Jim Adams of the University of Arizona; and Dr. Jill James,
a former FDA researcher, now with the University of Arkansas,
Department of Pediatrics.
Apparently the FDA, CDC, and vaccine makers expect us to believe
that this long line of highly respected professionals from
Universities all over the country somehow got together and
conspired to conduct fraudulent research for decades and then
authored 1000s of false reports and other publications. I do not
buy it. What would be the payoff?
Dr. Mark Geier is a medical doctor who holds a PhD in genetics
and is board-certified in medical genetics and forensic
medicine. He was a researcher at the National Institutes of
Health for 10 years and was previously a professor at Johns
Hopkins University. He has studied vaccines for more than 30
years and has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers on vaccine
safety, efficacy, contamination and policy. He was instrumental
in convincing officials to switch from the whole-cell
Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTP) vaccine to the safer version
(DTaP). In fact, he wrote the article, “The True Story of
Pertussis Vaccination: A Sordid Legacy?” which in 2002, won the
first annual Stanley W. Jackson award for the best paper
published in the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied
Sciences during the period of 2000 to 2002.
Dr. Geier has made several presentations to the Institute of
Medicine on the adverse effects of vaccines including one on
thimerosal in 2004. He and his son, David Geier, are the only
independent researchers who have ever been permitted to study
the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database of the CDC. Dr. Geier
has testified before the US House of Representatives Committee
on Government Reform Investigating Vaccines and the Autism
Epidemic to critique the Hviid study, conducted in Denmark on
autism and thimerosal exposure and he has also addressed the FDA
Advisory Committee regarding vaccine safety.
Finally, Dr. Geier has testified as an expert witness in about
100 cases before the National Vaccine Injury Compensation
Program in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In one such case,
on November 25, 2003, the Special Master French issued an
opinion in which he praised Geier’s credentials and vast
experience and said in part: Dr. Geier “ranks high among those
who have studied vaccine issues through the medical literature
on vaccines, databases, studies, articles and information on
vaccine safety and efficacy in vaccine policy.” ... “The tenor
of his testimony in this case addressed the importance of
statistical databases in providing statistical reliability and
validity in interpreting the epidemiology and issues relating to
autism and various vaccines. . . . Dr. Geier has recently
proposed a data-sharing process that would improve the
reliability of present statistical data that would include the
present VAERS statistical database. It would be helpful in
interpreting the epidemiology and issues relating to the autism
controversy.”
Give me one good reason why this world renowned scientist would
put his professional career on the line by lying under oath, not
only in court 100 times, but also before a congressional
committee?
The drug makers and government officials have waged an all out
attack on this particular expert in attempt to discount his
opinions because Dr. Geier speaks in term most people
understand. He has reported on the staggering statistical
numbers showing the rise in brain-damaged kids who were
vaccinated with thimerosal compared to the children who received
very little mercury, or mercury-free vaccines, and were not
injured. When he speaks, people “get it,” and the powers that be
know it.
Then there is expert, Dr. George Lucier, who in the year 2000,
retired from the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences where he was Director of the Environmental Toxicology
Program and Associate Director of the National Toxicology
Program. In that capacity, he was responsible for coordinating
toxicological research and testing across federal agencies as
well as conducting risk assessments for exposure to toxic
substances including mercury. He has authored well over 200
scientific publications involving toxicology, pharmacology and
risk assessment, including ten articles on mercury.
In 1998, Dr. Lucier was appointed the Chair of the Organizing
Committee for the White House Workshop on Scientific Issues
Relevant to Assessment of Health Effects from Exposure to
Methylmercury. He has presented his opinions on numerous
occasions in various forums and for 28 years, he was the
co-editor in chief of the prestigious scientific journal,
Environmental Health Perspectives. Why would this guy lie under
oath?
Another renowned scientist expressing the same view on
thimerosal, is Dr. Boyd Haley, who is currently a Professor and
Chairman of the Department of Chemistry with a joint appointment
in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky.
He teaches a class on mercury toxicology and has published more
than 110 articles in the peer-reviewed literature including the
toxic effects of elemental mercury. Since 1989, his laboratory
has been conducting research on the relationship between mercury
and neurological diseases, and has performed experiments with
thimerosal. In 2001, Dr. Haley made a presentation on “In Vitro
Studies of Thimerosal Toxicity,” to the IOM. So why would this
guy spend 25 year of his life conducting bogus studies,
rendering fraudulent results and authoring a 100 dishonest
articles?
An expert I consulted during my initial investigation of this
issue was Dr. David Ayoub, MD, who, when asked how certain he
was of the link between autism and thimerosal, told me, “I can
state that the certainty of the science supporting mercury as a
major cause of autism is probably more overpowering than the
science behind any other disease process that I studied dating
back to medical school.”
Dr. Ayoub is the Director of the Prairie Collaborative for
Immunization, an organization that is self-funded, which aids
organizations, journalists, and legislators obtain accurate
information to assist their work. He is also the author of the
report, “Pregnancy and the Myth of Influenza Vaccination-Is it
safe, is it effective, is it necessary? What the CDC documents
reveal.”
When asked why so many scientists were now conducting research
Dr. Ayoud said, “I think a disease that effects more individuals
than AIDS or cancer, in previously normal infants and children,
has created a sense of urgency amongst researchers.”
Flu shots with a toxic dose of mercury are still being given to
pregnant women and Rh negative shots with thimerosal are still
being given to pregnant women even though recent studies have
shown that lower IQ levels linked to mercury exposure in the
womb costs the US $8.7 billion a year in lost earnings
potential, according to a study released in February 2005.
Researchers at the Mount Sinai Center for Children's Health and
the Environment, combined a number of previous studies to
determine hundreds of thousands of babies are born every year
with lower IQ associated with mercury exposure. Lead researcher
and pediatician, Leonard Trasande, said annually, between
316,588 and 637,233 infants are born with umbilical cord blood
mecury levels linked to IQ loss and about 4% of babies are born
with mercury levels between 7.13 and 15 micrograms per liter
which at that level, causes an IQ loss of 1.6 points.
The drug makers have been marching their own experts into court
so let's look at the credentials of some of their experts to see
how they match up with those listed above. In the case of Vera
Easter verses Aventis Pasteur: although Harvard-educated and the
author of some 80 peer-reviewed articles, according to his
deposition, Dr. Philip Wang’s specialty was epidemiology related
to antidepressants. Prior to being retained as an expert for the
vaccine makers, Dr. Wang had not done any evaluations associated
with vaccines, had no specific training whatsoever regarding
mercury, and had written no articles on the effects of heavy
metal exposure.
Dr. Wang has never investigated any illness claimed to be
associated with heavy metal exposure and has never been asked to
do a formal epidemiologic evaluation of the hypothesis that the
thimerosal could cause neurological disorders or autism. He
claimed that he did know that the VAERS database existed prior
to being retained as an expert, but had never conducted any
analysis on the Vaccine Safety Datalink. Dr. Wang’s knowledge of
vaccines and thimerosal was limited to what he learned in 30 to
35 hours of meetings with defense attorneys and reading the
relevant medical literature, most of which was provided by the
defense attorneys. Finally, Dr. Wang only offered an opinion on
the link between thimerosal and autism and not on the issues
relevant to the case relating to other neurological disorders.
For some reason, I don’t think Dr. Wang would fare too well if
called upon to take the stand to disprove the opinions of the
many established experts on the plaintiff’s team with their
combined decades of research experience in this area of
expertise.
Another drug maker expert in the case was Dr. Chris P. Johnson,
who in her deposition agreed that, prior to the case, her
experience with mercury poisoning cases was zero. She has had no
experience related to mercury or its neurotoxic effects and
conceded that she was not an expert on mercury or the effects of
mercury exposure on the human body. I hardly think Dr. Johnson
is a match for the experts above. In fact I think it would be
grossly unfair to even throw this gal in the ring with the other
heavyweights. I guess it just goes to show how much humiliation
some people are willing to endure to make a buck.
Partnerships Between Industry and Regulatory Officials
In reaching decisions, officials within regulatory bodies seem
more concerned about the impact of their decision on global
vaccination policies than making an unbiased appraisal of the
scientific evidence. In reviewing statements by these agencies,
people need to consider the inherent conflicts of interest
between the CDC, charged with investigating medical issues; the
FDA, charged with regulating vaccines; the Institute of Medicine
(IOM), which examines policy issues; and the vaccine
manufacturers.
After an on-going investigation of several years, the Mercury in
Medicine Report was published on May 21, 2003 by the
Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness of the Committee on
Government Reform, and included testimony from numerous experts.
The report rendered a number of specific findings.
Most significant was its statement that, “The CDC in general and
the National Immunization Program are particularly conflicted in
their duty to monitor the safety of vaccines, while also charged
with the responsibility of purchasing vaccines for resale as
well as promoting increased immunization rates.”
The report went on to say that the CDC due to its “biases
against theories regarding vaccine-induced autism,” had chosen
to fund researchers “who also worked for vaccine manufacturers
to conduct population-based immunologic studies. . .” But most
importantly, it identified Thimerosal as the culprit in plain
language and in no uncertain terms: “Thimerosal used as a
preservative in vaccines is directly related to the autism
epidemic. This epidemic in all probability may have been
prevented or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch
regarding a lack of safety data regarding injected thimerosal
and the sharper eyes of infant exposure to this known
neurotoxin. The public health agencies’ failure to act is
indicative of institutional malfeasance for self protection and
misplaced protectionism of the pharmaceutical industry.”
The CDC’s decision to promote the publication of research
supportive of the vaccine industry to refute this report by a
congressional committee, demonstrates just how far it will go to
support its partners in crime.
Blatant evidence of this partnership can be found in a CDC plan
to promote flu vaccine sales which detailed a “7 step recipe for
generating interest in, and demand for, flu (or any other)
vaccination.” The document discusses the “best recipe” that
would foster interest and demand, including use of terms like
“very severe,” “more severe,” and “deadly” to “motivate
behavior” and increase sales. For any doubters, this evidence
should confirm that the interests of the CDC and the industry
are one and the same.
In addition, numerous articles published in medical journals
between 2001 to 2004, were quoted as key studies relied upon by
the Institute of Medicine, which as it turns out, were written
by authors and researchers with direct conflicts of interest and
real biases in favor of claiming that thimerosal did not cause
injuries or autism. Many of the conflicts were not revealed by
the authors at the time the articles were written in direct
violation of policy rules pertaining to medical journals.
For instance, one article relied upon by the IOM, although not a
population study, was Pichichero et al. Mercury concentrations
and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing
Thimerosal: a descriptive study, published in Lancet in 2002.
Pichichero did not declare any conflicts, despite the Lancet’s
strict policy requiring that conflicts be disclosed. However, in
a subsequent New York Times article, Pichichero admitted that he
had done work for Lilly and other drug companies. But a fact
that must have slipped his mind was that in an earlier article
in American Family Physician, Pichichero had declarated: The
author has received research grants and/or honoraria from the
following pharmaceutical companies: Abbott Laboratories, Inc.;
Bristol Myers Squibb Company; Eli Lilly & Company; Merck and
Co.; Pasteur Merieux Connaught; Pfizer Labs; Roach Laboratories;
Roussel-Uclaf; Schering Corporation; SmithKlineBeecham
Pharmaceuticals; Upjohn Company; Wyeth-Lederle.
In defending thimerosal, officials will often refer to the World
Health Organization as a body that has found it safe. Well, in a
June, 2001 WHO report, the agency itself refers to vaccine
manufacturers as a full and equal “partner.” When the WHO was
worried that regulations had affected drug maker’s costs, it
stressed the need to get them to stay in the market, and even
proposed a “communication strategy that would take account of
public concern about adverse effects of vaccines.” So, in a
subsequent WHO meeting on April 15-16, 2002, a decision was made
to “lobby Ministry of Health and senior regulators” on the
thimerosal issue and to “develop a strong advocacy campaign to
support the ongoing use of thiomersal.“ It can readily be seen
that the WHO has similar reasons to those of the CDC to support
the industry’s position.
As thimerosal containing vaccines continue to be shipped to
countries all over the world, it's becoming more and more
apparent that these cozy “partnerships” wield a considerable
amount of power when it comes to making decisions related to
vaccine safety.
Who Knew What And When
The well-documented sordid history of thimerosal, including the
continuing misrepresentations by its inventor, Eli Lilly,
confirms that the product should never have been used in
childhood vaccines, and should have definitely been removed
prior to the doubling of the content that resulted from the
addition of the HIB and Hepatitis B vaccines in the late 1980’s
to mid-90’s.
Mercury in vaccines was tested and shown to be lethal many times
over the past 40 years. In May of 1967, an article was published
in Applied Microbiology, titled “Enhanced Toxicity for Mice of
Pertussis Vaccine When Preserved with Merthiolate.”
The abstract states: Pertussis vaccines preserved with 0.01%
merthiolate (thimerosal) are more toxic for mice than
unpreserved vaccines prepared from the same parent concentrate
containing the same number of organisms.
In this study, twenty mice were injected with a vaccine with no
thimerosal and none died. 30 others were injected with the same
vaccines, plus thimerosal, and 5 died. The article stated that
“it would not be surprising if injection of this vaccine
influenced the susceptibility of the mouse towards a mercurial
preservative.“ The authors also noted that “other laboratories”
had observed toxicity of final lots of preserved vaccine when
the vaccines themselves were “atoxic or only slightly toxic.”
In 1972, Lilly received an article that confirmed that
thimerosal had caused 6 deaths when too much of it had been
used, which said: “The symptoms and clinical course of the 6
patients suggests subacute mercury poisoning.”
In 1975, autopsies on squirrel monkeys treated with
thimerosal-containing nose spray, determined that mercury
accumulated in the brain “which may represent a potential hazard
in the chronic use of thimerosal as a preservative in products
intended for human use.”
By the late 1970’s, vaccine companies realized the need to
remove thimerosal because of its poisonous effects. In an
October 12, 1979 memo, Merck scientists discussed the “potential
problem” of having mercury in its flu and meningococcal
vaccines, as well as the Hepatitis B vaccine that was under
development and asked: “Should a program of replacement be
initiated now to guard against any spontaneous rally to avoid
its (thimerosal) use in injectables?”
This memo proves that the industry knew about the dangers long
before the mercury-loaded Hib and Hep B vaccines were added to
the schedule in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
In 1986, an article titled, “Organic Mercury Compounds and Their
Toxicity,” noted that thimerosal had caused problems and stated
that it was “now accepted that multidose injection preparations
are undesirable, and preservatives should not present in unidose
preparations.“
In the early 1990’s, the level of thimerosal in vaccines
increased drastically, and in many cases doubled. The drug
companies knew that adding 3 or four HIB vaccines and as many as
3 Hep B shots would substantially increase the level of mercury
injected into infants at a critical period of brain development.
We now know that by 1991, Merck absolutely knew that the
increase was harmful. A 1991 internal memo, recently revealed by
the LA Times, concluded that exposure in infants within the
first six month of life could be 87 times the level determined
safe.
The memo‘s damning revelations said: For babies: the 25 ug of
mercury in a single 0.5 ml dose and extrapolated to a 6 pound
baby would be 25 times the adjusted Swedish daily allowance of
1.0 micrograms for a baby of that size. The total mercury burden
in a baby is unknown, but it has been stated that the blood
level of a newborn may exceed that of the mother. If eight doses
of thimerosal-containing vaccine was given in the first six
months of life (3 DTP, 2 HIB, and 3 Hepatitis B) the 200
micrograms of mercury given, say to an average size of 12
pounds, would be about 87 times the Swedish daily allowance of
2.3 micrograms for a baby of that size.
In the memo even acknowledged that “the best way to go is to
switch to dispensing the actual vaccines without adding
preservatives.” However, it went on to say that while this was
the best solution, there was “a cost consideration the head of
Health Services has to consider. Several large ampoules or
bottles are more expensive than a smaller number of larger
packages.”
So in essence, this Merck memo proves that by 1991, vaccine
makers knew that they were injecting poison into infants and
decided that profits were more important than the country’s most
precious asset, an entire generation of children.
The vaccine makers are fighting hard against the removal of
thimerosal for two reasons. The first is the usual suspect,
greed. But the second reason is now higher on their list. The
industry knows that if thimerosal were to be completely removed
from all vaccines tomorrow, the public would not be able to
ignore the corresponding decline, not only in cases of autism,
but in the epidemic of all the strange disorders that have
engulfed the public school system in all 50 states over the past
15 years. The decline is already happening in California, one of
the first states to ban thimerosal.
In attempt to confuse the issue, officials have tried to avoid
any discussion of the evidence establishing an association
between mercury and a host of other neurological disorders.
In addition to autism, the epidemic includes attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and speech or language
delay and each has its own spectrum of symptoms. For example,
autism is characterized by impairments of social interaction,
communication, and behavior. ADD/ADHD is typified by persistent
patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity. Speech and
language delay are characterized by sensory and auditory
processing disorders impacting on communication. See
Immunization Safety Review, Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and
Neurodevelopmental Disorder, IOM 2001.
Officials should quit using scare tactics to infer a threat to
the vaccine program as a whole. The issue is not the vaccines,
it's the preservative that has to go. And its not just contained
in childhood vaccines. Thimerosal is in other products given to
unsuspecting victims.
The flu vaccine is probably the most commonly used product that
still contains the preservative, but there are other shots that
have it as well. For instance, I just found out that a shot
given to stop contractions in pregnant women who go into labor
too early contains thimerosal.
I traveled to Wisconsin to be sure that I would be in the
hospital at the time of delivery to protect my first grandson
from any nurse with a needle looking to stick him with a Hep B
vaccine. A few days ago, my daughter began to have early
contractions. The doctor told her not to worry, to just come in
for a check up. She came home with the great news that a shot
stopped the contractions, only to find out a few hours later
that the miracle shot may have contained thimerosal.
That was three days ago and I am still in shock! While adverse
effects of vaccines to a small number of susceptible individuals
might seem justified in the interest of the greater good to
mankind, the brain-injuring effects arising as a result of the
government forcing parents to inject a known poison into their
precious children should not be tolerated.
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