Documents Show CDC Ignored Industry Offers of Mercury-free Vaccines Despite Agen

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F. Kennedy, Jr. Joins A-CHAMP Demandfor Senate Investigation of CDC’s Failure to Remove Mercury From Vaccines

Newly Disclosed Documents Show CDCIgnored Industry Offers of Mercury-free VaccinesDespite Agency’s Own Safety Warning

New York, NY - F. Kennedy, Jr. today joined Advocates for Children’s Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning (A-CHAMP), in demanding Senate investigations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obstruction in removing mercury from children’s vaccines. This joint announcement comes following the disclosure of correspondence showing the agency declined the opportunity to provide mercury-free vaccines within months of the 1999 recommendation by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to remove the neurotoxin thimerosal (mercury) from pediatric vaccines "as soon as possible." You can read the 1999 PHS/AAP Joint Statement by clicking HERE.

Newly obtained documents reveal that three weeks after the PHS/AAP statement, vaccine maker Kline Beecham, now GlaxoKline (GSK), sent a letter to the CDC echoing thimerosal worries, and indicated that the DTaP vaccine was of particular concern. The vaccine maker offered a partial solution with thimerosal-free Infanrix, stating that it could be produced to meet the U.S. demand at least through the first half of 2000, bringing the AAP, CDC, and PHS "much closer to their stated objectives of thimerosal free vaccines in the U.S." You can read the Kline Beecham letter by clicking HERE.

The CDC’s response in November, 1999 declined Kline Beecham’s offer, indicating it would "continue to provide the States with a choice among currently licensed brands of DTaP." You can read the CDC's letter in response to the Kline Beecham letter by clicking HERE."The CDC failed to make child safety its priority", said F. Kennedy Jr. "When manufacturers offered to supply vaccines that could substantially reduce the amount of mercury infants and children were given via vaccination, the agency basically said ‘thanks but no thanks.’ The Senate must fulfill its oversight responsibility to determine the propriety of the CDC’s actions after the discovery that mercury content in vaccines exceeded safety guidelines, placing children at risk of neurological injury."

Regarding the CDC’s apparent failure to heed its own mandate to provide safer pediatric vaccines, A-CHAMP Vice President Bobbie Manning commented, "Even when handed the opportunity to prevent unnecessary mercury exposure, this agency failed its obligation to keep children out of harm’s way."

A-CHAMP has provided substantial evidence to Senate and Congressional offices over the last year regarding thimerosal toxicity and the CDC’s handling of relevant data. "We have been patiently waiting for action," said Gilmore, A-CHAMP Board Member. "If Congress does not respond, parents will mount a campaign for an independent investigation of CDC conflicts of interest that permitted an entire generation of children to be injured."

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Read F. Kennedy Jr.'s Opinion piece, " F. Kennedy Jr.: Time for CDC to Come Clean" on the Huffington Post HERE. http://tinyurl.com/rzbz6