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

[Guest guest]

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.

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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.

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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.