Re: Flu vaccine information/mercury or thymerisol

[Guest guest]

Protection Money

The new Homeland Security Act is designed to protect Americans from

terrorist attacks. But you may be comforted to find out that an

additional provision was added to the act so that American

corporations will also be protected from the parents of autistic

children.

Before the age of two, most infants in America receive 18

vaccinations, and on average about 12 of them contain a preservative

that's loaded with mercury. The evidence that mercury poisoning from

those vaccines sometimes causes autism in otherwise healthy kids is

so overwhelming that it's got plenty of people very scared. And no

one is more scared than the executives at Eli Lilly, the drug giant

that makes thimerosal, the mercury- based vaccine preservative.

The higher-ups at Lilly are addressing this situation aggressively.

Are they making sure that not one child will ever again be injected

with a vaccine containing mercury? No. But they are going to

enormous trouble and expense to protect their company from lawsuits

filed against them by parents whose children now suffer severe

neurological damage. And this protection comes courtesy of the U.S.

Senate, through the Homeland Security Act, signed into law just a

few days ago.

Two articles about this controversy appeared in the New York Times

last week. The first made me angry - then the second just made me

angrier. Because this transparent " gift " to a well-connected drug

company gets more and more unseemly with each new revelation.

A ticking bomb

More than 75 years ago, Eli Lilly & Company developed thimerosal,

the vaccine preservative that contains approximately 50% mercury. In

recent decades, scientists have shown that mercury is a dangerous

neurotoxin. No surprise then that the high levels of mercury

detected in many young children in America have been directly linked

to permanent neurological damage, including autism. And the one

thing all of these children have in common is that they received

multiple vaccinations, beginning in the first months of their lives.

Lilly denies this connection, of course. But it obviously scares the

heck out of them. Even the FDA has admitted the connection, although

this admission is couched in the softest possible language, stating

that " concerns " have been raised, and claiming that the agency is

working with vaccine manufacturers to " reduce or eliminate

thimerosal from vaccines. " And even though it sounds as light as

air, we know the FDA doesn't make this sort of statement lightly.

Especially when a major drug company has so much at stake.

Defusing the bomb

But when you run an international pharmaceutical company, you don't

just let the chips fall where they may. Not at all - you get out

there and flex some influential muscle.

During the recent political season, Lilly donated $1.6 million

dollars to various candidates - more than any other pharmaceutical

company. So it hardly seems like a mysterious coincidence that less

than two weeks after the mid-term elections someone in the senate

sneaked this vaccine provision into the homeland security bill.

And " sneaked " is no exaggeration - the provision was introduced at

the 11th hour, as were six other provisions that had nothing

whatsoever to do with homeland security. But while tucking " pork "

into bills that are about to pass is business-as-usual for congress,

the unusual thing about this particular pork chop is that no one is

taking credit for it.

As The New York Times reported last Friday, nobody seems to know, or

will admit to knowing, who placed the provision in the bill, or even

who wrote it. It's almost as if someone is ashamed to be associated

with this addition that will simply brush aside both class-action

and individual thimerosal lawsuits aimed at Eli Lilly. A spokesman

for Lilly said that the company knew absolutely nothing about the

sweetheart provision.

Right.

I suppose that includes Sidney Taural, the chairman, president and

C.E.O. of Eli Lilly, who has a seat on President Bush's Homeland

Security Advisory Council.

Right.

" Working " it out

Well none of this has a very good smell, does it? Even the current

senate minority leader Trent Lott recognizes the fishy odor. In

order to force through the passage of the Homeland Security bill,

Senator Lott promised that three of the last-minute provisions

(including the vaccine protection) would be reviewed when congress

reconvenes next year. He said, " We need to work on those three

provisions. "

Note that he didn't say that the provisions would be removed,

reworded, or changed. He only said, " we need to work " on them. And

that's a perfect example of some beautifully vague political-speak

for you.

Meanwhile, the provision currently stands as law, sufficiently

complicating all of those existing lawsuits. It will be very

interesting to see just how diligently Senator Lott's " work "

proceeds on behalf of a handful of citizens against a deep-pockets

pharmaceutical giant like Lilly.

Don't get me wrong. I am not a proponent of litigation. But this is

not a hot cup of coffee at Mc's we're talking about. And even

if it were, the way it was swept off the table is shameful.

Take care of the kids

Last year, under pressure from the Centers for Disease Control, the

Public Health Service, and the American Academy of Pediatrics,

pharmaceutical companies agreed to stop manufacturing vaccines that

contain thimerosal. But while this mercury-based preservative is no

longer in production, stores of vaccines that contain it are still

being used. This is a very important detail that all parents of

young children should know about because they can tell their

pediatricians to use only thimerosal-free vaccines on their

children.

Whether or not you're a parent of young children, I hope you'll

share this critical information with friends and loved ones whose

children are young enough to receive vaccinations. Likewise, if you

have a child or know of a child who is showing signs of autism, you

can get further information and assistance from the Coalition for

SAFE MINDs (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological

Disorders) - a non-profit organization founded by parents to raise

awareness about the exposure to mercury from medical products

(safeminds.org).

Personally, I am going to take a few minutes to write to Senators

Mikulski and Sarbanes and let them know that I don't consider

autistic children terrorists from whom we require protection. You

know, for when they " work " on those last-minute provisions.

> FLU SHOTS: MERCURY CONTENT

> Only 6-8% of this year's flu vaccine supply is

> mercury free. The remaining 92-94% contains 25

> micrograms of mercury per adult dose and 12.5

> micrograms of mercury per pediatric dose. > Elliott