OT MMR on News Shows - the full report

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The news media is only reporting on a segment of the IOM Report. See

the following for more info.

E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

Vienna, Virginia http://www.909shot.com

" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since

1982. "

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Contact:

For immediate release

April 24, 2001

LEADING VACCINE SAFETY GROUP QUESTIONS INTERPRETATION

OF IOM REPORT ON AUTISM AND MMR VACCINE

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), a non-profit

organization representing families with vaccine injured children have

endorsed some of the conclusions of the report released yesterday by

the newly created Institute of Medicine (IOM) Immunization Review

Committee on the hypothesized link between MMR vaccine and autism.

But the nation's largest and oldest vaccine safety and informed

consent advocacy group is questioning whether misinterpretation and

misuse of the Committee's conclusions will compromise public health

agency commitment to funding vaccine safety research.

The Institute of Medicine Committee concluded that " the evidence

favors rejection of the causal relationship at the population level

between MMR vaccine and autistic spectrum disorders " but also stated

that " the proposed biological models linking MMR vaccination to

autism spectrum disorders, although far from established, are

nevertheless not disproved. " The Committee also called for further

scientific research on the occurrence of autism in children following

MMR vaccination.

" The Committee clearly acknowledged the biologic plausibility that

MMR vaccine could be a co-factor in causing autism in some children.

But the message this report may send out, in practical terms, is that

there is absolutely no association between vaccination and autism and

that the case is closed. It can be used by those in industry,

government and medical organizations with a vested interest in

protecting the status quo. " said NVIC co-founder and president

Barbara Loe Fisher. " This would be tragic because it could fatally

compromise the making of vaccine safety research a priority in our

society and delay the search for identification of biological markers

that could predict which children are more vulnerable to vaccine-

induced neuroimmune dysfunction that can, in some, take the form of

autism. "

NVIC has long advocated that scientific research into vaccine-

associated autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and other chronic neuroimmune

disorders explore the cumulative effects of multiple vaccines in

genetically susceptible children. In the past 30 years, as vaccine

recommendations have increased routine childhood vaccinations to 37

doses of 11 different vaccines, there has been a dramatic rise in the

numbers of chronically ill children in the US, including a doubling

of those with learning disabilities, asthma, ADHD and diabetes.

Autism is now affecting 1 in 150 children.

" The conclusion of the IOM Committee that current scientific

evidence favors rejection of a causal association between autism and

MMR vaccine should not be taken out of context. There has been

limited scientific research to date to investigate the relationship

between vaccination and autism and until a more rigorous examination

is conducted, the case is open, not closed, " said Fisher.