I'm not convinced.

Post #211,412 by Another Scott 6/16/05 10:44:30 AM Reply	I'm not convinced. Kennedy seems to me to be scare-mongering. 1) The story about the study was out in [link\|http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/11/15/alarming_expose_of_research_manipulation.htm\|November 2003]. 2) An article on vaccines from September 2001, [link\|http://www.nmclph.med.navy.mil/PREVMED_Documents/General/acsh_vaccinerep.pdf\|here] (48 page .pdf) says: [p. 28-29]Thimerosal Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative which has been present in vaccines since the 1930\ufffds because of its antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial action of thimerosal is particularly important where multidose vials are in use. A derivative of ethyl mercury, thimerosal contains approximately 49.6 percent mercury. Presently there is no evidence of that thimerosal has been causally linked to any health risk in children. 11,12 However, overall exposure of children to mercury is a public health concern and the removal of thimerosal from vaccines is a realistic measure designed to reduce total exposure to mercury. In a thimerosal risk assessment conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and reported by Ball and others, no evidence of harm other than local hypersensitivity reactions was demonstrated at doses of thimerosal found in vaccines.14 However, Ball\ufffds report does suggest that some infants may be exposed to cumulative levels of mercury during the first six months of life that exceed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations. In July 1999, based in part on the FDA\ufffds risk assessment, the AAP and the US Public Health Service issued a joint statement calling for the removal of thimerosal from vaccines.14 As a result of the desire to reduce mercury exposure, the AAFP, AAP and the ACIP established a goal in July of 1999 to remove or significantly reduce thimerosal in vaccines.12 Manufacturers have responded to the concern. Both the Hepatitis B vaccine and the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines are now available in thimerosal-free formulations. A thimerosal-free DTaP vaccine produced by Smith-Kline has been licensed in the United States since 1997. These changes have reduced exposure to ethyl mercury by at least 70 percent. It should be noted that measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, inactivated polio and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have never contained thimerosal. In addition, the CDC is utilizing its Vaccine Safety Datalink project to assess the potential of linkage between thimerosal-containing vaccines and several neurologic and developmental diagnoses. Preliminary studies looking at very premature infants immunized with Hepatitis B vaccine containing thimerosal indicated the possibility of elevated mercury levels in those infants immunized during the first week of life. Similar studies in term infants failed to find blood mercury levels that exceeded background (less than 2 mcg/L).12 Ongoing analysis of large linked databases is underway but preliminary analysis does not support a causal link between thimerosal and a variety of renal and neurologic diagnoses. Significantly, there was no increased risk detected in premature infants. Despite the decision to markedly reduce or remove thimerosal from the U.S. market, analysis of larger datasets is continuing. In short, it seems that Kennedy is trying to fan a controversy where none exists. Thimerosal is not in many childhood vaccines. And it is already being removed from those where it is present. Cheers, Scott.
Post #211,418 by Silverlock 6/16/05 11:32:59 AM Reply	No skin off my nose. I just thought it was interesting that they tried to hide so much. I'll send you a Thimerosal and coke real soon now for your skeptical pleasure. ----------------------------------------- "In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican." -- H. L. Mencken Support our troops, Impeach Bush. D. D. Richards
Post #211,422 by bionerd 6/16/05 11:52:27 AM Reply	You should be. The Salon article paints an accurate picture about the link between vaccines and autism. Autism is undeniably on the rise and vaccines being a causal factor is real. Anecdotally, my daughter had 3 autistic kids mainstreamed in her kindergarten class this year. My friend is the director of an Autism Center here in Metro Detroit. Her son was diagnosed with autism at age 2. My son's sensory issues fall within the autism spectrum. This is a very real problem. I hope that one day the truth will be known. But until then, it's up to us parents to be aware of the issues and help our kids the best we can without any support from the government or the health care field.
Post #211,424 by Another Scott 6/16/05 1:10:13 PM Reply	A couple of things. 1) I know a little about autism too. See [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=203631\|#203631]. 2) See [link\|http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040723.html\|The Straight Dope] on mercury and thimerosal. Mercury, in high enough doses, does bad things. Nobody disputes that. Thimerosal has been used since the 1930s in vaccines. Mercury was much more commonly used in general back then too - mercury thermometers and barometers, mercurochrome, vacuum pump fluids, lamps, pesticides, dental fillings, etc., etc. All of those uses for mercury were phased out or are being phased out. [link\|http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm\|Autism] is very complicated. Nobody knows what causes it, or if it has a single cause. A summary of a November 2001 [link\|http://www.nimh.nih.gov/autismiacc/iaccmeeting.pdf\|Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Meeting] (18 page .pdf): [p. 7-8]Discussion on the link between vaccines and autism Mr. Albert Enayati, a meeting attendee, asked about the association between vaccines and autism. He noted that an overwhelming majority of parents at a recent meeting felt strongly that thimerosal (a preservative used in vaccines that contains ethyl mercury) caused autism in their children. Dr. Alexander acknowledged that this is a topic that has received a tremendous amount of attention. He cited several separate and independent efforts--including those by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the United Kingdom\ufffds Committee on Safety of Medicine--that have pointed to the lack of support for an association between autism and the MMR vaccine. At the same time, a number of groups are trying to address this issue. These include the CPEAs\ufffd work in conjunction with the CDC discussed above. Another effort involves the National Children\ufffds Study (NCS), a longitudinal cohort study of environmental effects on child health and development, which was mandated when the Children's Health Act of 2000 was signed into law, laying the groundwork for a 30-year study to follow 100,000 children from before birth to adulthood. This effort, led by the NICHD, CDC, and EPA, together with other NIH Institutes and Federal agencies, will include data on environmental exposures during pregnancy and postnatally to examine environmental agents including vaccines. This study might be able to address this question of the link between MMR vaccine and autism as well. Concerns about the ability of the NCS to answer the vaccine-autism link were raised. Dr. Jos\ufffd Cordero clarified that the MMR vaccine does not contain thimerosal. Studies can only be done in a retrospective fashion because currently available vaccines do not contain or contain only trace amounts of thimerosal. Thus, the NCS with its prospective, longitudinal design may not be able to definitively address the vaccine-autism link. Ms. Barbara Loe Fisher, a meeting attendee and President of the National Vaccine Information Center, stated that the epidemiological design of the NCS is insufficient to address the vaccine-autism link and asked if more in-depth studies are planned. Dr. Alexander noted that up to 10-20 percent of children do not receive vaccines; the size of the study may allow for adequate comparisons of the impact of vaccines. He also said that the NCS is an observational study and plans for in-depth studies such as brain imaging have not been determined. Dr. Gordon cautioned against an over-focus on vaccines. The cause or causes of autism have yet to be determined, and there is an extremely large number of possibilities. He suggested that the public needs to be educated about the plausibility of reported findings and about how much investigative weight to apply to such findings. Perhaps criteria can be agreed upon, by public groups as well as by scientific ones, by which reported findings could be evaluated. Studies are underway to try to get a better handle on the causes of autism. All the evidence thus far does not support a link between childhood vaccines and/or thimerosal and autism. I'd like to see evidence for the contrary, if there is any. I don't find comments by those who see a grand conspiracy, or by those who feel that the vast majority of scientists who devote their lives to studying these issues are idiots or dupes, to be convincing though. (I'm not accusing you of these things - rather that's my impression of stories like Kennedy's and many of the web sites out there.) FWIW. Cheers, Scott.
Post #211,457 by andread 6/16/05 4:33:53 PM Reply	Re: I'm not convinced. yet Republican leaders want to give drug companies immunity to lawsuits and prevent states from issuing warnings about mercury in vaccines A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]

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