Autism Parents Take on AAP in DC - October 7-8
By Evelyn Pringle (Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative journalist focused on corruption in
government)
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During the same time frame that the number of the mercury-based thimerosal-containing vaccines nearly tripled on the
childhood immunization schedule, a corresponding epidemic of autism erupted. The increasingly common disorder is now
forcing public schools to build more special education classrooms and scramble to train specialists to accommodate the
needs of autistic children who are enrolling in the nation's already overwhelmed public school system in record numbers.
Because some vaccines must be given more than once, a child can get as many as 23 shots by age 2, according to the March
7, 2004 LA Times. In fact, a child might receive as many as six shots during a single doctor's visit, the Times reports.
So what does this mean?
It means that a person born in the 1950s or 60s got a total of 3 vaccines in childhood over a period of years, and only
received 25 micrograms of mercury in each shot spread out over time and if no autism developed, the person's body was
apparently able to rid itself of the mercury.
In contrast, an infant in 1990s got a dose of 150 micrograms of mercury in one shot during one doctor's visit. If the
infant's body was not able to rid itself of that mercury, with each additional vaccination, more and more mercury
accumulated in the body and the child developed autism, or some less extreme disorder or developmental disability.
A person really does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand this process.
Although it took years to gain access to the government records needed to confirm this theory, famed researchers Dr Mark
Geier and David Geier, were finally able to obtain access to the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink, to conduct an
independent study on the link between thimerosal and autism.
Their study revealed that the risk of autism in children increased significantly with each additional 25 micrograms of
mercury the child received. "When they finally calculated the relative risk for autism at each exposure level, the
Geiers were shocked to find that children who received three mercury-containing DTaP shots had an increased risk of
autism nearly 27 times that of children who got three preservative-free vaccines," according to David Kirby, in the
book, "Evidence of Harm."
Think about that for a minute. The children who received thimerosal, were 27 times more likely to develop autism than
children who received no thimerosal. Coincidence? 27 times? I think not.
There are now hundreds of studies that have identified thimerosal as the culprit responsible for the autism epidemic. Do
a google search by typing in "thimerosal" "autism" "studies" and see what you come up with.
The mercury-based preservative is still used during the manufacturing process of vaccines and trace amounts have been
found in those products. A full dose of thimerosal is still added to flu vaccines recommended for use in pregnant women
and 6-month-old babies.
On October 7 and 8, parents of autistic children from over the country will be in Washington DC to rally support with
lawmakers for a complete ban on mercury in vaccines and to make their voices heard at the American Academy of Pediatrics
National Convention.
Back in July 2001, the American Academy of Pediatric’s policy statement on mercury exposure was: "Mercury in all of its
forms is toxic to the fetus and children, and efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to
pregnant women and children as well as the general population." PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No 1 July 2001, pp 197-205.
However, the organization has apparently had a change of heart because in 2005, in attempt to thwart the passage of
legislation in New York and other states, that would ban thimerosal from all vaccines given to pregnant women and
children, the AAP sent out letters to state law makers with comments similar to the following: "Passing such legislation
sends the wrong message to New York parents and pregnant women, and in fact all New Yorkers, The legislation makes the
legislature appear to be complicit in 'Junk Science.'"
The next question is logically why would they do this? Why would they deny the undeniable? By now there are a number of
reasons. First off, many members of this group are financially indebted to the pharmaceutical industry. Some own stock
in a company or share patents in a vaccine. Some were paid to develop the vaccines and some were paid to conduct
clinical trials on vaccines. And some were even financially rewarded over the years if the number of vaccines
administered in their office increased.
Others don't want the public to get it because they know they will face not only outrage, but huge law suits for their
involvement in developing or approving the mercury-laced vaccines to begin with.
APP members wear all kinds of hats. For instance, some are also members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices, which advises the CDC on whether a vaccine is safe enough to be added to the immunization schedule.
The results of an investigation of this committee conducted by United Press International, published on July 21, 203,
revealed that at the June 2002 committee meeting, the last meeting for which minutes are available, four of the 11
members acknowledged conflicts with Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, Bayer and Aventis Pasteur. Two of the four
did research or vaccine trials for manufacturers. One of the four was a co-holder of a vaccine patent as well as a
consultant to Merck.
Junk Science huh? You decide.
Below are the latest state by state statistics on the autism epidemic. I encourage anyone who is still doubting the
vaccine-thimerosal-autism connection, to scroll down and check out the numbers for your state.
After that, I challenge readers to try to come up with an alternative theory to justify this epidemic, other than the
official government mantra that these autistic kids have been out there all the long but they simply were not diagnosed
correctly.
Before you even think about buying that line take a little trip down to the nearest public school and drop in on the
special education classrooms and have a look at the behaviors of an autistic child and see whether you believe hundreds
of thousands of these kids could have been out here and we just never noticed.
People don't see these children because aside from going to school, parents seldom take them out in public because of
the problem of trying to control them outside of the routine environment of their home.
After checking out the statistic below, get your check book out and accept the fact that your local taxes are going to
skyrocket to cover the expense of the special ed schooling for these kids, and don't lose sight of the fact that there's
plenty more where these came from.
Mark my word, this is going to be the biggest man-made medical catastrophe in the history of this country, and probably
the world. If we don't find a cure, we're talking $$ trillions for life-time care.
And if the Bush administration, and its puppets in Congress, succeed in granting immunity against lawsuits to their
largest campaign contributors, also known as the pharmaceutical industry, get ready to pick up the tab for the whole
damn mess. The numbers below are taken from official statistics produced by the Department of Education, on the number
of children aged 6-21 with autism currently being schooled in special education classes under the Individuals With
Disabilities Discrimination Act.
The statistics compare the increase in cases of autism over the 12-year period between 1992-93 and 2003-04: State
1992-1993 2003-2004 %Increase Alabama 68 1,319 1,840
Alaska 8 291 3,538 Arizona 199 2,131 971
Arkansas 30 1,040 3,367
California 1,605 19,034 1,086
Colorado 14 879 6,179
Connecticut 164 2,041 1,145
Delaware 15 387 2,480 Florida 582 5,915 916
Georgia 262 3,956 1,410
Hawaii 52 618 1,088
Idaho 39 571 1,364
Illinois 5 6,005 120,000
Indiana 273 4,755 1,642
Iowa 67 1,224 1,727
Kansas 74 993 1,242
Kentucky 38 1,358 3,474
Louisiana 409 1,640 301
Maine 37 815 2,103
Maryland 28 3,536 12,529
Massachusetts 493 4,007 719
Michigan 288 6,341 2,102
Minnesota 296 5,076 1,615
Mississippi 0 622 - Missouri 336 2,664 693
Montana 20 247 1,135
Nebraska 4 557 13,825 Nevada 5 891 17,720
New Hampshire 0 585 - New Jersey 446 4,933 1,006
New Mexico 16 359 2,144
New York 1,648 9,486 476
North Carolina 786 4,074 418
North Dakota 9 220 2,344
Ohio 22 5,146 23,291 Oklahoma 31 959 2,994 Oregon 37 3,759 10,059 Pennsylvania 346 5,805 1,578
Puerto Rico 266 666 2,404
Rhode Island 19 568 2,889
South Carolina 141 1,303 824
South Dakota 36 328 811
Tennessee 304 1,659 446
Texas 1,444 10,354 617
Utah 105 1,030 881
Vermont 6 280 4,567
Virginia 539 3,533 555
Washington 476 2,824 493
West Virginia 101 507 402
Wisconsin 18 3,259 18,006
Wyoming 15 162 980
Total 12,222 140,920 + 1,055 overall
Note: Where increases are from a very low base figure, these have been expressed as "almost infinite".
ENDS