AGE OF AUTISM

SICK MONKEYS: RESEARCH LINKS VACCINE LOAD, AUTISM SIGNS

BY DAN OLMSTED

The first research project to examine effects of the total vaccine load received by children in the 1990s has found autism-like signs and symptoms in infant monkeys vaccinated the same way. The study's principal investigator, Laura Hewitson from the University of Pittsburgh, reports developmental delays, behavior problems and brain changes in macaque monkeys that mimic "certain neurological abnormalities of autism."

The findings are being reported Friday and Saturday at a major international autism conference in London.

Although couched in scientific language, Hewitson's findings are explosive. They suggest, for the first time, that our closest animal cousins develop characteristics of autism when subjected to the same immunizations – such as the MMR shot -- and vaccine formulations – such as the mercury preservative thimerosal -- that American children received when autism diagnoses exploded in the 1990s.

PEDIATRIC VACCINES INFLUENCE PRIMATE BEHAVIOR: ABSTRACTS

POSTED WITH PERMISSION

This piece accompanies Dan Olmsted's "Sick Monkeys" piece.
- - - -
Pediatric Vaccines Influence Primate Behavior, and Amygdala Growth and Opioid Ligand Binding Friday, May 16, 2008: IMFAR

L. Hewitson , Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA B. Lopresti , Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA C. Stott , Thoughtful House Center for Children, Austin, TX J. Tomko , Pittsburgh Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA L. Houser , Pittsburgh Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA E. Klein , Division of Laboratory Animal Resources, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA C. Castro , Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA G. Sackett , Psychology, Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA S. Gupta , Medicine, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, CA D. Atwood , Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY L. Blue , Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY E. R. White , Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY A. Wakefield , Thoughtful House Center for Children, Austin, TX

Background: Macaques are commonly used in pre-clinical vaccine safety testing, but the combined childhood vaccine regimen, rather than individual vaccines, has not been studied. Childhood vaccines are a possible causal factor in autism, and abnormal behaviors and anomalous amygdala growth are potentially inter-related features of this condition.

"MERCURY MILITIA?" NO. RN.

By Kim Stagliano

THIS article was not written by a junk science junkie, a manic mom, a mercury militiaman or a mostly moronic measles-lover. It was written by an RN named Barbara Jamison and printed in that scandalous, liberal (LOL!) newspaper, The Fort Wayne Sentinel News.

You can register at the Sentinal News site and add your comments, as I'm sure the vaccinophiles will be there shortly ripping Nurse Jamison a new one. As soon as they scour Age of Autism with their morning's weak tea.

It is time to take a new look at the need for specific vaccinations. Vaccination is designed to benefit the public health. It is a one-size-fits-all approach. Thus, the rural Midwestern baby receives the same treatment as the crowded inner-city baby. Surely, the needs of these babies are not the same.

OFFIT TARGETS THE POLINGS: TOUTS VACCINATIONS FOR MITO DISORDER

Dr. Paul Offit goes after the Poling decision in The New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Offit makes money from vaccines. His career is predicated on vaccines.  In the article, he says:

Unfortunately, in recent years the VICP seems to have turned its back on science.

Like the Werderitsh decision, the VICP's concession to Hannah Poling was poorly reasoned. First, whereas it is clear that natural infections can exacerbate symptoms of encephalopathy in patients with mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies, no clear evidence exists that vaccines cause similar exacerbations. Indeed, because children with such deficiencies are particularly susceptible to infections, it is recommended that they receive all vaccines.

Read the full the article HERE.

RE-RUN: WE KNEW ALL ALONG? YES, WE REALLY DID.

BY DAN OLMSTED

Bernadine Healy's comments to CBS (and Imus) today are a landmark in the long, painful slog toward the truth about vaccine damage. Be excited -- be very excited. But believe me, it will take a while longer for the "mainstream" media to realize what a catastrophically mediocre job they've done -- and fix it. Too many egos (Dr. Nancy, Dr. Tim, "Dr." Harris...), too many careers, too much credibility are at stake. CBS's Sharyl Attkisson has been way ahead for a long time.

Meanwhile, I'm struck by Sharyl's remarks that brain injury from vaccines has been well documented since 1991 -- but that calling it autism has been a taboo.

Here's an article I wrote for UPI in 2005 about clear warnings to the CDC and FDA as early as 1991 from doctors linking autism and vaccines. Most chilling: The California doctor who reported in 1994 "there are currently 10 cases of autism in children who received DPT/OPV/MMR at 15-18 months." Isn't that a cluster? The response? Dismissive. In my view, most of the tens of thousands of autism cases since then are the responsibility of the CDC, the FDA, the AAP -- as well as Big Media for enabling them.

TUNE INTO IMUS NOW! HEALY AND ATTKISSON

CBS was tipped off to cases as far back as 1991 where the gov't is paying families for brain damage for vaccine cases - the gov't is not tracking which of them would be called autism. Healy was shocked.

Tune in this morning to www.abcradio.com to listen to Don Imus live. He is having Dr. Bernadine Healy and Sheryl Atkisson from CBS on to discuss vaccines. Tentative time is 7:30am.

Points brought up right now live by Dr. Healy:

The Poling case is so important.

The principle of herd immunity drives vaccine thinking because of that there's a fear in public health community that people will stop getting vaccines.

Public Health officials feel: We are challenging something too important let's not do the studies or the science."

DR. HEALY: GOV'T TOO QUICK TO DISMISS VACCINE LINK

We'd like to see how the Offits, Tayloes and Gerberdings attempt to impugn "loudmouth" Dr. Bernadine Healy who says, "the government has been too quick to dismiss the possibility of a vaccine-autism link" in THIS CBS report by correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

Today, a second round of autism test cases begins in federal vaccine court. Tonight on the CBS Evening News, we'll have exclusive interviews with the two families who are bringing the cases: two of nearly 5,000 autism cases that have been filed in this special court. The government and many scientists have consistently maintained for more than a decade that there is no link between vaccines and autism. The Institute of Medicine issued a report in 2004 that was intended to put the controversy to rest, saying that the weight of the body of scientific evidence does not show a causal link between vaccines and autism. However, other scientists and parents disagree.

For our report, we interviewed Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former head of the National Institutes of Health and a member of the Institute of Medicine who breaks with her colleagues in this exclusive CBS News interview: Dr. Healy says the government has been too quick to dismiss the possibility of a vaccine-autism link, and that it should be explored with renewed vigor.

DR. OFFIT'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST SHOULD DISALLOW HIM FROM COMMENTING

By Kim Stagliano

Below is a quote from Paul Offit about this week's Federal court case that is as condescending as anything we've read recently. And is especially galling to parents of vaccine injured children, as it comes from a man whose own vaccine, RotaTeq, just killed a child (Read more HERE) and has injured many others. "Endearing?" Surely a man with his education could have chosen a less patronizing word? 

Dr. Offit has a financial conflict of interest with vaccines. He holds the co-patent on RotaTeq, Merck's vaccine which made a half a billion dollars last year. And he has a book coming out in September aimed at all of us who believe autism is treatable and that vaccines play a role in the epidemic. Funny how the article neglects to mention that.

"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Read the full Yahoo article by AP's Kevin Freking HERE.

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism.

VETERINARIAN WISDOM

By Twyla Ramos

Wisdom from Veterinarians – Vaccinations for Pets, Adverse Reactions, and Reformed Vaccine Schedules

Recently I came across several articles and books about adverse reactions to vaccinations among animals such as dogs, cats, horses and cattle.  The harm caused by over-vaccination is referred to as "vaccinosis".  Interestingly, pet owners and veterinarians report that vaccine-injured animals suffer from many of the same health conditions as people with autism, including inflammatory bowel disorders, seizures, encephalitis, auto-immune issues, hypothyroidism, eczema, susceptibility to infections, chronic ear infections, and behavioral issues. 

FOR MOTHER'S DAY: START LISTENING TO MOMS. STOP BLAMING THEM.

This is the the transcript of a DVD sent to the Presidential candidates by Rebecca Estepp.

Vaccine Safety Requests For Our Next Commander in Chief

My name is Rebecca Estepp. I am a proud military wife and mother of two boys. My husband is currently deployed overseas.  This is his third deployment in five years.   My oldest son, Eric, is a child living with autism.

I followed the recommended vaccine schedule for my son Eric.  He developed typically until he had a vaccine reaction. Eric was later diagnosed with autism.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT'S NOT TELLING YOU ABOUT THE MEASLES EPIDEMIC

Here's another perspective on the measles epidemic. From the Christian Broadcast Network news: "What The Government's Not telling you about the Measles Epidemic" So, what would that be? First, the vaccines do not guarantee you won't get measles. That's rubeola measles, not to be confused with German measles, usually called rubella. In many of the outbreaks, the majority of the infected people are fully or partially vaccinated.

Second, the chance of getting measles in the next few months is much less than one in a million. Still, no one wants to get measles or the rare complications. Read the full article HERE.

FAINTING AFTER VAX IS NORMAL. RIGHT?

SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG! Where's the distress over children suddenly fainting after vaccination?

May 1, 2008 -- The CDC and FDA are getting more reports of people age 5 and older -- mostly teenage girls -- who faint soon after vaccination.

The CDC's advice: Health care providers should observe patients for 15 minutes after vaccination.

Read the full article HERE.

NEW YORK STATE SEEKS PHILOSOPHICAL VACCINE EXEMPTION

In order to establish an exemption to mandatory vaccines, the Philosophical Exemption to Immunizations Act recently was introduced in the New York State Assembly. Currently, there are 18 states that give parents this right, while most other states offer only religious or medical exemptions.  Read more HERE.

PAUL OFFIT'S ROTATEQ CAUSES DEATH BY INTUSSUSCEPTION

There is no joy in this report.

Somewhere, a family is grieving the loss of a child. The FDA has announced today that a death by intussusception has been reported by Merck, maker of Dr. Paul Offit's RotoTeq vaccine.  You may recall that the last Rotovirus vaccine was pulled a decade ago for the same reason. The only reports we can find so far are from stock market sites.

NVAC ROUND TWO

By Kelli Ann Davis

Approximately two weeks ago, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) Vaccine Safety Working Group (VSWG) met in DC to discuss CDC’s ISO Scientific Agenda and the federal vaccine safety system. 

Several pieces were written in follow up to the meeting (Lisa Randall; David Kirby DHHS transcript; CDC Doesn't Test Simultaneous Vaccinations) and in my piece (HERE) I asked the community to make calls and send e-mails to the Director of the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) in an effort to place Mark Blaxill of Safeminds onto the VSWG.

CONFUSED PARENTS TO BLAME FOR FALLING VAX RATES

From ABC Go, the full article is HERE.

Fewer children in the United States are getting the immunizations they need, putting themselves and others at much greater risk of contracting and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases, new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests.

Here's the new spin. You, silly parents, are too confused to know how to create a vaccine schedule.  That's why you're out of compliance. Last I checked, the AAP vaccine schedule is not an a la carte menu.

CDC DOES NOT TEST SIMULTANEOUS VACCINATION

Think the multiple vaccines your pediatrician injects into your baby have been tested TOGETHER for safety? Think again. The sum of the whole may be far more dangerous than the parts. But the CDC and your doctor will never know, because they do not test vaccines together. The CDC and the AAP are playing Russian roulette with our childrens' health. And all chambers are loaded.

Here's the info from page 33 of THIS CDC document.

Simultaneous vaccination

• Usually simultaneous vaccination is incompletely studied at time of licensure.
• Under current infrastructure, prelicensure studies do not assess safety of two unlicensed vaccines administered simultaneously (e.g., Tdap and MCV4 simultaneous administration was not studied before licensure).
• ACIP recommends simultaneous vaccination, unless contraindications are present (CDC, ACIP General Recommendations, 2006).
• VSD studies try to assess risks of simultaneous vaccination when feasible, as part of the rapid cycle studies.
• CDC’s and DoD’s Vaccine Analytic Unit (VAU) has conducted a study which found no evidence that the receipt of multiple concurrent vaccinations is related to hospitalization risk among DoD personnel.

TRUST MERCK ON VACCINES? READ THIS.

Still think vaccines are exempt from the dangerous vagaries of poppable pills? Think again. While the mainstream press (insert sneezing sound here - New York Times!) wants you to believe that drug manufacturers are scoundrels when it comes to prescription drugs and yet saints when it comes to vaccines, this report from The Philadelphia Inquirer says otherwise. Pretty brave reporting from a newspaper in a state where Pharma rules the day and the tax rolls.

Here's a snip. Read the full article HERE.

Federal inspectors documented unwanted "fibers" on the stoppers of vaccine vials at Merck & Co. Inc.'s vast vaccine plant in Montgomery County.

They also found instances of contaminated children's vaccines and complaints that were not always investigated at the West Point plant.

Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent 30 days at the plant between November and January and cited 49 areas of concern, including a failure to follow good management practices.

THANK GOD YOUR VEINS DON'T COUNT AS "ENVIRONMENT!"

Thank heavens the AAP, FDA, CDC, AMA, OB's-R-US and other people with oversight for your health don't consider your veins part of your environment. Even if the link between mercury in the air and autism is indeed statistically significant, injecting mercury directly into the bloodstream is as safe as a scrubbly-bubbly-bubble-bath with Ivory soap. Right?

Meanwhile, Europe is firing up the old coal burning energy plants (HERE)  as oil prices skyrocket. That will drive up mercury emissions. Soon you'll need DMPS in that bath to get clean.

A newly published study of Texas school district data and industrial mercury-release data, conducted by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, indeed shows a statistically significant link between pounds of industrial release of mercury and increased autism rates. It also shows—for the first time in scientific literature—a statistically significant association between autism risk and distance from the mercury source.

Read the full article HERE.

THANKS TO OBAMA FOR SUPPORTING VACCINE RESEARCH

David Kirby has a piece running over at Huffington Post today titled, "Obama Climbs on the Vaccine Bandwagon" in which he writes: No matter who wins in Pennsylvania today, the next President of the United States will support research into the growing evidence of some link between vaccines and autism.

Here's Senator Obama's quote:

"We've seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it's connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it."

--Barack Obama, Pennsylvania Rally, April 21, 2008.

IS TYPE II DIABETES IN CHILDREN CAUSED BY VACCINES?

Editor's note: I received the following e-mail earlier this month. I followed up by asking this "autism Mom" if we could use her name with this fascinating research but did not hear back, so we are publishing it without her name. I'd be very interested to hear feedback on this piece.
-- Dan Olmsted

--

Dear Mr. Olmsted,

I am an autism Mom who occasionally dabbles in online medical research (usually spawned by reading one of the great articles on your site and other mostly autism sites as well).  As of late, I happened to be perusing the ingredients list (prescription information or package
insert) of several pediatric vaccinations.

Based solely on the list found HERE, I noted five (5) vaccines that indicated occurrences of (new onset) diabetes mellitis or type II after administering the vaccination.  Those five (5) vaccinations and the link to the prescribing information and corresponding page number are:

CHILDHOOD PNEUMONIA RISES IN SCOTLAND

The Sunday Post reports:

The number of Scots children rushed to hospital with pneumonia has rocketed by more than 50 per cent in three years. This coincides with the introduction of a new vaccination against the condition in 2006. While a child health expert insists there’s no connection between the two, the Scottish Government has ordered an urgent investigation after we presented the findings to them. Newly released NHS Scotland data shows 2454 children were hospitalised for pneumonia in 2006/07 — compared with 1620 in 2003/04.

Read the complete article HERE.

POLIO SURVIVOR ON IMMUNIZATIONS

BY ANNE VAN RENSSELAER

Mother Nature cleverly designs any gene pool to include pioneers, renegades, warriors and stay-at-homes, whether she's working on animal forms, germs, or algae. So in any pool of a species, there are certain individuals best suited to meet particular challenges.

When we started immunizing against smallpox, we set loose a grand and persistent fantasy that we could eradicate diseases, but germs and Mother Nature are busy doing push-ups in the parking lot while we're sitting in the doctor's waiting room with our babies, waiting to be Nature-proofed.

NVAC INVITES V4V: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

By Kelli Ann Davis

Last Friday, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) Vaccine Safety Working Group met in Washington DC.  The stated purpose of the meeting was to “review the current federal vaccine safety system and develop a White Paper describing the infrastructure needs for a federal vaccine safety system to fully characterize the safety profile of vaccines in a timely manner, reduce adverse events whenever possible, and maintain and improve public confidence in vaccine safety.”

Two days before this meeting took place, I learned in a private meeting with organizers that Lisa Randall (Voices for Vaccines) had been asked to participate in a segment entitled, “Interacting with the Public.”  At that time, I had no idea who she was or what Voices for Vaccines was all about which made it quite difficult to draw any conclusions about her addition to the panel on the spot.

OLMSTED ON AUTISM: MADE BY MERCK, STARTS WITH V …

BY DAN OLMSTED

There it is, right next to the photo of the pope and the president, the lead story in USA Today: “Reports: Data on Vioxx misused.” Subhed: “Documents suggest risk was downplayed.”

In brief – USA Today’s specialty – it turns out that Merck “apparently downplayed evidence showing the painkiller tripled the risk of death in Alzheimer’s-prone patients, researchers report today. A separate analysis of court documents revealed that many Vioxx studies were prepared or written by Merck employees or paid consultants, not the doctors named as the studies’ lead authors, researchers say.”

One thing I can tell you from having worked at The Nation’s Newspaper is that it has a very good sense of the zeitgeist. I used to be in meetings where the next day’s lead story was discussed, and it had to be more than yesterday’s – or even today’s – news. It had to help readers understand what was coming next.

LISA RANDALL AND THE VACCINE SAFETY WORKING GROUP

So this is dedicated to Lisa Randall, who fights against mothers and fathers whose children have a serious disease, without any understanding of the basic science behind their appeal for more research, while she takes cash from vaccine manufacturers.

By Tracy Stewart

I attended the vaccine safety working group in DC on Friday, April 11th. Some of the materials distributed by the committee were interesting, such as the observation that those who suffer the “typical” adverse reactions to vaccines such as fever and seizures were often found to have elevated serum levels of cytokines, the immune-system’s chemical signaling molecules. Of course, this is found in autism as well (which should signal the need for some investigation concerning vaccinations just on its own). The group is considering goals and study of some areas that are surprising and dare I say, encouraging, such as:

• Question A-V (their labeling): Is immunization associated with risk for neurological deterioration in children with mitochondrial dysfunction (although I would add can it cause their mitochondrial dysfunction)?

JENNY McCARTHY'S "GREEN OUR VACCINES" RALLY JUNE 4 IN DC!

Join Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey on Wednesday, June 4th in Washington, DC for the Green Our Vaccines rally.   Go to www.tacanow.org to register. See you there!

NYT TAKES ON DHHS MEETING AND HANNAH POLING CASE

The New York Times addresses the Hannah Poling case and the DHHS vaccine safety meeting that took place on Friday in today's edition. Read the full article HERE.  Note the use of the word, "skeptics" to refer to (and denigrate?) those at the meeting who advocate for safe vaccines.

To be sure, many health experts do not agree with Dr. Poling’s conclusions. The case has “added nothing to the discussions of what causes or doesn’t cause autism,” said Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Friday, many of the main players involved in this debate — including Hannah’s mother and her grandparents, prominent vaccine skeptics and some of the government’s top vaccine researchers — took part in the federal government’s first-ever public meeting to discuss a government-wide research agenda to explore the safety of vaccines.

DAVID KIRBY AT DHHS VACCINE MEETING

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice that the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) will convene a meeting of NVAC's Vaccine Safety Working Group. The meeting is open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 11, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The following provides a transcript of David Kirby's comments at this meeting:

Hello, my name is David Kirby, I am an author and journalist, and my only conflict of interest is that I wrote a book about vaccines and autism. But I don’t plan on selling any books here today.

This has been a really extraordinary meeting, and I am very happy that everyone came together to discuss this important topic. I will probably be reporting on this in various venues, though I am not quite sure what my, what we call “take home message,” is going to be.

But I do want to say, and at the risk of overstatement: History will judge each and every one of you. A year from now, five years from now, ten years from now, people like me will look back on the history of vaccine safety in this country, and look at you folks, and say, “What did they do?”

MORGAN FOGARTY & FOX CHARLOTTE GET AUTISM STORY RIGHT

By Jack Russell

I don’t normally pay too much attention to the local news promos. But as I walked past the TV on my way to take out the trash in between Idol Gives Back segments I heard something that caught my attention. 

“Did they just say they were having a segment (HERE) on vaccines and autism?” I asked my wife.  We watched for more promos and sure enough they were.  And not only that, it seemed from the promos that the piece would be a good one.  The tag lines were questions along the lines of, “Are vaccines dangerous?”and “Can vaccines cause autism?  One local mom says yes.” 

It turned out the piece wasn’t running until the following night but they hyped the story again during the newscast.  It sounded too good to be true.  I started to worry.  I started to get nervous.  All the next day I wondered what the piece would say.  Would they open by posing the question, “Are vaccines dangerous?” and follow it by merely flashing the word “NO” in big red letters a thousand times.  Would the “one local mom” be made out to be an idiot? 

On the edge of my seat I watched and my excitement and surprise grew throughout the segment.  They talked about the continuing presence of thimerosal.  They talked about diet and recovery.  They talked about religious exemptions. 

THANK YOU SIR! MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?

"Thank you sir! May I have another!"

The NYT (all the news that's fit to print as long as it promotes vaccines at all costs) reports on a mumps outbreak. Instead of asking why the vaccine is failing to protect recipients who'd already had two vaccinations against the disease, it calls for a third booster. Can you think of any other product where failure encourages more consumption?

Mumps Outbreak Prompts Questions

An alarming outbreak of the mumps two years ago has raised questions about whether an additional vaccination is needed. Read the full article HERE.

DR. JON POLING IN THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION

Dr. Jon Poling has an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today.  You can read it HERE.

Autism in the U.S. has reached epidemic levels, at 1 in 150 children. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has recently upgraded autism to "an urgent health threat." The most contentious issue of the autism debate is the link to routine childhood vaccines. My daughter's case, Hannah Poling v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has changed this debate forever. Hannah has pointed us in a new and promising direction —- the mitochondria.

Dr. Poling ends his piece with this paragraph.

Reform of the vaccine schedule will be an important part of the solution, whether vaccines play a major or minor role in autism. Our public health agencies and programs need a reconstruction plan. Day one of the reconstruction hopefully starts at the Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee's Working Group, to be held at HHS headquarters today in Washington.

ONE MORE VOICE -- A BIG ONE -- SPEAKS OUT FOR COMMON SENSE AND DECENCY

By Dan Olmsted

More and more mainstream experts are standing up for the vaccine court and Hannah Poling and her parents -- and deserve our thanks and support. The latest is Dr. Bernadine Healy. Her bio from U.S. News & World Report, where the article we're pointing out is appearing in the current issue:  "Dr. Bernadine Healy is Health Editor for U.S.News & World Report and writes the On Health column. She is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and has served as director of the National Institutes of Health and president and CEO of the American Red Cross."

Here's the beauty part from her column: "Pediatricians were concerned enough about mercury, which is known to cause neurological damage in developing infant and fetal brains, that they mobilized to have thimerosal removed from childhood vaccines by 2002. Their concern was not autism but the lunacy of injecting mercury into little kids through mandated vaccines that together exceeded mercury safety guidelines designed for adults."

So by definition, the former head of the NIH says people like Paul Offit -- who calls it a mistake to take mercury out -- and organizations like the CDC, the World Health Organization and their ilk who are keeping mercury in flu shots in the U.S. and in standard immunizations around the world ... the former head of the NIH says they're lunatic(s).

That's about as harsh as anything we've ever said, isn't it? -- Dan Olmsted

Read the US News and World Report article HERE.

FOOLS RUSH IN

By J.B. Handley

You know the response is coming.

For anyone watching the news for the last two months, the “other side” (aka, The Vaccine Lobby) has been getting annihilated in the press, online, in the coffee shops, schools, watercoolers, and, of course, on Larry King Live.

There’s too much power, profits, and prestige at stake for the other side not to fight back, at least a little.

With that as backdrop I was delighted to get an email from a friend with a link to a new, curious website called Voices4Vaccines. 

The website is under construction, but the home page opens with this noble goal:

“Voices for Vaccines has only one goal to provide science-based, accessible, and clear information about the benefits and risks of vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Our leadership consists of scientists and concerned individuals who are totally committed to supporting continued efforts to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases.”

This new organization also makes a veiled reference to you-know-who and our movement in general:

“But we also know that the loud voices and famous faces are not necessarily giving the best information.”

NATURALNEWS.COM ON CNN AUTISM COVERAGE

The website www.naturalnews.com has posted a story following CNN's Autism Awareness programming last week.  It provides a superb summary of the current autism/vaccine information under the following headings:

• A Brief History of Vaccines, Profits, and Politics
• A Major Crack in Our Government's Armor
• How Our Government Defends Itself When It Is Clearly Wrong
• Why Vaccines are a Problem
• How Your Brain Works
• Government Responsibility
• The Genetic Red-Herring
• Reducing the Risk for Adverse Vaccine Reactions

By Byron Richards (NaturalNews) On April 2, 2008 CNN spent the day bringing awareness to the problem of autism. Larry King's segment, which included Jenny McCarthy along with a panel of guests, was particularly enlightening. My hat is off to Jenny, a celebrity mother who is making it quite uncomfortable for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to ignore parents of autistic children seeking answers. Why does a mom have to do the work of the CDC? The answer is rather simple: our government's zeal to insist on too many vaccines while ignoring the actual risks is the driving force behind the autism tragedy. Sure there are many related factors – but the bottom line is that our government is causing disease at an alarming and devastating pace.

Read the full article HERE.

 

MORE EMAILS FROM THE FDA ON MERCURY TESTING

By Twyla Ramos

On December 31, 2007, Age of Autism posted a series of emails between the CDC, the FDA, and me, in which I asked whether any government agency tests the mercury content of the vaccines which supposedly contain only a "trace" amount of mercury.  Neither the CDC nor the FDA, would answer my questions. (Read the piece HERE.)

The following month, I received an e-newsletter from the National Autism Association (NAA) which included a link to a January 17, 2008 letter from Representative Dan Burton to the FDA, demanding answers to questions raised by "a parent" in an email dialogue with the CDC and FDA.  In his letter (HERE), he asked the FDA for a response by February 11, 2008.

On February 14, 2008, to my surprise, I received an email from Christopher Middendorf, Chief of the Consumer Affairs Branch, Division of Communication and Consumer Affairs, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA.  He responded to my initial email sent to the FDA in November.  Our exchange is shown below.

----------------------------

From: Twyla Ramos
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:57 AM
To: CBER OCTMA Consumer Account
Subject: "Trace" amounts of Thimerosal in vaccines

The CDC says that: "Thimerosal still may be used in the early stages of making certain vaccines. However, it is removed through a purification process. When this process is complete, only trace, or insignificant, amounts of thimerosal are left (less than 0.3 mcg) and these amounts have no biological effect."

Does any governmental agency monitor and test vaccine products to ensure that this "purification process" is consistently effective and that the final product does not exceed 0.3 mcg of thimerosal?

Thank you very much,
Twyla Ramos
concerned parent

CRY SHAME COMMENTARY ON BRITISH MEDICAL TRIAL

Click HERE to read the most recent coverage of the British medical trial as reported by Cry Shame.

CryShame is a campaigning group co-founded by a number of UK parents and professionals who are concerned about the catastrophic rise in autism spectrum disorders and in the potential link with environmental toxins– particularly MMR and thimerosol (mercury) containing vaccines.

DR. OFFIT's ROTATEQ: MERCK'S AVIS OF VACCINES!

Aw shucks, Dr. Offit*! Seems the vaccine on which you co-share the patent, RotaTeq, was only Merck's second best selling vaccine last year, bringing in a cool half a billion dollars. Uh oh! Glaxo is bringing out a competitor! (Click HERE to see the AP article.)

That makes you the "Avis" or, perhaps we should say, "the number two" of Merck's vaccine division. Maybe next year the AAP (who claimed on Larry King that they don't make any money on vaccines. Greedy old Merck!) will firmly enforce their vaccine schedule to make sure every single American infant gets her three doses before age one. Then you can become Merck's Hertz!

CDC ADMITS VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM ON CNN

Thank you to Adventures In Autism for this You Tube video of CDC's Dr. Gerberding on CNN.

MOM JENNY EXPOSES AAP UNDERBELLY ON LARRY KING

By Barbara Loe Fisher

In what can only be described as a brilliant turn on Larry King Live, celebrity Mom Jenny McCarthy stood her ground with a defiant "anecdotal evidence IS scientific evidence" in calling on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to back away from one- size-fits-all vaccine policies that recommend all babies get dozens of doses of vaccines. Describing what happened to her son, who suffered convulsions and nearly died after a round of vaccinations and then regressed into autism, Jenny was accompanied by her pediatrician, Jay Gordon, M.D., and journalist David Kirby in a face-off with AAP pediatricians Harvey Karp, M.D. and David Tayloe, Jr. M.D..

It was a ground-breaking television debate about vaccine risks that highlighted the soft underbelly of a medical community unwilling to deal with the reality that regressive autism is part of the vaccine injury spectrum.

CNN'S DR. GUPTA INTERVIEW W/ DR. JON POLING