"Not All Mercury Is Toxic" Desperate Throw in New Scientist to Prevent UN Ban
By John
Stone
The remarkable claim that thimerosal is not toxic is found in the headline and text of an article in the New Scientist in a last ditch stand to prevent a UN ban on mercury in paediatric vaccines . The author, Dr Heidi Larson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine states:
“ In 2006, an expert panel convened by the WHO issued a statement on thiomersal in vaccines, concluding that there was "no evidence of toxicity". It highlighted the fact that while methyl mercury builds up in the body, ethyl mercury is excreted rapidly. The American Academy of Pediatrics has since endorsed the WHO's position.”
She does not mention that her colleague at LSHTM, Prof Stephen Evans was on the World Health Organization committee (Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety) which issued the statement in July 2006 and he and another LSHTM employee, Dr Punam Mangtani, presently still sit on it . Evans previously worked for the UK Medicines Control Agency (now the MHRA ) which is an agency of the Department of Health funded by the pharmaceutical industry. The current chair of GACVS is Dr Melinda Wharton of the US Centers for Disease Control, National Immunization Program.
Dr Larson fails to mention either the LSHTM conflicts :
“The School has expanded greatly in recent years. Its research funding now exceeds £M60 per annum, much of it from highly competitive national and international sources such as the UK Research Councils, the Wellcome Trust, the UK Department for International Development, the UK Department of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Commission.”
Or her personal ones:
“Dr. Larson previously headed Global Communication for Immunization at UNICEF and Chaired the Advocacy Task Force for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).”
She also runs from LSHTM the Vaccine Confidence Project which has as its partners: Brighton Collaboration; CDC; Chatham House; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; GAVI Alliance; Health Map; Imperial College, London; The Inclen Trust; Institute for Child Health, Nigeria; International Pediatric Association; International Vaccine Institute; National Centre for Immunisation, Research Surveillance; National Network for Immunization Information; ProMed Mail; Public Health Foundation of India; Sabin Vaccine Institute; UNICEF; Vaccines for Africa; WHO. It is funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Also at LSHTM is the chair of the UK Joint Committee on Vaacination and Immunisation (JCVI),Prof Andrew Hall, which was granted dictatorial powers over the vaccine program by the English Parliament in 2009, although they did remove mercury from the UK vaccine schedule in 2004.
The claim that ethyl mercury is “excreted rapidly” is based on a study published in the Lancet by Pichichero et al which was disproved by Burbacher et al in 2004 . Pichichero’s article failed to note the following conflicts disclosed in an earlier publication :
"The author has received research grants and/or honoraria from the following pharmaceutical companies: Abbott Laboratories, Inc.; Bristol Myers Squibb Company; Eli Lilly and Company; Merck&Co.; Pasteur Merieux Connaught; Pfizer Labs; Roche Laboratories; Roussel-Uclaf; Schering Corporation; Smith Kline Beecham Pharmaceuticals; Upjohn Company; Wyeth- Lederle."
In an earlier episode the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety had endorsed the continued use of thimerosal following the presentation of British paper in which there were many apparent irregularities. On the committee at the time were Dr Elizabeth Miller who was a lead author of the paper, and Dr Robert Chen of the US Centers for Disease Control, Immunization Branch who was responsible for giving the paper the go ahead despite warnings from Thomas Verstraeten. Among the shortcomings of Dr Miller’s paper was the failure to acknowledge her laboratory’s funding from Aventis Pasteur, Wyeth Vaccines, SmithKline Beecham, Baxter Health Care, North American Vaccine, Wyeth- Lederle Vaccine, and Chiron Biocine.
Yesterday I wrote by email to Dr Larson and have yet to receive a reply:
“Dear Dr Larson,
“I read your article in New Scientist with curiosity but I also note a peculiar research bias: not only a belief that there is some mercury which is non-toxic to humans for which I defy you to produce any evidence, but also the idea that people who are sceptical of what they are told by public bodies need researching. The issue here is as much why you should be believed, and what you are saying is frankly incredible.
“These are the links to the abstracts of 90 pubmed listed peer review studies which condemn the use of thimerosal: here and here. It is a bit high handed to announce that your mercury is non-toxic when there is a lot of published evidence saying it is just as toxic as any other.
“I also draw your attention to highly questionable way in which the WHO policy came to be endorsed in 2002, a matter which I have carefully researched .
“I would be interested in your comments.
“Yours sincerely,
John Stone
“UK Editor, Age of Autism”
Tell Washington USA Should Not Export Mercury to Global Children
Regarding ethyl mercury there is a Canadian scientist Graham N. George who has studied, I believe, both ethyl- and methylmercury. I went to one of his lectures once about organomercury at the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC). He stated at the time that ethylmercury is absorbed and excreted very fast. But it also passes through the blood/brain barrier within about 20 minutes. I can't find a direct reference at the moment. But he did most of his studies on fish. At any rate he pointed out how toxic organo-mercurials are.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | June 14, 2013 at 07:22 PM
Dr Heidi Larson is a PIMP for the Vaccine Manufacturers!
Posted by: Paul S | January 20, 2013 at 02:17 PM
Brian
Yes, a mighty effort - let's hope it comes off.
John
Posted by: John Stone | January 18, 2013 at 06:27 PM
Nancy (NHokkanen)
What strikes me about these people is that they don't even seem to know the subject very well - perhaps anyone who did would shut up like a clam, because it is quite clear that there is a massive amount of knowledge about this, and anyone who had the smallest mastery of it, was prepared to discuss it openly, would know what the real "no brainer" is. Mercury is toxic, and this mercury is being given to infants in known to be toxic quantities. And then you get silly arguments about being expelled from the body within two weeks which (1) simply isn't true (2) would not be the remotest reassurance if it was. On this basis it is much better for an apologist to know nothing whatever about the subject and spout a few meaningless soundbites, which will be plausible to other people who also don't know the subject.
John
Posted by: John Stone | January 18, 2013 at 06:16 PM
Thank God for CoMeD with its able-bodied representatives, Mark and David Geier and Lisa Sykes, who are not afraid to stand up against big Pharma and ask the UN for an all-out ban of thimerosal.
Posted by: Brian Hooker | January 18, 2013 at 06:06 PM
Here is a list of what Eli Lilly knew about Thimerosal
http://rense.com/general21/vacc.htm
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | January 18, 2013 at 05:45 PM
The New York Times - The Opinion Pages
Stick With the Science
Op-ed contributor: Seth Berkley is a medical epidemiologist and chief executive of the GAVI Alliance, a public-private global health partnership to increase access to immunization in poor countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/opinion/global/a-blanket-mercury-bank-would-block-needed-vaccinations.html?_r=0
[snip]
"Despite the ominous connotations of mercury, the decision should in theory be a no-brainer: The scientific and medical consensus is that thiomersal poses no human health risk, and that rather than saving lives, a ban would put millions of the world’s poorest children at risk of deadly diseases by disrupting vaccination programs."
[snip]
"One of the core principles of medicine is 'primum non nocere': first, do no harm. But given the sheer numbers of lives at stake there is a strong argument that the burden of proof be shifted to the detractors.
"Where a vaccine already has an established and strong safety record and is saving lives, the onus should be on producing evidence of a genuine risk before there is any change in policy related to its availability."
Posted by: nhokkanen | January 18, 2013 at 05:44 PM
Many of the so-called scientists who still say that there is such a thing as non-toxic mercury must have been asleep over the last 30 years or so. Unfortunately there are textbooks from the '60s where a mercury preparation is still described as a diuretic even though it is now known that it is toxic to the kidney. In those days Merthiolate (Thimerosal) was used as a topical disinfectant. For some reason amnesia has set in about the fact that several newborn infants died at a hospital in the '70s because of Merthiolate application where the umbilical cord was cut. You can't buy Merthiolate now or for that matter Mercurochrome.
The strange notion of holding mercury harmless is an age-old one that must be done away with. Mercury is toxic at any level.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | January 18, 2013 at 05:33 PM
I notice there was another such article in the New York Times yesterday by Seth Berkly which mentions that he is CEO of GAVI but which is equally distorted, with the title 'Stick with the Science' as if there are not many scientific papers condemning thimerosal. Lots of rhetoric (total intellectual contempt for readers).
Also, this bizarre statement:
"Since then, scientists have published unequivocal evidence of its safety, including a 2006 study which showed that thiomersal is broken down by the body into ethylmercury. Unlike methylmercury, say from contaminated fish, which can make its way through the food chain and accumulate in the body, ethylmercury is naturally flushed out of the body within a couple of weeks."
He is probably confusing the Pichichero paper of 2002 with WHO committee statement, based on it of 2006, but the Burbacher study of 2004 showed that mercury had crossed the blood brain barrier macaque monkeys. But more important as a leading microbiologist remarked to me yesterday:
"I imagine that the list of rapidly excreted (i.e., water soluble) compounds that are harmful if not lethal when injected in equivalent amounts is quite long."
The intellectual quality of Berkly's article is really alarming for such a high ranking official, and of course there is nowhere to comment.
Perhaps he meant 'Sick with the Science'.
Posted by: John Stone | January 18, 2013 at 02:36 PM
"According to Professor Dr David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation in the UK Department of Health, ... ."
Here is a root of our problem.
"Vaccination" does not confer immunity. Immunity is a NATURAL process which is acquired by contracting a NATURAL pathogen NATURALLY.
For the UK Dept of Health and the CDC to think that "vaccination" confers immunity explains a LOT. We have ignorant people telling what we, increasingly, MUST do.
Posted by: Lou | January 18, 2013 at 02:15 PM
The amounts of mercury are relevant but it is also important to take other factors into account. When people are given the same doses they react individually and some will suffer more toxic effects than others.
Also, mercury is cumulative and people who have more mercury in their bodies will suffer more than those who have less.
Additionally, interactions between ingredients should be taken into account. Polysorbates are present in several vaccines.They render the blood-brain barrier more permeable and facilitate passage of mercury and other substances through the barrier where they accumulate in the brain tissue.
The H1N1 swine flu vaccine Pandemrix contained polysorbates and mercury. It was given i 2009/2010 to children and pregnant women in Europe and Scandinavia. This is specially worrying because small children and fetus' are very vulnerable as they have underdeveloped blood-brain barriers.
Also, if aluminium is present together with mercury in the vaccine or in another which is given concomitantly (within a short time period) the toxicity of mercury may be increased a hundredfold.
Aluminium and mercury were present in the meningococcal vaccine experiment in Norway in the 90's. There are still hundreds of people who are suffering from side effects, including chronic fatigue, after this vaccine. It is tragic that a vaccine which contains the same toxic combination of mercury and aluminium, MenAfriVac is now being given to millions of Africans.
To sum it up, the amount of mercury is important but interactions and synergy must also be taken into account.They can and do occur. It is unfortunate that there are very few experts who are specialised in these fields.
Posted by: Sandy Lunoe | January 18, 2013 at 12:13 PM
It just goes to show you that you never give up.
Apparently, the British has some history with bamboozling away the truth.
In doing some research for something I stumbled upon this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9538466/Hillsborough-report-means-Liverpool-fans-calls-of-Justice-for-the-96-have-finally-been-answered.html
23 years and still fighting for justice. We treat dogs better than people. Maybe if we knit our kids some red sweaters and walk them around on leashes????
Posted by: Media Scholar | January 18, 2013 at 03:15 AM
You can inject it into a child, but when they drop a vial and it breaks, they evacuate and call the hazmat team.
Posted by: Carter's Daddy | January 18, 2013 at 12:08 AM
@John Stone et al: the side effects you mention are identical or nearly identical to those on the material safety data sheet for "Vanish" (fluoride varnish made by 3M, and beginning to be used as standard fluoride treatmentsby pediatric dentists IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT IT IS NOT FDA-APPROVED AS A FLUORIDE TREATMENT, BUT IS ONLY APPROVED AS A WHITENING TREATMENT.
Why would I know this?
Because my teenage son, who was recovered from autism/vaccine injury, recently had most of the side effects after being given this treatment (which was given to him without my knowledge or consent). He was sick for months, is still not quite back, and has had some behavioral regressions as well.
There is more going on here than we know; vaccines must be only the tip of the ice berg, if the dental treatments ("well-tooth checkups") are having the exact same effects.
Posted by: Taximom5 | January 17, 2013 at 08:28 PM
If thimerosal is soooo non-toxic, then why must unused vials of it (as well as expired vaccines that contain it) be disposed of as toxic hazardous waste? Why is there a prominent skull and crossbones on thimerosal vials? Why does the MSDS for thimerosal have information about toxicity and special disposal instructions?
Section 3: Hazards Identification
Potential Acute Health Effects:
Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of eye contact (irritant).
Severe over-exposure can result in death.
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available. The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, spleen, bone marrow, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Repeated exposure to a highly toxic material may produce general deterioration of health by an accumulation in one or many human organs.
Section 6: Accidental Release Measures
Large Spill:
Poisonous solid. Prevent entry into sewers, basements or confined areas; dike if needed. Call for assistance on disposal. Be careful that the product is not present at a concentration level above TLV. Check TLV on the MSDS and with local authorities.
Section 14: Transport Information
DOT Classification: CLASS 6.1: Poisonous material.
Identification: : Mercury compound, solid, n.o.s. (Thimerosal) UNNA: 2025 PG: III
Special Provisions for Transport: Not available.
Section 15: Other Regulatory Information
Federal and State Regulations:
California prop. 65: This product contains the following ingredients for which the State of California has found to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, which would require a warning under the statute: Thimerosal California prop. 65:
This product contains the following ingredients for which the State of California has found to cause birth defects which would require a warning under the statute: Thimerosal TSCA 8(b) inventory: Thimerosal SARA 313 toxic chemical notification and release reporting: Thimerosal CERCLA: Hazardous substances.: Thimerosal
Other Regulations:
OSHA: Hazardous by definition of Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200). EINECS: This product is on the
European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances.
Other Classifications:
WHMIS (Canada):
CLASS D-1B: Material causing immediate and serious toxic effects (TOXIC). CLASS D-2A: Material causing other toxic effects
(VERY TOXIC).
Other Special Considerations:
Thimerosal is a Mercury compound. It is on the Prop. 65 list as a Mercury compound. Under Prop. 65, Mercury and Mercury compounds are listed as "Chemicals known to the State of California to Cause Reproductive Toxicity."
Posted by: Garbo | January 17, 2013 at 08:15 PM
It is hard to read this stuff. I keep wondering, do these people really not care if they are destroying children's lives? Are they really that indifferent? is it possible? Or do they actually believe these own piles and piles of crap and even convince themselves that it is science? Either way, the situation is troubling in the extreme.
I do like the calls for them to submit to public ingestion of thimerosol or at least a few flu shots for the greater good.
Posted by: Lisa | January 17, 2013 at 07:32 PM
I am a member of a website that highlights the many injustices to which people are subjected to. Our vaccine threads are now many thousands of messages in size.
As one would expect we have 2 yes two full time troll merchants, one of whom claims to be a Doctor .. and both of them have sworn that black is white and that Mercury is not toxic ..
It gives one pause for thought .. these monsters go to and awful lot of trouble and spend a lot of money propagating Corporate lies.
I live in hope that we are slowly forcing these people into a court of law and our needs will be served.
Posted by: Ivor | January 17, 2013 at 06:12 PM
Never Fear Thimerosal is Here ..to save the planet from ones self..
The Flu Vaccine–What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You (Or Probably Doesn’t Even Know)
http://vaxtruth.org/2011/09/the-flu-vaccine-what-your-doctor-wont-tell-you-or-probably-doesnt-even-know/
First, I would like to point out that pregnant women do not get the flu vaccine containing thimerosal as a preservative. They receive the vaccine falsely claiming to be “thimerosal-free.” It really should be called, “thimerosal decreased, but still overly toxic.” From the above statement, we have people running around thinking it’s safe to not only eat 25 mcg of mercury, but also to inject 25 mcg of thimerosal into their body (thimerosal is 50% mercury).
Posted by: ANGUS FILES | January 17, 2013 at 04:06 PM
Never fear -- AP's Mike Stobbe reassures us once again:
Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/16/large-study-confirms-flu-vaccine-safe-in-pregnancy/
Posted by: nhokkanen | January 17, 2013 at 03:25 PM
A correspondent has pointed out to me that LSHTM has also recently given a research fellowship to Ben Goldacre (well-known in these columns):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Goldacre
http://www.ageofautism.com/2012/09/best-of-aofa-whats-behind-ben-goldacre.html
What a surprise!
Posted by: John Stone | January 17, 2013 at 03:17 PM
Julie
Yes, the only safe means of disposal is injecting it into babies. If you had to dispose of an unused batch of vaccines it would be a serious environmental hazard.
Posted by: The Pathological Liar Foundaton | January 17, 2013 at 02:42 PM
Most of the Autism community is still waiting for Dr. Offit and Dr. Nancy to shoot themselves up with the "Hannah Poling vaccine cocktail w/ mercury"
adjusted of course. for their body weight.
Posted by: cmo | January 17, 2013 at 01:58 PM
And yet, you still can't flush Thimerosal down a toilet.
Posted by: Julie Obradovic | January 17, 2013 at 01:38 PM
http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/06/thimerosal-and.html
THIMEROSAL AND VACCINES: WHAT YOUR DOC WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE
This article is an oldie but a goodie, and still very relevant today. Here is one gem from the handout by the MInnesota Department of Health:
"If I can’t find a thimerosal free flu shot for my baby, just how much mercury am I exposing my baby to?
Mn Dept of Health: There is 12.5 micrograms of mercury in a dose of thimerosal-containing flu vaccine that is given to infants. A can of tuna typically has about 11 micrograms. Breast milk contains between 1.4 to 1.7 micrograms of methyl mercury per liter. If a baby is fed exclusively up to six months, the baby will consume about 360 micrograms of mercury. Vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal have 1 microgram or less of mercury.
Mn Natural Health Legal Reform Project: An accurate comparison between the effects of ingested methyl mercury to injected ethyl mercury can not be made. The body has built in mechanisms in the digestive tract that aids in the excretion of ingested mercury, so much of the mercury eaten in tuna fish is never absorbed. Injected mercury bypasses this natural defense. Although infants do not eat tuna, a 200 lb man would need to eat 11 ½ cans (34 servings) of tuna to receive a comparable amount of mercury, proportional to body size, that which a 20 lb. six month old received from his flu shot, and absorb 100% of the mercury. Breast milk at 1.7 micrograms per liter is also ingested orally, with protection in the GI tract from incremental amounts, as opposed to thimerosal at 25,000 micrograms per liter (infant version – toddlers and older get 50,000 mcg/l) injected intramuscularly. Toxicologists emphasize that any poison’s harm will differ markedly depending on how the exposure is delivered, i.e. inhalation, oral ingestion, or injection. Ironically, material safety data sheets for thimerosal make no mention of exposure through injection.
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | January 17, 2013 at 01:18 PM
Nobody, who had NOT studied thimerosal toxicity him/herself has a right to claim that it is non toxic. It is extremely toxic and all the experts (like Larson), who don't know, but claim that it is safe, are paid mass murderers by proxy.
Posted by: concerned citizen | January 17, 2013 at 12:47 PM
My below blog is what they are saying behind close doors to each other.
Not - Oh -- to what they are saying in a public forum to the massessssssssssssssssss.
Hey doctors -- get that?
Posted by: Benedetta | January 17, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Aluminum Day One:
Freedom of Information Act allowed the release of this transcript from May of 2000 that the Health and Human Resources held in Puerto Rico.
Page 118
Dr. Vogel:
"Okay. Moving along. Our next speaker is Dr. Bruce Fowler, who is professor at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine and Graduate School, where he is the director of the Program in Toxicology and a fellow of ATS.
Dr. Fowler's talk will be on "Binary Metal Mixtures."
Page 130
Summary of what Dr Fowler said: A test for gene expression or gene product for stress proteins showed that indium arsenide was the same as the control, but for gallium arsenide it was 2.1 times greater.
*************My favorite quote*************
Page 135
Dr. Fowler, "There is a type of 3 metallathionine in brain. As you may know, it sounds like you have solved the problems of thimerosal but I will just mention this in passing, even alkyl mercurial such as methyl mercury and ethyl mercury are demethylated to release inorganic mercury. That inorganic mercury is going to wind up predominantly bound to metallothionine."
Page 136
Dr. Fowler, "Kidney proximal tubule cell of rats drinking water containing both mercuric chloride and selenium---in the slides --- -you will note----a kind of unusual structure---. They are actually crystalloid. ------ The important point here-----We need to think broadly in terms of interaction between essential elements and toxic elements."
Page 137
Dr. Fowler, "Risk assessments frequently do not take into effect multiple chemical exposures. which can greatly alter the outcome."
Summary what Dr. Fowler said on risk assessments:
He gave an example of eating Wheaties every morning - thus having a high zinc diet, and also have a lot of metallothione around. Your risk based on exposure of cadmium or mercury may be different than someone else's.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 17, 2013 at 12:23 PM
I found this Pediatrics story from 2001 where we were assured that no childhood vaccines had any mercury in them and we were told that mercury in all its forms is toxic. Amazing that throughout the 1990s and early 21st C. article after article had officials talking about “safe mercury”
Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH; Michael W. Shannon, MD, MPH; and the
Committee on Environmental Health
Technical Report: Mercury in the Environment:Implications for Pediatricians http://www.pediatricsdigest.mobi/content/108/1/197.full.pdf+html
Ethylmercury, in the form of thimerosal, was formerly
used as a topical antiseptic and has also been
used as an effective preservative for killed vaccines
and other biological agents for medical therapy.
Thimerosal contains 49.6% mercury by weight and is
metabolized to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. Before
fall 1999, there was 25 mg of mercury in each
0.5-mL dose of most diphtheria and tetanus toxoids
and acellular pertussis vaccines as well as some Haemophilus
influenzae type b, influenza, meningococcal,
pneumococcal, and rabies vaccines. In addition,
there was 12.5 mg of mercury in each dose of the
hepatitis B vaccine. The reference doses* established
by federal agencies were between 0.1 and 0.4 mg/
kg/d.6,19 Assuming that the toxicity of ethylmercury
is similar to that of methylmercury, the exposure
from a single vaccination could potentially exceed
federal guidelines for that day and, with routine
immunization, a cumulative dose of up to 75 mg of
mercury by 3 months of age and 187.5 mg by 6
months of age could have been received. As a precautionary
measure, the Academy, along with the
American Academy of Family Physicians, the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices, and the
US Public Health Service issued a joint recommendation
that thimerosal be removed from vaccines as
quickly as possible.2,20 Currently, all vaccines in the
recommended childhood immunization schedule do
not contain thimerosal as a preservative.
CONCLUSIONS
1. 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.
Pediatricians can contribute to the effort
of decreasing the amount of mercury in the waste
stream by phasing out mercury-containing devices,
such as thermometers and sphygmomanometers,
from their offices and other medical
facilities and encouraging parents to remove mercury
thermometers from their homes.
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | January 17, 2013 at 12:21 PM
So she's a "weaponized" anthropologist sent into the "field" by Gates to study noncompliance and target ways to contagiously alter "health belief" and forge acceptance of dangerous medicine?
Consumers are being studied like an enemy population in war. Report her to the Network of Concerned Anthropologists: https://sites.google.com/site/concernedanthropologists/
Posted by: Adriana | January 17, 2013 at 10:58 AM
Larson must have her hands full.
"Dr Kaita: The results were very interesting because I and some other professional colleagues who are Indians who were in the lab could not believe the discovery. I thought at first that something was wrong with my calculations, them we repeated it again and again; and again, it kept giving us the same results of contaminants. Some of the Indian scientists who were in the lab also wondered how come a polio vaccine had such contaminants that were not supposed to be there. Some of the things we discovered in the vaccines are harmful, toxic; some have direct effect on human reproductive system. But I was surprised when one of the federal government doctors was telling me something contrary to what I have learnt, studied, taught and is the common knowledge of all pharmaceutical scientists, that estrogen cannot induce anti-fertility response on human. That is the most absurd thing I ever heard from a learned person who said he is a professor."
http://www.whale.to/b/kaita.html
"Thirty-four of 106 children fell ill after a vaccination against meningitis in sub-prefecture Gouro [in Chad] and are being treated at General Hospital and National Reference Hospital....At General Hospital, some of these children, most of them girls, aged 10 to 13 years continue to hallucinate, to stir ... Still others remain unconscious and paralyzed."
http://www.journalavoix.info/derniereminute.php?action=fullnews&id=244
Posted by: Carol | January 17, 2013 at 10:42 AM
The skull and cross bones on thimerasol bottles are only because the graphic designer at Sigma Aldrich likes pirates.
Posted by: Ralph from St Louie | January 17, 2013 at 10:14 AM
According to the Vaccine Confidence Project website Dr Larson's colleague Dr Pauline Brocard Paterson (on maternity leave)
"established an information surveillance system database and analytical tool on public concerns around vaccines and has spent two years researching issues of public confidence in immunisations and is highly experienced in global, internet-based information surveillance and analysis of public questioning and concerns around vaccines. Dr Paterson has a PhD in Epidemiology and an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London."
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/people.html
Doesn't sound too much like anthropology to me. I wonder if she's had her flu shot, ho ho?
Posted by: Big Sister is Watching You | January 17, 2013 at 09:41 AM
Two memorable articles Ed Yazbak:-
The Mercury Memo
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/node/19925
Thimerosal, the Safe Mercury
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/node/19924
Fascinating information from Material Data Safety Sheets:
"Chronic ingestion or excessive dosage may cause numbness, tingling of hands, feet, lips, ataxia, painful joints, constriction of visual fields, impaired hearing, emotional disturbances, spastic movements, incontinence, groaning, shouting, dizziness, lacrimation, hypersalivation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation."
I seem to remember that the concentration of mercury in a vaccine vial is 250 times the level for toxic waste.
Posted by: John Stone | January 17, 2013 at 09:14 AM
Hi Ed,
What's becoming apparent - and I have added to this article this morning - is that Heidi is one of Gates's main people - she's everywhere, at the UN as well, in charge of an AIDS project. But not all the money in the world is going to make it true that it is alright to inject mercury into babies.
John
Posted by: John Stone | January 17, 2013 at 08:52 AM
John,
An appropriate subtitle to your piece could have been: The Fox Guarding the Hen House
Dr. Larson either never heard of Maurice Hilleman and his 1991 Thiomersal Memo or she intentionally elected to ignore them. (I don’t know which is worse)
Dr. Hilleman received the Special Lifetime Achievement Award from the Children's Vaccine Initiative of the World Health Organization in addition to the National Medal of Science (President Reagan), the Distinguished Service Medal for Research, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal and Lifetime Achievement awards, the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the Lasker Medical Research Award. (Larson should have at least known about the first one)
Anyway, 22 years ago, Hilleman, rating the toxicity of mercury compounds to Dr. Gordon Douglas, Head of Merck’s Vaccine Division, wrote on page 3, section 5 of his Memo:
4.3 The relative toxicity
Most toxic: Methyl and ethyl salts
Intermediate: Mercury vapor
Least toxic: Inorganic mercury salts.
That should have been easy to understand!
Ed Yazbak
Posted by: Ed Yazbak | January 17, 2013 at 08:37 AM
No conflicts then Heidi..wheel barrow for Heidi`s nose its just grown another 2 feet
,salt and mercury in your chips,sweet and sour mercury,mercury korma,..yum yum so good for ya!!donch ya! know...
Posted by: Angus Files | January 17, 2013 at 07:44 AM
Mercury is Mercury and from what i read is dangerous full stop , if you were to put one drop on your tongue you would be no more , beggers the question are the scientists fully qualified do they care that a toxic substance can damage , i truely believe that they do not , John i always learn much from you keep up the good work great piece
Posted by: Debra | January 17, 2013 at 07:21 AM
I would like all the people, who claim that mercury isn't toxic, drink a small bottle each of thimerosol publicly. Then I would like to see a follow up on how "rapidly" their body excretes it and the "no health effects" of it!
Posted by: Katarzyna Sinclair | January 17, 2013 at 07:18 AM
'Larson's Job'
Yes, it is surely about propaganda and compliance. And what she is doing is trotting out something so absurd it doesn't bear a second's scrutiny - based on rank and social influence. Isn't anthropology a fancy word for public relations officer to the pharmaceutical industry?
CHS
Dr Salisbury was also on the committee in 2002 which based its policy on Miller's paper.
Posted by: John Stone | January 17, 2013 at 07:15 AM
This is bizarre - at the end of the New Scientist article it states:
"Heidi Larson is an anthropologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who studies public trust in vaccines".
So the author of the New Scientist article is not even a scientist - she is not qualified to write about mercury toxicity at all.
New Scientist should change its name "New Age Scientist" - because this is just pseudo-scientific woo.
Posted by: ChildHealthSafety | January 17, 2013 at 07:04 AM
According to Professor Dr David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation in the UK Department of Health, mercury is only toxic in "industrial quantities".
Salisbury is responsible for putting that totally false claim to the editor-in-chief of a UK national newspaper.
A baby would have to weigh 10,000 metric tons for a dose of just 1 gram, to be within the US EPA's reference dose.
Posted by: ChildHealthSafety | January 17, 2013 at 06:59 AM
This nonsense or as I prefer to call it non-science will be their undoing .
We have given you enough rope you scoundrels - no go and hang yourselves .
The history of Heroin is quite interesting . Heroin is a trademark name of the Bayer Pharma company .
The sold Heroin in cough mixtures up until 1910 , for 12 years , and apparently it was ever so popular .
Until someone proved their crime and they had to cease .
They have been covering up this embarrassment ever since .
They created up to half a million addicts at the time .
Point being , it takes time , to bring these scoundrels down . Even for smthg as obvious as heroin !
Posted by: Farmer Geddon | January 17, 2013 at 06:58 AM
Dr Heidi Larson - "The Vaccine Confidence Project:
Dr Heidi Larson is an anthropologist who currently leads the team studying issues around public trust in vaccines and the implications for immunization programmes and policies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (January 2010 - September 2012). Dr Larson previously headed Global Communication for Immunization at UNICEF and Chaired the Advocacy Task Force for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). Dr Larson has extensive experience in managing breakdowns in public confidence in immunisation (including polio) at a local, country and global level. Her research specializes in the analysis and evaluation of health and development programmes with particular attention to social and political factors which can affect policies and programmes. Her particular focus is on risk and rumour management in health programmes and technologies, especially vaccines - from clinical trials to delivery - and building public trust. Dr Larson is also a Fellow at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security. http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/people.html
Posted by: Lason's Job is To Protect Vaccine "Confidence" | January 17, 2013 at 06:57 AM
Human and animal biochemistry is complex. As I understand it ethyl mercury is known to be converted to methyl mercury by some shellfish; these are part of the food chain for fish and other higher organisms. (Tuna fish is known to contain methyl mercury). In addition to being a vaccine preservative, ethyl mercury is also widely used in agriculture as seed dressings to prevent rot. These chemicals are ultimately washed into the sea.
Have any studies been carried out into possible ethyl mercury - methyl mercury conversion in humans or primates, particularly injected mercury which might build up in the tissues? If not, WHY NOT!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | January 17, 2013 at 06:57 AM
Forgive me for suggesting an anology that I think applies.
Just yesterday .. world re-known champion of the most prestigious bike race .. the Tour De France .. seven consecutive years .. basically admitted that he had been using "performance enhancing drugs" during his entire career. I suspect that Armstrong could not possibly have succeeded in hiding his drug abuse unless he had the cooperation of those responsible for protecting the "integrity" of the sport of bike racing .. most especially those who conducted drug tests prior, during and after .. every race he rode. It has been reported that over his career .. he had received warnings from privileged sources as to when tests would be conducted as well as given critical information on how to beat the evolving tests being conducted to detect the drugs he was using each year.
From all accounts, Lance is now being threatened with criminal prosecution .. and .. to avoid that prosecution he will have to reveal the names of ALL who aided and abetted his deceitful career. For eternity .. Lance Armstrong's name will live in "infamy" .. a world class LIAR.
What does Lance Armstrong's fall from grace have to do with the people John has identified as having conflicts of interests that should have disqualified them from sitting on an advisory panel regarding the "safety of mercury" in vaccines?
I suspect ..just like Lance during his lengthy career .. these people have absolutely NO FEAR of being deliberately disingenuous while claiming mercury in vaccines is "safe".
Hopefully, someone will come forward as did Lance Armstrong .. and .. these individuals will eventually face prosecution for aiding and abetting those who committed "crimes against humanity" .. which is a far worse crime than aiding and abetting someone to win a bike race.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | January 17, 2013 at 06:55 AM