Congress Learns that Autism is Environmental

Wow... so I am watching this hearing, and I can't believe I am watching a hearing in the US Congress.

The horse is out of the barn. I don't know how Offit/Orac/Snyderman et. al. are gonna get it back in.

Autism is environmental. You heard it in congress. Barbara Boxer even learned the word "epigenetics".

Senate Hearings on Environmental Causes of Autism Tomorrow

The hearing will be streamed on this page tomorrow.

Senators to review research on autism's enviro causes
Environment and Energy Daily
August 2, 2010
Gayathri Vaidyanathan, E&E reporter

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will meet tomorrow to probe the state of research into the environmental causes of autism and other neurodevelopment disorders.

The Children's Health Subcommittee will hear from U.S. EPA and National Institutes of Health officials on the progress of federally funded work into the causes of autism and other development disorders of the brain.

It is likely that the hearing will be a step toward reauthorizing the 2006 Combating Autism Act, which is set to expire in 2011.

Autism is thought to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While the interaction of genes and mutations is somewhat known by now, little work has been done on potential environmental risk factors. There are likely to be many disparate causes leading to autism.

The incidence of autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, is increasing in the United States, with one in every 110 children affected. Rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, in children are also rising -- nearly 4.5 million children between 3 and 17 years of age have it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The subpanel will hear from Isaac Pessah, director of the University of California, Davis, Children's Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention, which has received $7.5 million from EPA since 2007 for research to investigate possible environmental causes.

UC Davis is working on a project called MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in Babies -- Learning Early Signs) to identify early predictors of autism, whether genetic, environmental or immunologic. According to the project proposal submitted to EPA, the project will look at whether autistic children are differently exposed to metals, pesticides, polybrominated diphenylethers and other chemicals.

The work is a corollary to a long-term study called CHARGE in which UC Davis researchers are casting a wide net to catch possible environmental contributors in a group of 2- to 5-year-old autistic children. They are screening for pesticides, metals, flame retardant compounds, viruses and bacteria and pharmaceuticals.

UC Davis and other groups are also receiving money from NIH's National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program, and the subcommittee will hear from the program's director, Linda Birnbaum.

NIH is funding a study together with the nonprofit Autism Speaks that is enrolling mothers who already have one autistic child and are again pregnant to study exposures during fetal development.

The annual cost of caring for people with autism is $35 billion, according to Geraldine Dawson, chief scientific officer at Autism Speaks.

NIH has provided nearly $225 million for research, which Dawsom called miniscule. The funding comes from the Combating Autism Act, which authorized $7 billion for autism-related work including screening, education, intervention and research.

"President Obama has listed autism as one of three health concerns to be combated in the United States," Dawson said. "The current act is a step in the right direction, but due to the magnitude of the public health challenge that autism presents, we need a great deal more funding."

The rate of children with the disease has risen by 600 percent in the last decade, a number so dramatic it cannot be explained solely by better diagnosis, Dawson said.

Schedule: The hearing is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 406 Dirksen.

Witnesses: Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA; Linda Birnbaum, NIH's director of the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program; Isaac Pessah, director of the UC Davis Children's Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention; Bruce Lanphear, senior scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute; and Mary Moen, parent.

Congressional Vaccine-Autism Briefing - Call your Congressman!

If you don't see all your representatives on the list, call them first thing in the AM and ask them to attend.

If you do see your representatives on the list, call them and thank them for going and let them know how important this is to you.

FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE: September 23, 2008

CONTACT: Carlos Jimeno, 718-230-4250;
David Kirby 718-208-6883

VACCINE-AUTISM BRIEFING ON CAPITOL HILL TO DRAW MEMBERS OR STAFF FROM
125 HOUSE AND SENATE OFFICES
--Updates on Science, Policy, and Politics on the Agenda--

WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Carolyn Maloney (R-NY) will sponsor a special briefing on the vaccine-autism debate on Wednesday, September 24 at 2:00 PM in Room 210 of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC.
David Kirby, investigative journalist and author of The New York Times bestseller “Evidence of Harm, Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic A Medical Controversy,” will inform Members and their staff about developments in this debate from science, public policy, politics and law.Kirby will be joined Mark Blaxill, Director of the Coalition for SAFE MINDS.
Among the issues to be discussed are:
● A recent Vaccine Court case in which the federal government conceded that vaccines induced autism in one girl with an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction.
● Possible links between mitochondrial dysfunction and autistic regression, and information on several ASD children with mitochondrial issues;
● State-of-the-art research underway at top universities on the connection between environmental toxins, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, neuro-inflammation and autistic encephalopathy;
● Research agendas from the CDC and NIH that include investigations into links between vaccines and neuro-immune disorders
● The scope and implications of the autism epidemic. How scientific politics is preventing policy from catching up to the problem.
● Ongoing research into connections between mercury exposure and autism. Why most of what is reported is inaccurate.
● Reframing concerns over the vaccine program: It’s not a question of being pro or con vaccines, but rather a question of safety management.
David Kirby and Mark Blaxill are available for interviews. More information is at www.evidenceofharm.com and www.safeminds.com

THERE ARE NOW 126 CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES CONFIRMED:

HOUSE

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)*
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) Autism Caucus Co-Chair (“He read EOH cover to cover”)*
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN)*
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)
Rep. Christopher Carney (D-PA) (Will attend in person)*
Rep. Carney’s Health Care Legislative Aide
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. Paul Brown (D-GA) (Will try to attend in person)
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY) (“Likely)*
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)*
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN)*
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)*
Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-OH)*
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) (Will attend in person)*
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)*
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)*
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)*
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)*
Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) (Will try to attend in person)*
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)*
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)*
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)*
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)*
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)*
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)*
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)*
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)*
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)*
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) ("They really want to be a part of this.")*
Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL)*
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)*
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)*
Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME)*
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Phil English (R-PA)*
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) (Most likely)*
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) (Either in person or will send staff)*
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) (Very likely)*
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (D-MI)*
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)*
Rep. Steven Lynch (D-MA)*
Rep. Louie Gohmert (D-TX)
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) (“Will try”)
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)*
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) (In person or a staffer will be there)*
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)*
Rep. John McHugh (R-CA)*
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA)*
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) (“Will make every attempt possible”)*
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC)*
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)
Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) (“Will try to attend in person, or else send staff rep”)*
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA)*
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) (“Will attend in person, pending events that day”)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-MA) (“Will try to send someone”)*
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) (“Staffer will most likely attend”)*
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)*
Rep Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep.Jim Moran (D-VA) (“We are ALL very interested in this issue.”)*
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) (“Congressman Pickering is passionate about this issue.”)*
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) (“Staffer will most likely be there.”)*
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) (“Staffer will probably be present.”)*
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)*
Rep. John Peterson (R-PA)*
Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA)*
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)*
Rep. David Price (D-NC)*
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL)*
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)*
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) “Staffer will probably be present”*
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)*
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI)*
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (“Will do their best to get a staffer there”)*
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)*
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) (“Will try their best to have someone there”)*
Rep. Tom Bishop (D-NY) (“It’s on his schedule”)
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)*
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)*
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)*
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) (“Will do their best”)*
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) (“Will do their best”)*
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) (“Will be there in person along with his health staffer”)*
Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) (“Will try to attend”)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)*
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) (“Will try to be there in person, if not a staffer go”)*
Rep. David Wu (D-OR)*
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Rep. Virginia Brown-Waite (R-FL)
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) (“Will attend in person or send a staff person”)*

SENATE

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) (“Likely”)
Sen. John Isakson (R-GA)*
Sen. Thad Cochrane (R-MI) (“Will try”)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)*
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)*
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) (“Will try to send someone”)*
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (“Health staffer will try”)
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) (“Staff person will try to attend”)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)*
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) (“Will try to have health staffer attend”)*
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) (“Will try”)
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

HOUSE: 96
SENATE: 30
DEM: 76
GOP: 50

ALSO ATTENDING:

Kate Mevis - FDA

* Denotes a member of the 2007 2008 Coalition for Autism Research and Education (Autism Caucus) of the 110th Congress.

Julie Gerberding Tells Congress That The Verstraeten Study is Junk!

I am stunned.

I can't even think of a snarky comment to write.

My only question is, when is the press release from the CDC retracting Verstraeten coming out?

David Kirby "CDC: Vaccine Study Design "Uninformative and Potentially Misleading"

For those of you who may not understand the significance of this development, Julie Gerberding, the head of the CDC, has just taken down the tent pole arguement in the "vaccines don't cause autism" claim, on her own, with her bare hands.

UPDATE:

Pamella Addresses the AAP and All Star Pediatrics about the Gerberding report and their continued disrespect for parents.
The American Academy or Pediatrics in an Awkward Position after CDC Takes Thimerosal Safety Studies Off the Table

A-CHAMP Action Alert - Call Congress

From A-CHAMP:

Read David Kirby's Editorial,"Give Us Answers on Vaccines" in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Today - and then call Congress!


Tell Your Congressional Representatives that You Want Answers!

Today's Atlanta-Journal Constitution contains an editorial by David Kirby entitled

We have recently had a glimpse of the truth about the link between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. When the news was revealed by the Poling family that the government conceded that vaccines caused their daughter, Hannah's, autism, we had a window into the truth about vaccine safety and what has happened to a generation of children.

But the Poling documents and the truth remain sealed!

We want to parents and family members to call Congress...call...call...and keep calling, and demand the

Truth about vaccine safety,

Truth about whether vaccines have harmed our kids and

JUSTICE for our children!

Talking points suggestions:


We need the truth about vaccine safety.

For years the government has denied any association between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. In private, public officials have conceded that vaccines have caused autism, such as in the government's recent concessions in the Poling case. Vaccines have been found to have caused autism in at least nine other cases considered by our public officials.

Our kids were damaged because because of the vaccine program, but the government told us vaccines were safe. Our children missed the statute of limitations because we trusted the CDC when they told us repeatedly there was no association between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders.

We want the Poling documents released.

We want access to the VSD, the publicly financed Vaccine Safety Datalink database that may answer important questions about vaccines and their relationship to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

We want the statute of limitations extended with a look back so that hundreds of thousands children harmed by vaccines are allowed access to justice. Right now they have no right to make claims and obtain justice.

If Congress can hold hearings on Roger Clemens's steroid use, our elected representatives can hold hearings on why hundreds of thousands of children are suffering with neurodevelopmental disorders in an unprecedented epidemic.

We want the CDC and the FDA held accountable.

"Millions of parents are anxiously waiting for their government to tell them what the hell is going on."

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, AND KEEP CALLING UNTIL THEY ANSWER YOU AND AGREE TO SUPPORT OUR KIDS .
"We are everywhere and we are not going away!"

...and we are coming to Washington in June.

Congress Votes on Banning Mercury From Vaccines

[Update: Make sure you check the bottom to see why ECBT's stance is BS. Also my letter to Mrs. Carter calling her attention to the mercury issue]

Every Child by Two is urging their membership to call congress and oppose this amendment that would make vaccines safer. Here is everything you need to know about Every Child By Two:

Officers:

Kirsten Thistle
Treasurer
Senior Vice-President, APCO Worldwide
(APCO is the PR Agency for: Johnson & Johnson, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Associations, Novartis Pharmaceuticals – Glivec, Immunex Corporation - Novantrone, The Vaccine Fund, STERIS Corporation and the list goes on)

Board Members:

Craig Engesser
Senior Director, Professional Affairs
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Paul Offit, MD
Chief, Section of Immunologic and Infectious Diseases
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Ex-Officio Members:

Anne Schuchat, MD
Director, CDC/National Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases

I called their offices and they said that they receive unrestricted grants from pharmaceutical companies.

It is difficult for me to believe that the former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who founded Every Child By Two, understands the dire conflict of interest here. She is a mental health advocate, and advocates for caretakers like us.

I think I will write her a letter too.

Call your Congressman and support the ban on mercury in vaccines.

From A-CHAMP:

Congressional Vote on Mercury Ban Expected

Contact Your Member of Congress ASAP!!!

Take Action!
This past Wednesday, July 11, the House Committee on Appropriations adopted by voice vote an amendment that prevents federal dollars from being used to provide flu vaccines, that contain mercury as a preservative, to children under three years of age. This amendment, offered by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) was based on legislation that he has introduced with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to completely ban mercury from all vaccines. This bill will come to the floor of the House of Representatives on July 17.

Action You Must Take Today!
You need to e-mail of fax write your member of Congress today.
You may use our automated system to send an email by Clicking Here.

If you want to call or fax your Congressman and don’t know who your Member of Congress is you can find out by Clicking Here or going to http://capwiz.com/a-champ/directory/congdir.tt Your Congressman's contact information can be found there.

E-mail your Member of the House of Representatives AND CALL their office (Congressional Switchboard 202-224-3121 can also get you to your Congressman by phone).

Here is suggested text for a letter if you wish to send a fax or a manual email. The text is also in our pre-written email if you wish to use our automated system:
I am writing you to urge that you vote against any amendment that removes from the FY 2008 House Labor/HHS Appropriation bill the provision that bans mercury (thimerosal) from childhood flu vaccines. I am very concerned that an amendment may be offered on the House floor when this bill is considered that would strip this important provision from the House bill. As my representative, I urge you to vote against any amendment that would leave babies exposed to mercury-laced flu vaccines.

There is no other way to put this - It is just a stupid practice to be injecting babies at 6, 7, 12 and 24 months with the neurotoxin mercury particularly at such a critical stage of neurodevelopment. The House Appropriations Committee agreed overwhelmingly that injecting children with mercury is a bad idea when they adopted an amendment on July 11 offered by Rep. Dave Weldon - a physician.

The developed world other than the United States has essentially banned mercury from all of their childhood vaccines, including the flu vaccine. But, the USA continues to use mercury as a preservative in millions of doses of the flu vaccine given to children. Seven years ago, in 1999, the following concensus was reached by the US's leading public health agencies: “[The] Public Health Service, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agree that thimerosal-containing vaccines should be removed as soon as possible. Similar conclusions were reached this year in a meeting attended by European regulatory agencies, the European vaccine manufacturers, and the US FDA which examined the use of thimerosal-containing vaccines produced or sold in European countries.”

That was in 1999. In October 2004 the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the need to remove mercury as a preservative from childhood flu vaccines. Now, three years later virtually no action has been taken by the CDC, AAP or vaccine makers to eliminate mercury preservative from childhood flu vaccines. The time to end this madness is long overdue.

I appreciate in advance your vote against any amendment that would weaken the Weldon provision that protects babies from exposure of babies to this dangerous neurotoxin. I will be reviewing the record vote on this issue should an amendment be offered to strip this provision.

Thank you for protecting our babies.

Message Brought To You By A-CHAMP
Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning
See Our Action Alerts. Click the TAKE ACTION! button

Update: So ECBT says they oppose removing the mercury because, "Sanofi (the only company licensed to supply [flu] vaccine to this age group) has reported that they do not have enough capacity to meet this demand".

Except that Sanofi just announced the opening of their new FLU VACCINE FACILITY! (And yes of course Paul Offit is quoted in the article. Silly of you to even ask.)

New Pa. vaccine plant poised for pandemics
By Karl Stark
Philadelphia Inquirer

SWIFTWATER, Pa. - Here in the former honeymoon capital known as the Pocono Mountains sits a near-windowless building that everyone will know about when the next pandemic flu hits.

Just down the road from a Caesars resort with its heart-shaped pools lies the country's only comprehensive flu-vaccine plant. Drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis announced yesterday that it had finished construction of a $150 million building here that would double its production of vaccine for seasonal or pandemic flu, since both are made nearly the same way.

The highly computerized plant now awaiting final government approval won't be pumping out vaccine until late next year. But the drugmaker invited Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and the media for a rare peek yesterday at a critical facility before its life-saving balm begins flowing.

Leavitt called the plant critical to the health of the country and the world. "We do know that pandemics happen, and that we will see a pandemic, and that we need to be prepared," he said.

The plant looks like a high-tech hospital on perpetual security alert. No merely curious visitors can enter when it's working. Its 200 production workers - all vaccinated for the flu - will be gowned, gloved and masked.

A few workers went through the motions yesterday, entering rooms through special air locks that help keep the virus in and the contaminants out, and pantomiming production steps as a special filtration system purified the air.

Yet, amid the warren of stainless-steel tubes and vats, the plant will still make vaccine the old-fashioned way: with chicken eggs.

They have incubated flu vaccine reliably since 1935. And the plant will need 600,000 eggs a day at full capacity. Sanofi buys what it needs and more from dedicated egg suppliers, to assure an ample supply.

Sanofi senior vice president Wayne Pisano, who oversees vaccine sales, described the process as tried-and-true, and said the emerging cell-culture-based method has not been perfected for making the millions of doses needed.

Leavitt said the federal government was trying to change that by spending $1 billion over the next five years to improve cell-based technology and to increase U.S. vaccine production. The United States has amassed pre-pandemic vaccine for six million people, along with 50 million doses of antiviral medicines. "Obviously, that's not enough," Leavitt said.

While media attention on flu has receded, Leavitt noted that the flu virus was continuing to change and threaten people. An especially dangerous form, called H5N1, has infected 318 people worldwide and killed nearly 200 since 2003. The world has averaged three flu pandemics a century, the last striking in 1968 and 1969. Sooner or
later, another one will occur, Leavitt said.

The federal government is continuing to prepare. Last month, Sanofi announced a $77.4 million contract from the government to retrofit a second flu factory at the Swiftwater site. The firm, which will also spend $25 million of its own funds, would be able to make 150 million doses a year by 2010, tripling its current production, when all ongoing upgrades are done.

Sanofi, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, isn't the only company in the game. GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., which has a U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, is rehabbing a 90-acre former vaccine plant in Marietta, Lancaster County, to make flu and other vaccines. The firm has received a $274 million federal contract to develop the cell-
culture method and to ramp up manufacturing there. Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG is also building a vaccine plant in Holly Springs, N.C. But both projects are years away from production.

Kimberly Elliott, deputy director of Trust for America's Health, a public-health-advocacy group, said the U.S. effort still lags in key aras, such as how to detect the disease quickly and how to handle the large numbers of sick patients in a pandemic. "Most hospitals are already overcrowded," she said. "Hardly any state is doing well on this, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey."

Experts hope that vaccines will provide a lot of protection. And yesterday at the plant, workers were showing how they would be made.

In one room, a mechanical needle will inject virus into the eggs, which will be left to incubate for two or three days.

Workers shine special lights onto the eggs to make sure they are intact. The process is known as "candling" because it was originally done by candlelight.

A mechanical knife then cuts off the top of eggs, and a machine flips 36 at a time, pouring their fluid into a vat. The virus is killed, and then the fluid is run through a centrifuge and purified several times.

"We're still stuck with eggs," noted Paul A. Offit, the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and author of Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases.

"I would like to think," he added, that "the fear of the pandemic will enable us to upgrade our flu technology."

My Letter to Mrs. Carter:

Dear Ms. Carter,

I am a Johns Hopkins educated marriage and family therapist and the mother of a 5 year old boy diagnosed with autism and mercury poisoning. At only two weeks of age he was given a Hepatitis B vaccine that contained what is described at "trace" amounts of mercury, after which he developed colic and unexplained fevers that lasted for three months, and bowel problems that persisted for five years. At age two, when he was diagnosed with autism, we tested him and found that he had mercury poisoning. In researching his vaccinations to see if that could be the source, we found that the hep B vaccine that he had just after he was born, the one that is currently on the vaccine schedule, although considered to contain "low dose" or "trace" of mercury, actually exceeded the EPA's safety limits for a person of his weight.

Further research on the EPA's safety limits showed me that they were not based on any research on the safety of injected mercury, and that in fact the only safety study on the mercury containing preservative thimersoal was done in the 1920's on 22 patients who were dieing of meningitis. The study found that there were no long term side effects, because all the participants died with in days of injection. Thimerosal was then put into vaccines, and grandfathered in to the FDA at its inception, with out any further safety testing. That study remains the only safety testing on thimerosal.

For the last three years I have been reading the research on vaccine safety. I was heartbroken to find that the hep B vaccine that my son initially reacted to (eventually loosing speech and eye contact the 4th time he was given the shot at 18 months of age) was given inadequate safety testing as well. Children who got the shot were only followed for three days, a woefully inadequate amount of time to see if the vaccine resulted in immune or neurological changes.

I have also read and analyzed for myself several of the large epidemiological studies that the medical establishment puts forth as proof that thimerosal in vaccines are safe and has no relationship to autism or other developmental disorders. I find that these studies do not measure what they purport to measure and that because of their very narrow inclusion criteria, they cannot be used to determine whether or not thimerosal containing vaccines are safe for my two sons.

Because of our family's experience, I began writing (I maintain a blog at http://adventuresinautism.com) and advocating for adequate research and vaccine safety. This week the bipartisan Mercury Free Vaccines Act of 2007 will be voted on, and your organization, Every Child By Two, is opposing it. I am writing to you to ask you to change your stance and support the complete removal of mercury from vaccines.

Mercury is one of the most potent neurotoxins on the planet and there can be no justification for injecting it into full grown adults much less newborns babies. It is hundreds of times more lethal to humans than lead, yet the medical establishment, who stands firm and united in their assertion that no amount of lead is safe, maintains the nonsensical assertion that there is "no evidence of harm" in injecting a "trace amount" of mercury directly into the blood stream of a developing child, and therefore should be allowed to stay in vaccines.

As I have read the emerging research on the relationship between mercury and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, and seen the dramatic improvements in my own son as we chelate the metal out of his body, I am convinced that there is a link between mercury in vaccines and autism. But if you are not, would it still not be prudent to remove mercury from vaccines as quickly and completely as we can?

The Every Child By Two's stance is that the effort should be struck down because, "Sanofi (the only company licensed to supply [flu] vaccine to this age group) has reported that they do not have enough capacity to meet this demand". This seems a woefully inadequate justification. Mercury should continue to be injected into small children and pregnant women so that fewer people get the flu for one season?

I read on the web site that you began your vaccination efforts after a measles outbreak killed 150 people. According to the CDC, autism now effects 1 in 150 people. The evidence that vaccines and autism are related are growing every day, as are the number of children who are making a full recovery and loosing their autism diagnosis when they are treated with emerging interventions, like chelation and diet, that are based on the vaccine/autism theory.

Because of mainstream medicine's reluctance to see the possibility that autism is an iatrogenic disorder, confidence in the vaccine program as a whole is at risk. I am one of a growing number of parents who has ceased vaccinating their children all together because I can no longer trust the medical establishment to be honest with me about the risks and benefits to my children's health. I believe complete and verifiable removal of all mercury from all vaccines will be the only thing to prevent further erosion in the program.

If I might be so bold, in my eyes, there is an irony in your work. You advocate strongly for those diagnosed with mental disabilities, like my son, and for caregivers, like me; but your stance on mercury in vaccines has unintentionally served to put us in those positions. Your love and your heart for those of us suffering and struggling with illness is so clear. Please use the better part of caution and support the immediate and complete removal of mercury from vaccines.

If I can be of any further assistance to you in examining this issue further, I would be happy to make my self available in any way I can.

Sincerely,
Ginger Taylor
Chandler's Mother

It Is Time for Julie Gerberding to Step Down

I have no words.

Alliance For Human Research Protection
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp.org and http://ahrp.blogspot.com

America's health care oversight agencies are running amok wasting taxpayer money while undermining the public health instead of protecting it.

Below are the highlights of the 115 page review issued by The United States Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security, Minority Office, Under the Direction of Senator Tom Coburn, Ranking Minority Member, June 2007.

U.S federal healthcare oversight agency, it appears are being run by reckless and irresponsible administrators. Previous reports confirmed this sorry state of affairs at the Food an Drug Administration--which is largely under the control of the pharmaceutical industry that it is mandated to oversee; at the National Institutes of Health financial conflicts of interest and scientist' double dipping has undermined the integrity of science and the safety of human subjects; the Environmental Protection Agency is headed by an administrator who would conduct a pesticide experiment on African American toddlers were it not for the public outcry and the intervention of several senators http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/09/07.php and
http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/11/30.php

The latest indictment is contained in an extraordinary report just published by the US Senate assessing the performance of the Centers for Disease Control: "CDC Off-Center: A review of how an agency tasked with fighting and preventing disease has spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars for failed prevention efforts, international junkets, and lavish facilities, but cannot demonstrate it is controlling disease."

CDC spokesman: "We strive day in and day out to fulfill our commitment to the American taxpayer."

The report, CDC Off-Center is found at: found at:
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=OversightAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=bf7e1789-802a-23ad-42e1-57d542e77901

Dr. Coburn indicated that this is the First in a Series of Oversight Reports on Federal Agencies.

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav 212-595-8974
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=OversightAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=bf7e1789-802a-23ad-42e1-57d542e77901
June 12, 2007

The First in a Series of Oversight Reports on Federal Agencies

"CDC Off Center," a 115-page oversight report authored by the Minority Office of the Federal Financial Management Subcommittee, under the direction of ranking member Senator Tom Coburn, examines how CDC has tilted off center and makes recommendations about how it might get back on track.

The American people expect CDC to spend its $10 billion budget this year treating and preventing diseases and dealing with public safety threats, including the threat of bioterrorism. While CDC will meet some of those expectations, if history is any guide, it will also waste millions of dollars.

As part of his commitment to oversight of how Washington spends taxpayer dollars, Senator Coburn plans to release a series of oversight reports on federal agencies. Senator Coburn's hope is that more and better oversight will assist federal agencies and those in Congress with responsibility for overseeing agency budgets, with reigning in wasteful spending; demanding measurable results from programs and grantees; and with reevaluating current spending before asking politicians and taxpayers to send more scarce tax dollars.

"CDC Off Center" is not an effort to discredit the good work that the CDC and those who work for it have carried out and the good work that will continue in the future. The report will hopefully be seen for what it is: an effort to shine some light on prevention efforts and funding decisions that may be holding the agency back from fulfilling its central mission of fighting and controlling disease.

Some examples in the report of CDC's spending:

$1.7 million - including terrorism funds - on a Hollywood liaison program, which happens to be run by a former employee (pg. 87);

$45 million for conferences, including those featuring prostitutes, protests, and beach parties (pgs. 48 - 60);

$30,000 employee saunas in a new $200,000 fitness center that also includes mood-enhancing light shows and $3,500 worth of zero-gravity chairs (pg. 15);

$5 billion spent over seven years on HIV/AIDS prevention funding, and yet the U.S. still sees 40,000 new cases each year, with no decrease in infection rates for over a decade (pgs. 23-37); Syphilis prevention funds used to feature a porn star's presentation (pg. 44); HIV/AIDS prevention funds spent on a transgender beauty pageant (pg. 45);

$250,000 spent so two former employees could help build staff morale, (pgs. 100 - 101);

$5.1 million on "audio visual integration" in the new Thomas R. Harkin communications and visitor center, including a giant 70-foot-wide by 25-foot-tall video wall of plasma screen TVs showcasing agency vignettes (pg. 8);

110 CDC employees traveled to two international AIDS conferences, when buying retroviral drugs with the trip funds could have prevented mother-to-child AIDS transmission for more than 115,000 infants (pgs. 50 & 52);

New Hawaii office opening soon, announcement made by Senator from Hawaii who oversees agency's funding (pg. 18);

$335 million on ads to fight childhood obesity. kids saw the ads, whether or not the ads affected their behavior is another question (pgs. 69 - 71);

$128,000 in CDC bioterrorism funds spent by L.A. County on trinkets such as letter openers, whistles, magnets, mouse pads, flashlights, pens, and travel toothbrushes (pgs. 106 - 110).

The report also includes:

*A detailed graph showing CDC's yearly budget from 1995-2007, which has increased by more than 350% (pg. 7); and
*A chart showing yearly CDC's HIV/AIDS funding from 2001-2007, which has more than doubled during that time (pg. 115).
*Do you know of examples of government waste, fraud or abuse? Submit the information to FFM's website tip page, or by mail to:

Senator Tom Coburn
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management,
Government Information, and International Security
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Further Readings:
FFM Report - CDC Off Center (829.5 KBs)
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=0e72b780-363a-4777-b841-20925a304d20

Jun 11, 2007

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News:
Sen. Tom Coburn: Resolute and Right
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?
FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&Con
tentRecord_id=2fa2c86d-802a-23ad-41e9-56c29757ef96

Jun 14, 2007
By John W. Mashek
US News & World Report: A Capital View
Senator's report: CDC wastes millions on perks
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?
FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&Con
tentRecord_id=2562fa32-802a-23ad-45b2-0367f9916815

Jun 13, 2007
By Matt Kelley
USA TODAY
Health Agency Wastes Cash on Consultants, Screens, Report Finds
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?
FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&Con
tentRecord_id=2a9de4c8-802a-23ad-465d-b4a99f022fca

Jun 12, 2007
By John Lauerman
Bloomberg
Report: CDC wastes millions
"The top public health agency spent millions of dollars on a Hollywood consultant, a lavish visitors center, and a 70-foot-by-25 foot ``wall of plasma televisions,'' a senator's report said.
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?
FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&Con
tentRecord_id=2a9de4c8-802a-23ad-465d-b4a99f022fca

Jun 12, 2007
By Alison Young
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?
FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&Con
tentRecord_id=2032cd9a-802a-23ad-4dbe-dd6bf54fab43

Dan Burton Addresses Congress on the Vaccine Hearings

Not quite sure how I missed this one.

"I believe the families of these autistic children deserve to be compensated for their vaccine injury as Congress intended when it created VICP. I believe the science is there to prove this case and I am hopeful that the court will agree and at the end of this arduous process these 4,800 families will finally get justice."

When a respected republican congressman who held vaccine/autism hearings stands on the floor of the house and lists some research studies that support the vaccine/autism hypothesis, how the heck does the media get away with going on the air and repeatedly saying, "No Link"?

SPEECH OF
HON. DAN BURTON
OF INDIANA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2007

• Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to talk about the Omnibus Autism Hearing which started on June 11, 2007, down at the U.S. Federal Claims Court here in Washington, DC. At issue are the 4,800 claims against the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program filed by parents of autistic children who believe, as I do, that thimerosal--the mercury-based preservative in vaccines--caused their children's disorders.



• There are many people in our health agencies, in the pharmaceutical industry and here in Congress who say that there is no the scientific evidence linking thimerosal and autism. However, during my tenure as chairman of Government Reform Committee (1997-2002), and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness (2003-2005), I chaired numerous hearings examining the alarming increase in autism in this country over the last several decades. In the 1980s, roughly one in 10,000 American children was diagnosed with some kind of autism spectrum disorder. Today that number has risen to 1 in 150. I believe, as do many credible scientists and researchers, that the clear correlation between the dramatic rise in the number of autism cases, and the rapid expansion of the childhood vaccination schedule during that 20-year period, points to the mercury-based preservative thimerosal--routinely used in pediatric vaccines during the period--as a contributing factor to our country's literal epidemic of autism. In fact, I firmly believe my own grandson became autistic after receiving nine shots in 1 day, seven of which contained thimerosal. In fact, Dr. Bernard Rimland--founder and director of the Autism Research Institute--testified before the committee that classic autism, (noticeable from birth) has largely been replaced by late-onset or ``acquired autism''; a form of autism in which children are born normally developing but later regress into autism in the second year of life. He was one of the first to point to environmental insult through vaccine injury as a possible leading contributing factor.


• The truth is that since the initiation of my vaccine investigation, two schools of science have evolved leading to two very different conclusions. The first, largely funded by the Centers for Disease Control, consist of epidemiological evaluations in Denmark that look at medical files in individuals who developed autism and deciding whether or not thimerosal exposure was more predominant in the autism patients. Those who have focused solely on the epidemiology research have concluded that there is no relationship between vaccine injury and the onset of autism. However, once published, these studies were discovered to have many methodological flaws. For example, using individuals in Denmark did not provide a true comparison to the U.S. vaccine schedule, and by the CDC's own admission, the study could not really provide any true conclusion as to whether or not a subset of the population--because of vaccine exposure to mercury or some other vaccine injury--developed autism.


• The second school of research has conducted so-called ``hard'' science; providing objective measures through laboratory and animal research. For example, Dr. Hornig at Columbia University replicated the thimerosal exposure in vaccines in a mouse study and discovered mice exposed to thimerosal had both behavioral and biological responses--displaying autism like behaviors and exhibiting white matter changes in the brain that were measurable. Other laboratory research has shown that thimerosal exposure affects the protective sheath of the neurofibrals in the brain as well as the IGF-I molecule. And Dr. Jill James at the University of Arkansas has shown that thimerosal exposure affects the methylation process--the mechanism used to regulate genes and protect DNA from some types of damage.


• The most recent hard science study to be published is from Dr. Burbacher, a leading expert on mercury, who investigated the different affect methyl mercury and ethyl mercury had on primates. He found that ethylmercury--the form of mercury in thimerosal--stays in the brain (doing more harm) than methylmercury.


• The bottom line is that mercury is a base element and the most toxic substance known to science outside of radioactive materials; and each of these hard science studies, and more, show that it is biologically plausible for mercury exposure in vaccines to cause the onset of autism and provide tantalizing pieces in the puzzle about how.


• My support for the link between thimerosal and autism, especially in open congressional hearings has caused many people to throw around the accusation that I am ``anti-vaccine.'' My response to that is that vaccines are the only medications that are mandatory for Americans to receive and as such we have an even greater obligation to ensure that they are as safe as possible. In addition, experience tells us that, as with any other epidemic, while there may be underlying genetic susceptibilities, there usually is some type of environmental trigger as well, such as a virus, fungus, exposure to heavy metals, pollutants, or whatever. There has never, to the best of my knowledge, been a purely genetic epidemic. So, genetics alone simply cannot explain how we went from 1 in 10,000 children with autism spectrum disorders 20 years ago to 1 in 150 today.


• No one has ever identified a positive health benefit to mercury in the human body. Thus, it was sound public health policy to eliminate mercury from thermometers, blood pressure gauges, light switches, cosmetics, teething powder, horse liniment, hat-making materials, smokestack emission, and mining operations. It would also be sound public health policy to eliminate mercury from all vaccines.


• But Madam Speaker, getting the mercury out of all vaccines is only the first step. We also have a responsibility to help all of the children who have already been injured by mercury in vaccines. That is why the outcome of the Omnibus Autism Hearing is so critically important. In the 1980s, Congress creating the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to shield medical professionals and vaccine manufacturers from liability if an individual suffered an adverse event from receiving vaccines. The compensation fund, which currently contains about $2.5 billion, is financed by a tax on pediatric vaccines. We created VICP to protect the vaccine supply and to insure that all who were injured by a vaccine would receive compensation in what was supposed to be a no-fault, easy to use manner. Congress intended for families to be compensated quickly and fairly; and when the evidence was close as to whether or not the medical condition in question was vaccine related or not--as is the case with thimerosal--the court should always err in favor of the injured. But over the years the system has broken and what was supposed to be quick and fair has become slow and contentious; which is why today 4,800 families are fighting in court to be heard. They have waited a long time for their day in court and I am pleased that the court is providing the transcripts online quickly and that audio streaming on the internet is being provided for the thousands of families who are not able to travel to Washington and actually be in the courtroom during the proceedings.


• As the Omnibus hearings proceed, I hope that all of the evidence regarding vaccine injury will be received by the courts and given a full and fair review. I believe the families of these autistic children deserve to be compensated for their vaccine injury as Congress intended when it created VICP. I believe the science is there to prove this case and I am hopeful that the court will agree and at the end of this arduous process these 4,800 families will finally get justice.

The Age of Autism: Hot potato on the Hill

The Age of Autism: Hot potato on the Hill
By DAN OLMSTED

The newly proposed legislation to study the autism rate in never-vaccinated American kids could settle the debate over vaccines and autism once and for all. Does that mean it will never happen?

This week U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., stepped out front on the issue. She announced at a briefing at the National Press Club that she is drafting legislation to mandate that the federal government find the answer to that question.

Notice the word "mandate" -- as in "direct," which is the language the bill uses. As in, quit making excuses and just do it.

Bureaucrats and lobbyists and "experts" sometimes forget that the power in this country resides with the people, who express their will through their elected representatives. This may sound rather grand, but the point is that legislators are not some "special interest" who must be humored while the permanent ruling class goes on its merry way.

That's why putting a bill before the Congress -- which Maloney says she will do by the end of April after getting as much public comment as possible -- could be a bigger threat than people realize.

After all, as Maloney said this week, "Maybe someone in the medical establishment will show me why this study is a bad idea, but they haven't done it yet."

Maloney, who credits this column with the idea to look at the never-vaccinated, also critiqued the studies that supposedly have ruled out any link between vaccines -- particularly the mercury-based preservative thimerosal -- and autism.

"The one major government study to date, the Institute of Medicine's 2004 review, has been met with skepticism from a lot of people," she said. "There are serious questions about the data set and methodology.

"Meanwhile, there is new biological evidence published in top journals, and from major U.S. universities, to support the mercury-autism hypothesis. Just last week we saw the study out of UC Davis, which found that thimerosal disrupts normal biological signals within cells, causes inflammation and even cell death.

"In short," the congresswoman concluded, "I believe that there are still more questions than answers. But answers are what we desperately need."

Surely everyone's in favor of answers, aren't they? Well, no, they're not. Already, doubts are being raised about whether there are enough never-vaccinated kids to do such a study (there are); whether it's worth doing (it is); and what the results would really show (well, let's find out).

In fact, if the feds hadn't been contentedly dozing for the last decade as the autism rate inexplicably soared, we'd already have our answer.

Back in 2002 a woman named Sandy Gottstein, who does not even have an affected child, came all the way from Anchorage, Alaska, to raise this issue at a congressional hearing.

"My question is, is the National Institutes of Health ever planning on doing a study using the only proper control group, that is, never-vaccinated children?" Gottstein asked.

Dr. Steve Foote of NIH responded: "I am not aware of a proposed study to use a suitably constructed group of never-vaccinated children. ... Now CDC would be more likely perhaps to be aware of such an opportunity."

Responded Dr. Melinda Wharton of the CDC: "The difficulty with doing such a study in the United States, of course, is that a very small portion of children have never received any vaccines, and these children probably differ in other ways from vaccinated children. So performing such a study would, in fact, be quite difficult."

Another futile effort is recounted in David Kirby's book, "Evidence of Harm," which recounts parents' compelling stories that their children's regressive autism was triggered by vaccine reactions.

The book -- just out in paperback and winner of this year's prize from the prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors -- describes how in 2004 Lyn Redwood of the advocacy group SafeMinds sent a list of proposed studies to Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla.

Weldon, a strong advocate of banning thimerosal, sent the list on to Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Redwood's proposal No. 1: "An investigation into the rates of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations (e.g., Amish, Christian Scientists.)"

Last year this column set out to test that theory among the Amish, in an unvaccinated subset of homeschooled kids and in a large medical practice in Chicago with thousands of never-vaccinated children. In this admittedly unscientific and anecdotal reporting, we didn't find very many kids with autism.

That's certainly not conclusive, but we did conclude there are plenty of never-vaccinated kids in this country, and not all of them are riding around in buggies and reading by candlelight. The total number of appropriate "controls" -- reasonably typical never-vaccinated kids -- is well into the tens of thousands, at least.

Nor is the issue pro-vaccines vs. no vaccines, as some who oppose such a study are subtly suggesting. It's safety vs. complacency.

After all, the CDC switched to an inactivated polio vaccine in 2000 when it became clear that the live polio virus was causing a handful of polio cases each year. And kids today are still protected from polio -- only now with zero chance of actually contracting it from the vaccine.

Switching to a safer vaccine did not cause a collapse in public confidence in childhood immunizations -- probably quite the contrary.

Expect to hear all kinds of excuses, including that one, from the powers that be as to why such a conclusive study couldn't, shouldn't and really mustn't be done. Then ask yourself, Why?

E-mail: dolmsted@upi.com