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| MERCURY IN VACCINES |
| Institute of Medicine Report Confirms 1999 FDA/EPA Order for Mercury-Free Vaccines |
October 1, 2001. Washington, D.C. - The nation's oldest and largest vaccine safety advocacy organization, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), today called the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report evaluating whether mercury preservatives in vaccines have caused developmental delays in children a confirmation that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were justified in ordering drug companies to take mercury out of childhood vaccines in 1999.
Although the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded there is not enough evidence to prove or disprove the hypothesis that mercury-containing vaccines have caused children to develop learning disabilities, ADHD and autism, the IOM Committee found enough evidence that mercury can damage the human brain to recommend that mercury preservatives be removed from all vaccines and over-the-counter consumer products.
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". . .the bottom line is that drug companies should have come up with a non-toxic way to preserve the stability of vaccines a long time ago." -
Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of NVIC.
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"This IOM report confirms the obvious: mercury is bad for you and we shouldn't be injecting our babies with it.
Even though there have been too few controlled studies to confirm the relationship between mercury-containing vaccines and various kinds of brain dysfunction, the bottom line is that drug companies should have come up with a non-toxic way to preserve the stability of vaccines a long time ago.
Now we need a comprehensive analysis of the potential toxicity of all other vaccine additives, starting with aluminum," said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of NVIC.
NVIC today joined with SAFEMINDS, founded in 2000 by parents who believe their children were harmed by mercury in vaccines, in calling for the removal of all mercury-containing childhood vaccines from the market in the U.S. and for doctors to warn pregnant women that the flu vaccine contains mercury.
The National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit organization founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine-injured children, has long advocated a systematic evaluation of vaccine preservatives, adjuvants and other components by industry and government to confirm vaccine purity and safety.
NVIC worked with Congress to create the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 and now represents more 35,000 parents and grandparents nationwide.
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Experts: No Hard Link Between Vaccine Chemical, Autism
By Todd Zwillich
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October 1, 2001. WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Parents and doctors should avoid childhood vaccines containing thimerosol, even though there is no hard evidence connecting the mercury-containing preservative to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, a panel of government experts concluded Monday.
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"Doctors should inform pregnant mothers that the flu vaccine contains mercury. . ." -
Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of NVIC.
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The authors of an Institute of Medicine (news - web sites) (IOM) report announced that they had not found enough evidence to either accept or reject the idea that thimerosol-containing vaccines could lead to brain damage in children.
But the link is "biologically plausible" given evidence that high doses of the chemical are known to be neurotoxic, the report states.
From its introduction in the 1930s until a near-complete government ban in 1999, thimerosol was used in several vaccines recommended for infants in the United States, including vaccines against hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza, and a combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis known as the DTaP vaccine.
The government acted because of concerns that vaccine doses recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) (CDC) could be linked to autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or speech delay in children.
Companies began making vaccine in single-dose packages so that thimerosol was not needed.
But the transition to thimerosol-free vaccine was not immediate, and pediatricians have long worried that safety fears would spur parents to avoid vaccinating their children, possibly exposing them to dangerous infectious diseases.
"It is far better to be vaccinated with a thimerosol-containing vaccine than to not be vaccinated," said Dr. Marie McCormick, a professor of maternal and child health at Harvard University and chair of the IOM committee.
A federal registry of vaccine-related adverse events posted nine cases of autism and nine cases of speech or language problems on children who had receive thimerosol-containing vaccines between November 1990 and May 2001.
Preliminary evidence from one study suggested the compound could be linked to speech problems or ADHD.
Thimerosol contains ethyl mercury as a guard against bacterial contamination.
But because direct studies of thimerosol are few and far between, reviewers were forced to try to draw conclusions from studies of methyl mercury, a related and highly toxic compound.
"If thimerosol can be removed from these products without risking bacterial contamination, it makes sense to do so," McCormick said.
Doctors may still stock some DTaP vaccine containing thimerosol since the chemical was only fully removed in March of this year, according to Len Lavenda, a spokesman for Aventis Pasteur, the maker of the Tripedia brand of the vaccine.
The company does not know how much thimerosol-containing DTaP is still on the market, "but our supposition is that most of it is gone," he said.
Vaccine safety groups praised the IOM's conclusions, but warned that some vaccines still contain thimerosol.
Parents should ask to see the package inserts of vaccines before allowing their children to receive shots, said Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center.
Fisher also expressed concerns about adult flu vaccines, many of which still contain thimerosol.
"Doctors should inform pregnant mothers that the flu vaccine contains mercury," she said.
Childhood vaccine safety has also garnered the attention of Congress, which has held several hearings on possible links between vaccines and neurodevelopmental problems.
"Hearings on the childhood vaccine issue will continue," said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
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Chairman Burton Requests Recall Of Childhood Vaccines with Thimerosal
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October 3, 2001. Washington, D.C. - Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN) today renewed his request to the Department of Health and Human Services to recall all childhood immunizations containing a mercury-based preservative known as Thimerosal.
Burton made his request a day after the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report concluding that there is not enough evidence to prove or disprove the theory that mercury-containing vaccines cause neurological conditions such as learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, or autism.
Calling the theory "biologically plausible," the IOM urged that vaccines and other products containing mercury not be given to infants, children or pregnant women when alternatives are available.
"If there is even the slightest chance that a vaccine with mercury could contribute to Autism Spectrum Disorders, learning disabilities, Alzheimer's Disease, or any other neurological condition, then we should act quickly to stop all potential exposure to Thimerosal," Burton said.
"We cannot in good conscience leave Thimerosal-containing vaccines on the shelf until used up, potentially exposing children to chemicals that may lead to neuro-developmental disorders.
Mercury is toxic to the human body.
I will be sending a letter this week to Secretary Thompson asking that these products be recalled.
In the meantime, I am asking every doctor, every health clinic, and every facility that provides childhood immunizations to check your vaccine supplies and return all Thimerosal-containing vaccines and request Thimerosal-free vaccines."
In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted to suspend the use of over-the-counter (OTC) mercurial topical ointments, including those that contained Thimerosal, because they were deemed unsafe.
In 1998, the FDA asked vaccine manufacturers to voluntarily phase-out Thimerosal from their products.
However, it is widely believed that many clinics around the country maintain stocks of vaccines containing Thimerosal that eventually will be used up.
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"We cannot in good conscience leave Thimerosal-containing vaccines on the shelf until used up. . ." - Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN)
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In an April 2001 hearing, the Committee on Government Reform heard testimony from a number of physicians and scientists about the inherent risks of using mercury in childhood vaccines.
This followed a July 2000 hearing on the risks of mercury in medicine.
One Canadian study showed dramatic toxic effects on brain cells exposed to mercury.
An FDA review conducted in 1998 determined that, at the time, children who received the full complement of childhood vaccines were potentially exposed to levels of mercury that were sometimes 30 to 50 times the acceptable levels established by the EPA.
Burton first called for the removal of Thimerosal-containing vaccines from the market in October 2000.
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