NVIC News: Parents charge CDC manipulated mercury in vaccines study.

[Jagannath Chatterjee]

E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER  Vienna, Virginia   http://www.nvic.org    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *      UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN                   #8122  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *    "Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since   1982."     ==========================================================================================    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191167,00.html  FoxNews    WebMD  Debate Flares Over Vaccines, Autism Link  Monday, April 10, 2006    By Todd Zwillich    Debate over a possible tie between mercury-containing vaccines and   autism  flared up this week as activist groups launched a campaign accusing   federal  health agencies and prominent researchers of
 manipulating scientific  findings on the link.    Some parents of autistic children have long blamed vaccines containing   the  preservative thimerosal for an alarming rise in the disorder.   Thimerosal  contains a type of mercury. A series of reports by the Institute of   Medicine  (IOM) ending in 2004 concluded no evidence could be found linking the  vaccines to neurological diseases, including autism.    But groups this week mounted a campaign to publicize previously   undisclosed  transcripts and emails that they say point to efforts by the CDC to  manipulate the IOM’s scientific conclusions on the safety of vaccines  containing thimerosal. The groups accuse the CDC of trying to defend a  long-held policy promoting childhood vaccinations.    “In the interest of protecting the immunization program, they forgot   about  child safety. They are continuing that pattern of behavior and denial   that  thimerosal causes harm,” Bobbie Manning, vice president of Advocates   for 
 Children’s Health Affected by Mercury, tells WebMD.    According to the CDC, all vaccines recommended for children are   available in  thimerosal-free versions. But some parents say millions of previous  exposures helped caused a spike in autism cases since the 1980s.    The CDC contracted with the IOM in 2001 to generate a series of reports   on  possible links between vaccines and a variety of health problems. An   IOM  committee of outside experts, led by Harvard researcher Marie   McCormick, MD,  found no evidence of a link and concluded that proposed biological  explanations for a mercury-autism relationship were “theoretical.”    Allegations of Bias    Activist groups released transcripts of closed-door conversations in   2001  between McCormick and Kathleen Stratton, the study director. Groups say   the  conversation suggests that the committee would fashion its findings to   meet  the CDC’s desires to play down a link between thimerosal and autism.    “[The CDC]
 wants us to declare, well, these things are pretty safe on a  population basis,” McCormick said to Stratton, according to the   transcript,  posted on a web site called Putchildrenfirst.com.    Thirty-four pages later in the transcript, McCormick states, “...we are   not  ever going to come down that [autism] is a true side effect.”    Manning said the transcript shows that the CDC “directed that committee   to  find what they wanted to find, which was no causation” between vaccines   and  autism.    In an interview, McCormick confirmed that the statements in the   transcript  are “accurate and true.” But she said there was “no truth” to   allegations  that CDC officials influenced the IOM or that the committee reached  conclusions before its scientific review.    McCormick said her comments reflected a debate over whether the   committee  would look at vaccine effects in individuals or across populations, and   not  what any specific findings would be.    The conversation
 also took place in late 2001, before the committee’s   final  2004 report on vaccines and autism was planned, McCormick said.    “In 2001 we did not know we were going to look at autism again. To use   those  as evidence for what we did in 2004 is really inappropriate,” she said.    McCormick added that the committee’s experts were chosen specifically   for  their scientific independence and for a lack of ties to both   pharmaceutical  manufacturers and the CDC.    CDC Perspective    Parents groups alleged that CDC officials had worked to dissuade agency  scientists from looking more deeply into links between thimerosal and  autism.    The groups also alleged that CDC officials narrowed the scope of the   IOM’s  report to include a handful of studies, most of which the agency had a   role  in funding or planning. Those studies generally showed little evidence   of a  link between vaccination and autism.    Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman, said the agency has been “very  
 transparent”  about its ongoing studies of autism and vaccines and that the emails   have  been taken “out of context.” He said the agency closely guards its  scientific credibility and “in no way” tried to influence IOM experts.    “We stand behind our science that’s been done to this date and we will  certainly do more in the future,” he said.    Louis Z. Cooper, MD, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at Columbia  University and a founder of the National Network for Immunization  Information, said in an interview that some of the emails and   transcripts  “cause some anxiety” because they may help fuel fear among parents   about the  safety of vaccines and the motivations of health officials.    Still, Cooper, who noted he’s known McCormick professionally for at   least 20  years, called accusations of bias against her or other members of IOM’s  committee “rubbish, scurrilous, and awful.”    "If I wanted a group who were committed to objectivity and were   committed to 
 science, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people,” said   Cooper, a  former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.    Manning said her group and others would continue to push for   congressional  investigations into how the IOM conducted the studies and whether they   were  influenced by the CDC. “We believe that this is a serious issue that   needs  to be examined,” she said.    By Todd Zwillich, reviewed by Louise Chang, MD    SOURCES: Bobbie Manning, vice president, Advocates for Children’s   Health  Affected by Mercury. www.putchildrenfirst.com. Marie McCormick, MD,  professor of maternal and child health, Harvard University School of   Public  Health. Tom Skinner, spokesman, CDC. Louis Z. Cooper, MD, professor  emeritus, Columbia University.        =============================================  Ne...@nvic.org is a free service of the National Vaccine Information  Center and is supported through membership donations.  Learn more about   vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed consent rights   http://www.nvic.org    Become a member and support NVIC's work                 https://www.nvic.org/making%20cash%20donations.htm    To sign up for a free e-mail subscription   http://www.nvic.org/emaillist.htm    To unsubscribe from this list, please go to   http://nvic.org/emaillistunsub.htm or send an email to   news-r...@nvic.org and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the email.    NVIC is funded through individual membership donations and does not   receive government funding. Barbara Loe Fisher, President and Co-founder.  NOTE: This is not an interactive e-mail list. Please do not respond to   messages.  

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