Parents Demand Real Answers on Vaccines

Families are asking the courts to answer a scary question: Did commonly given vaccines cause their children's autism?

By Kathryn Perrotti Leavitt
Natural Health Magazine, March 2002

Jared and Marjorie Hansen of Framingham, Mass., recently filed a class action lawsuit against the nation's major vaccine manufacturers. They claim that mercury in thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, caused two of their children, Jacob, 4, and William, 2, to develop autism. Several hundred other families have filed similar suits in their states. The families seek money so that an independent research group can study the effects of thimerosal.

Thimerosal has been used in childhood vaccines for hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, diphtheria, and tetanus. Historically, medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and government health agencies have insisted that the trace amounts of ethylmercury found in thimerosal aren't harmful, but conclusive studies haven't been done. Parents are concerned because research shows that a sister chemical, methylmercury, found at toxic levels in some fish, can cause neurological disorders in children. Considering this scary fact, the parents ask how the government can be sure ethylmercury is safe.

In 1999, the FDA and the U.S. Public Health Service, a government health advisory group in Washington, D.C., did acknowledge that with the increasing number of vaccines being administered, a child could get more ethylmercury from thimerosal in vaccines than EPA guidelines allow. Both groups recommended that until further research was done on the mercury found in thimerosal, manufacturers stop making vaccines with the preservative. In response, most manufacturers began producing thimerosal-free vaccines, but you have to request them from your child's pediatrician to be certain.

Meanwhile, the Hansens and hundreds of other families await a court decision. The case could go on for years, but Jared Hansen will wait: "I have a difficult time believing that no one ever really stopped to ask, is [thimerosal] dangerous? If it's not connected [to autism], great. But we need to have the studies done."

Vaccines May Pose Mercury Hazard for Kids

No proof of harm, but experts say thimerosal should be avoided

By Kathleen Fackelmann
USA TODAY, 10/02/2001

Infants and children should not get vaccines with the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, says an Institute of Medicine report that was issued Monday.

The report found no scientific proof that the small doses of thimerosal in vaccines caused any harm. "This should be reassuring news for parents," says Marie McCormick, chairwoman of the IOM panel that issued the report. Yet the panel couldn't dismiss possible problems related to thimerosal, a preservative added to vaccines. Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, a form of the heavy metal mercury that at high levels can lead to neurological problems.

Manufacturers routinely used thimerosal in vaccines starting in the 1930s, the report noted. In 1999, some scientists grew concerned that low levels of ethylmercury in vaccines might add up and cause neurological problems in some children. That concern fell short of proof, however.

To be on the safe side, the Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to take thimerosal out of their vaccines. They did so, and by mid-2000, thimerosal-free vaccines were widely available.

To get a bias-free analysis of the scientific evidence, the IOM, an independent scientific group that advises federal policymakers, appointed a panel of 15 experts. The panel spent a year reviewing the scientific evidence on thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and speech and language delays.

The panel found that the scientific evidence was not conclusive, yet the group did find cause for concern about these vaccines.

The panel reviewed preliminary evidence from one study that found a link between thimerosal vaccines and language and speech delays in children. That study, which is not yet complete, did not find a link between the vaccine and autism, McCormick says.

In addition, the panel noted that some scientists had found a connection between very high doses of thimerosal (much higher than the amounts found in vaccines) and neurological problems in adults and children.

The report also notes that some of the thimerosal vaccines are still on the shelves in some clinics. The vaccines in question are those for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and haemophilus influenzae type B.

The IOM panel says parents should ask that their child receive thimerosal-free vaccines. But if unavailable, they should still get the vaccinations for their child.

Parents should insist on getting thimerosal-free vaccines for their kids, says Sallie Bernard, the executive director of the New Jersey-based Safe Minds, a group calling for the recall of all thimerosal vaccines.

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