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IOM AND CDC COVER-UP: HOW FAR WILL THEY GO TO PROTECT TOXIC VACCINES?

RIDDLED WITH CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE RELEASES REPORT DERIVED FROM FLAWED DATA, SAYS NATIONAL AUTISM ASSOCIATION

Washington, DC- A report released today has parents and researchers shocked at how far the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will go to protect the reputation of the vaccination program. After CDC-funded hearings were held in front of an IOM panel on February 9^th regarding the connection between vaccines and autism, IOM released its decision today by stating there is no connection, despite strong clinical evidence from accredited doctors and researchers that suggests otherwise.

To reach their decision, the IOM relied heavily upon CDC’s Vaccine Safety Database (VSD) study published in the Journal of Pediatrics in November, 2003. Many critics have come forward questioning its validity. The study’s author, Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, works for a leading vaccine manufacturer. He also authored the first CDC VSD study in 2000, obtained through FOIA, which found a statistically significant link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism but the study was not released to the public.

The National Autism Association (NAA), supporting families and physicians looking for effective treatments for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, says the report proves the IOM has not been able to divest itself from vaccine policies. And tragically, in doing so, they have failed society by their blindness to the issue at hand. “It appears the IOM’s admitted fear of an undermined vaccination program has led to this decision, not scientific evidence,” says Lori McIlwain, Executive Director of the National Autism Association.

NAA states they are for safe vaccines and stand by the clinical evidence that was presented to the IOM from highly accredited researchers, along with medical records of affected children. “Thousands of parents have seen the regression of skills in their children following thimerosal-containing vaccines,” says Jo Pike President of the National Autism Association. “Many of these same children are progressing rapidly with biomedical interventions addressing mercury poisoning. The cause and effect should not be ignored,” she says.

In their report, the IOM panel dismissed strong clinical and epidemiological evidence presented during the hearings. These studies include:

• Dr. Mark Geier and David Geier presented epidemiological evidence that children who received thimerosal-containing vaccines were six times more likely to have autism than children who did not.
• Mady Hornig, MD, showed mice that had been given thimerosal-containing vaccines and subsequently developed harmful repetitive behaviors similar to those of autism.
• David Baskin, MD, showed the neurotoxic affects of ethylmercury and how such damage can lead to apoptosis of cells.
• Jeff Bradstreet, MD, showed that autistic children had six times more mercury in their bodies than age and vaccine-matched controls.
• Boyd Haley, showed that autistic children have less mercury in their hair than controls hypothesizing that autistic children can not detoxify as easily as neuro-typical children.

“The IOM took over 10 years to acknowledge Gulf War Syndrome and over 20 years to acknowledge Agent Orange poisoning,” says Laura Bono, NAA Chairman. “We are asking the IOM to affirm the mass poisoning of thousands of children through mercury in their vaccines. We are confident that the truth will eventually come out and we will not be deterred until it does.”

For more information, visit www.NationalAutism.org.

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