Parents are still waiting for mercury-free vaccines

From Wendy Fournier, president, National Autism Association:

Seven years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) realized they had been injecting children with vaccines containing levels of mercury far exceeding Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. They chose not to stop the practice immediately and recall vaccines containing the neurotoxic, mercury-based preservative thimerosal, calling instead for a phase-out (“Autism parents allege CDC cover-up,” April 6).

Seven years seems an eternity to parents who watched their perfectly healthy children plunge into the depths of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders after receiving mercury-containing vaccines. It is painful to stand helplessly by as more children suffer the same easily preventable fate.

The amount of thimerosal has been reduced in most pediatric vaccines. It looked like progress was being made. But now the CDC appears intent on reestablishing previous mercury levels in children by adding several flu shots to the routine childhood schedule. In addition to children age 6 months to 5 years, the CDC also recommends flu shots for pregnant women. Astoundingly, the agency refuses to state a preference for mercury-free shots, even though vaccine manufacturers have stated that they can provide an adequate supply.

Autism rates are declining since the reduction of thimerosal, further implicating a causal association with the autism epidemic affecting 1 in 166 children. The CDC, the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry must explain how they allowed this tragedy to happen and why they have let it continue for so long. Apparently, fears of liability and public backlash prevent our federal agencies from removing the neurotoxin. Meanwhile, more and more children are being injured.

It’s been stated that recommending mercury-free immunizations will cause parents to question the safety of vaccines. In case the CDC hasn’t noticed, we already are. Removing mercury from vaccines can only help restore declining confidence in the immunization program. Refusal to discontinue the injection of poison into our babies will only serve to create further mistrust of our federal health agencies.

In 1999, the AAP stated in the journal Pediatrics: “Manufacturers and the FDA are urged to work toward rapid reduction or elimination of mercury-containing preservatives in vaccines.” Seven years later, they are fighting to continue the practice of injecting mercury into our children, actively lobbying against state bills to ban thimerosal. One need only look at their funding sources to see why. Nearly 5 percent of the AAP budget is provided by contributions from pharmaceutical companies and the CDC.

Regarding mercury-containing vaccines shipped to developing countries, former AAP President Dr. Louis Z. Cooper recently told the Los Angeles Times, “If we banned mercury-containing vaccines by statute in the United States … it would make it a lot harder to explain in other parts of the world” why they should accept them.

My response to Dr. Cooper is that other countries should not accept them and we should not be promoting them. Purposefully injecting children with a known neurotoxin is unsafe and immoral in this country or any other.

We’re told that the amount of mercury in vaccines is too little to cause harm. According to the EPA, a substance containing mercury at 200 parts per billion must be handled as hazardous waste. A thimerosal-containing flu vaccine contains mercury at a level of 50,000 parts per billion. Are we expected to believe that it is perfectly safe to inject our babies with a substance not suitable to be flushed down the toilet?

We are in the midst of a national emergency, with 1 in 6 children in our nation suffering from a learning or behavior disorder. Last week, hundreds of parents marched on Capitol Hill to demand congressional action to end this barbaric sacrifice of children in order to salvage the reputation of the National Immunization Program and maximize profits of the drug industry.

Thimerosal, never tested for safety by the FDA, is unimaginably toxic to the developing brain and isn’t even a necessary component of vaccines. Clearly, it should never have been injected into humans.

For seven years we’ve been asking for safe vaccines for our children. We’re still waiting.

Portsmouth, R.I.