Study Attempts Cover Up of Autism-Mercury Link
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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
November 3, 2003
Contact:
Laura Bono, 919-403-9443
Lori McIlwain, 919-272-8192
Moms on a Mission for Autism
www.momsonamissionforautism.org
CDC Scandal Emerges-Study Attempts Cover Up of Autism-Mercury Link
Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., Asks CDC for Investigation
ORIGINAL CDC STUDY FOUND "INCREASING RISKS OF
NEUROLOGIC DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS WITH
INCREASING CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE TO THIMEROSAL..."
NOW, THIRD REVISION OF SAME STUDY FINDS NO LINK
Washington, DC-A CDC study looking at Vaccine
Safety Datalink (VSD) data, published today in
Pediatrics, is believed to contain fraudulent
scientific data. The study reports no
statistically-significant link between autism,
ADHD, and developmental delays and the
mercury-based vaccine preservative Thimerosal.
All of these disorders were found in the CDC's
original investigation and have been removed.
Today's Washington Times reports that U.S.
Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL), a physician, said
in a letter to Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of
the CDC, "I have reviewed the article and have
serious reservations about the four-year
evolution and conclusions of this study." And, "I
found a disturbing pattern which merits a
thorough, open, timely, and independent review by
researchers outside of the CDC, HHS, the vaccine
industry, and others with a conflict of interest
in vaccine related issues."
Dr. Tom Verstraeten, the lead investigator in the
original study and author of the current article,
is employed by vaccine-manufacturer giant
GlaxoSmithKline, although the current article
fails to disclose the clear conflict of interest.
The original February 2000 version of the VSD
study, obtained through the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), found that exposure to
just three mercury-containing vaccines within the
first three months of life could make children
nearly two and one half times more likely to
develop autism than children not exposed. The
symptoms of autism mimic those of mercury
poisoning.
A CDC meeting was held in June 2000 to discuss
the original study's findings. Transcripts, also
obtained through FOIA, reveal CDC researchers and
others conspiring to deliberately deceive the
American people by minimizing the ill-affects of
thimerosal.
Dr. Robert Brent, of Thomas Jefferson University
and the Dupont Hospital for Children said, "Swe
are in a bad position from the standpoint of
defending any lawsuits if they were initiated and
I am concerned."
Dr. Tom Verstraeten said, "...we have found
statistically significant relationships between
the exposures and outcomes for these different
exposures and outcomes..." Also, "But one thing
that is for sure, there is certainly an
under-ascertainment of all of these because some
of the children are just not old enough to be
diagnosed."
Bill Weil, M.D., representing the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), said, "You can play
with this all you want." [The numbers] are
linear. They are statistically significant."
When discussing data manipulation, Dr. Philip
Rhodes, a statistician at the CDC and co-author
of both studies said, "So you can push, I can
pull. But there has been substantial movement
from this very highly significant result down to
a fairly marginal result."
Dr. Mark Geier and MedCon, Inc. President, David
Geier, are independent researchers, who at the
behest of the U.S. Congress have analyzed the VSD
data. They found an overwhelming epidemiological
confirmation of a direct link between thimerosal
and autism. In fact, the researchers found that
the risk is comparable to smoking and lung
cancer. Their study will be published in December
in the peer-reviewed journal, Expert Review of
Vaccines.
A study published this summer in a peer-reviewed
journal by Dr. Jeff Bradstreet found mercury
concentrations were significantly higher in
children with autism vs. normal controls.
Another recent study published by independent
researchers analyzed the Vaccine Adverse Event
Reporting System (VAERS,) a cooperative program
of the CDC and FDA. This study found children
were six times more likely to have autism after
thimerosal-containing vaccines than children not
exposed.
A July 2003 UPI Report found, after a four-month
investigation, a web of close ties between the
agency and the companies that make vaccines.
For copies of studies, data manipulation
analysis, and CDC Meeting transcripts, visit
www.momsonamissionforautism.org
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