Impressive CBS report on autism-vaccination connection
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:42 am
The Capitol hill Correspondent for CBS news posted this significant CBS commentary on the
autism-vaccine controversy.
--Dana Ullman
June 15, 2007
Autism: Why The Debate Rages
(CBS)
Sharyl Attkisson is the Capitol Hill Correspondent for CBS News.
With the first autism case now being heard in federal vaccine court in
Washington D.C., it makes sense to ask: Why is anyone even still
debating the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism? After all, for
years, many government health officials, advisors and vaccine
manufacturers have said there's no association.
Here are a number of reasons why the question remains open:
1. While government scientists, advisors and pharmaceutical companies
have been responsible for infinite lifesaving and life improving medical
advances, they are not infallible.
* It's the same group that originally thought it was safe to use x-ray
machines in shoe stores, gave pregnant women Thalidomide for morning
sickness and once allowed mercury in medicines. They assured us Vioxx
and Duract were safe painkillers, prescribed Rezulin for diabetics and then
denied any of them were responsible for patient deaths. If we never
questioned that group, we might not have discovered that Fen-phen and
the dietary supplement Ephedra are not safe weight loss products, that
antidepressants in kids can lead to suicidality and Viagra can cause
blindness. The list goes on.
* When it comes to vaccines, the same group failed to predict that the
1990's rotavirus (diarrhea) vaccine would have to be pulled from the
market after infant deaths. They encouraged use of the oral polio vaccine
(eventually discontinued after it gave too many children polio). And
they allowed the use of a mercury neurotoxin preservative in childhood
vaccines, only to admit later that they hadn't thought to calculate the cumulative
amount kids were getting as more and more vaccines were added to the
childhood immunization schedule.
* Recent history demonstrates that too often, government health
officials, mainstream doctors and pharmaceutical companies aren't on the leading
edge of alerting us to health risks; they're bringing up the rear.
Patients feel left to fend for themselves, seeking independent research and
opinions on their own. They and their dogged, relentless determination have often
been the catalyst that eventually brings medical dangers to the forefront.
2. Government scientists, advisors and vaccine manufacturers often
take an all-or-nothing approach to vaccinations.
* Government officials and infectious disease experts I've spoken
with are fearful that if vaccine side effects are better publicized, or if a link
between vaccines and autism and ADD were made, the public would
overreact and lose faith in the entire vaccination program. The result, they're
afraid, would be parents refusing to give their children any vaccines,
leading to new, deadly epidemics of preventable diseases. That indeed
would be a disaster. However, their fears have resulted in something I call an
all-or-nothing approach: they tend to promote nearly all vaccines for
nearly all children as equally necessary and equally safe. Yet at the
same time, if asked, they agree not all vaccines are equally safe, equally
beneficial, equally necessary and equally tolerated by each
individual child.
* Through the Internet and other resources, parents are now able to find
research on vaccines and read it for themselves. They compare the
government's all-or-nothing approach to the research and become
skeptical that the government is presenting the whole picture on vaccine safety
generally.
3. Government officials and mainstream scientists who dispel any
vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to vaccine makers.
* There's so much overlap among pharmaceutical companies, government
scientists and advisors that the information they provide at least
has the appearance of a conflict of interest. Government scientists and advisors
often do not mention their connections to the vaccine industry when they
provide opinions on the vaccine/autism/ADD issue.
* One of the best examples of this is the landmark autism/vaccine study
published in Pediatrics. Early in his study, the lead author, CDC's Dr.
Thomas Verstraeten, found statistically significant associations between
the amount of mercury (thimerosal) exposure kids got from their
childhood vaccines, and a wide range of brain disorders. However, the published
version of the study (the one the authors say is accurate) found no
evidence of a link to autism. Not disclosed was that Dr. Verstraeten had
left CDC midstream during the study and had gone to work for Glaxo, a
vaccine manufacturer. That failure to disclose was criticized in a later
publication of Pediatrics, but it got little mainstream attention. Also
getting little attention was a letter from well-respected scientists,
also in Pediatrics, who echoed what parents of autistic children had been
saying for months: they questioned the use and exclusion of certain data
from Dr. Verstraeten's study that eventually reduced the statistical ties between
vaccines and neurodisorders.
* University and government researchers and advisors often do
research for vaccine companies, help develop vaccines (even profit from them), and/or
are paid to consult for them. Often, these researchers do not disclose
their industry ties when they publicly dispel the notion of a link
between autism or ADD and vaccines.
* Lastly, the CDC is inextricably tied to vaccine makers through
contracts and other business and financial relationships that open the door for
the possibility of conflicts.
4. Non-profits which dispel any vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to
vaccine makers.
* Non-profits that promote vaccinations have ties to vaccine makers that
they often do not disclose when giving their opinions on vaccine safety.
One example is "Every Child By Two." This group contacted CBS News
several years ago in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent one of our stories about
the vaccine safety from airing. In forms filed for the IRS, the non-
profit lists an official from vaccine maker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as its
Treasurer. It lists vaccine maker Chiron as a paid client.
* Another example of a non-profit tied to the industry is "The Vaccine
Fund." Its President from 2000-2005 was Jacques-Francois Martin,
formerly CEO of vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur, CEO of vaccine maker Chiron, and
President of the International Federation of the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers' Association. While at The Vaccine Fund, his salary was
paid by a company that says it "has developed particular strength in the
vaccine industry and vaccine development."
5. The dual role of the CDC undermines the appearance of fairness.
* There is a perceived, if not real, conflict of interest with the
government's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) heavily promoting
vaccines, but also responsible for monitoring adverse events. At least two
respected medical journals, the "American Journal of Public Health" and
"Pediatrics" have published letters or articles recommending "greater independence
in vaccine safety assessments" apart from "the highly successful program
to promote immunizations." In short, the CDC's bread and butter is
achieving high vaccination rates. But that role is in conflict with the agency's
responsibility to fully research and disclose adverse events that
could, in theory, bring down vaccination rates.
6. There is no definitive research proving a link between vaccines and
autism or ADD, but there is also no definitive research ruling it out.
* Something rarely reported is that while there's no definitive study
linking vaccines to autism or ADD, there is also no study definitively
disproving a link. And there's a substantial body of peer-reviewed,
published science from places like Columbia, Yale and Northeastern
suggesting a link, or pointing to the need for further study.
* Many credible voices deny a link. But many other credible voices
support the idea of a link. One example of the latter is George Wayne Lucier,
formerly a senior official at the National Institutes of Health in
Environmental Toxicology, an NIH advisor, member of the National
Academy of Sciences Committee on Toxicity Testing and a scientific advisor for
EPA who concludes "...it is highly probably that use of thimerosal as a
preservative has caused developmental disorders, including autism, in
some children." A lengthy Congressional investigation also concluded that the
autism epidemic is likely linked to vaccinations.
7. Those who say autism and ADD are not linked to vaccines do not
know what is causing the epidemics.
* The most frightening part of the autism/ADD epidemics is that if,
indeed, they're unrelated to vaccinations, that our best, brightest public
health experts still have no idea what is causing it. Excluding ADD, one out of
every 150 American children are now being diagnosed with autism.
Vaccinations have provided lifesaving miracles in public health.
However, it's undisputed that they are also responsible for many serious adverse
events including brain disorders and, rarely, deaths. Trying to maximize
the potential benefits of vaccines and minimize the harm shouldn't be
seen as a threat to the nation's inoculation program, it's merely a
logical step forward.
One scientist who testified for the plaintiff this week in The Vaccine
Court said there's a way to test children for a hidden hole in their
immune make-up that makes them susceptible to bad immune reactions from
vaccinations. He said that, ideally, every child should undergo such
a test before their first vaccinations. But he also said the test is very
expensive and so "not worth it." Many parents might disagree. If
they knew such a test was available, they'd find a way to pay for it. But such
information has to be disseminated to the public before a first step can
even be considered.
Mainstream medicine initially said that autism was caused by mothers who
weren't affectionate enough with their children. If that doesn't
teach us that we should always seek further knowledge and not necessarily accept
what's spoon-fed to us by certain experts...then nothing will.
autism-vaccine controversy.
--Dana Ullman
June 15, 2007
Autism: Why The Debate Rages
(CBS)
Sharyl Attkisson is the Capitol Hill Correspondent for CBS News.
With the first autism case now being heard in federal vaccine court in
Washington D.C., it makes sense to ask: Why is anyone even still
debating the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism? After all, for
years, many government health officials, advisors and vaccine
manufacturers have said there's no association.
Here are a number of reasons why the question remains open:
1. While government scientists, advisors and pharmaceutical companies
have been responsible for infinite lifesaving and life improving medical
advances, they are not infallible.
* It's the same group that originally thought it was safe to use x-ray
machines in shoe stores, gave pregnant women Thalidomide for morning
sickness and once allowed mercury in medicines. They assured us Vioxx
and Duract were safe painkillers, prescribed Rezulin for diabetics and then
denied any of them were responsible for patient deaths. If we never
questioned that group, we might not have discovered that Fen-phen and
the dietary supplement Ephedra are not safe weight loss products, that
antidepressants in kids can lead to suicidality and Viagra can cause
blindness. The list goes on.
* When it comes to vaccines, the same group failed to predict that the
1990's rotavirus (diarrhea) vaccine would have to be pulled from the
market after infant deaths. They encouraged use of the oral polio vaccine
(eventually discontinued after it gave too many children polio). And
they allowed the use of a mercury neurotoxin preservative in childhood
vaccines, only to admit later that they hadn't thought to calculate the cumulative
amount kids were getting as more and more vaccines were added to the
childhood immunization schedule.
* Recent history demonstrates that too often, government health
officials, mainstream doctors and pharmaceutical companies aren't on the leading
edge of alerting us to health risks; they're bringing up the rear.
Patients feel left to fend for themselves, seeking independent research and
opinions on their own. They and their dogged, relentless determination have often
been the catalyst that eventually brings medical dangers to the forefront.
2. Government scientists, advisors and vaccine manufacturers often
take an all-or-nothing approach to vaccinations.
* Government officials and infectious disease experts I've spoken
with are fearful that if vaccine side effects are better publicized, or if a link
between vaccines and autism and ADD were made, the public would
overreact and lose faith in the entire vaccination program. The result, they're
afraid, would be parents refusing to give their children any vaccines,
leading to new, deadly epidemics of preventable diseases. That indeed
would be a disaster. However, their fears have resulted in something I call an
all-or-nothing approach: they tend to promote nearly all vaccines for
nearly all children as equally necessary and equally safe. Yet at the
same time, if asked, they agree not all vaccines are equally safe, equally
beneficial, equally necessary and equally tolerated by each
individual child.
* Through the Internet and other resources, parents are now able to find
research on vaccines and read it for themselves. They compare the
government's all-or-nothing approach to the research and become
skeptical that the government is presenting the whole picture on vaccine safety
generally.
3. Government officials and mainstream scientists who dispel any
vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to vaccine makers.
* There's so much overlap among pharmaceutical companies, government
scientists and advisors that the information they provide at least
has the appearance of a conflict of interest. Government scientists and advisors
often do not mention their connections to the vaccine industry when they
provide opinions on the vaccine/autism/ADD issue.
* One of the best examples of this is the landmark autism/vaccine study
published in Pediatrics. Early in his study, the lead author, CDC's Dr.
Thomas Verstraeten, found statistically significant associations between
the amount of mercury (thimerosal) exposure kids got from their
childhood vaccines, and a wide range of brain disorders. However, the published
version of the study (the one the authors say is accurate) found no
evidence of a link to autism. Not disclosed was that Dr. Verstraeten had
left CDC midstream during the study and had gone to work for Glaxo, a
vaccine manufacturer. That failure to disclose was criticized in a later
publication of Pediatrics, but it got little mainstream attention. Also
getting little attention was a letter from well-respected scientists,
also in Pediatrics, who echoed what parents of autistic children had been
saying for months: they questioned the use and exclusion of certain data
from Dr. Verstraeten's study that eventually reduced the statistical ties between
vaccines and neurodisorders.
* University and government researchers and advisors often do
research for vaccine companies, help develop vaccines (even profit from them), and/or
are paid to consult for them. Often, these researchers do not disclose
their industry ties when they publicly dispel the notion of a link
between autism or ADD and vaccines.
* Lastly, the CDC is inextricably tied to vaccine makers through
contracts and other business and financial relationships that open the door for
the possibility of conflicts.
4. Non-profits which dispel any vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to
vaccine makers.
* Non-profits that promote vaccinations have ties to vaccine makers that
they often do not disclose when giving their opinions on vaccine safety.
One example is "Every Child By Two." This group contacted CBS News
several years ago in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent one of our stories about
the vaccine safety from airing. In forms filed for the IRS, the non-
profit lists an official from vaccine maker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as its
Treasurer. It lists vaccine maker Chiron as a paid client.
* Another example of a non-profit tied to the industry is "The Vaccine
Fund." Its President from 2000-2005 was Jacques-Francois Martin,
formerly CEO of vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur, CEO of vaccine maker Chiron, and
President of the International Federation of the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers' Association. While at The Vaccine Fund, his salary was
paid by a company that says it "has developed particular strength in the
vaccine industry and vaccine development."
5. The dual role of the CDC undermines the appearance of fairness.
* There is a perceived, if not real, conflict of interest with the
government's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) heavily promoting
vaccines, but also responsible for monitoring adverse events. At least two
respected medical journals, the "American Journal of Public Health" and
"Pediatrics" have published letters or articles recommending "greater independence
in vaccine safety assessments" apart from "the highly successful program
to promote immunizations." In short, the CDC's bread and butter is
achieving high vaccination rates. But that role is in conflict with the agency's
responsibility to fully research and disclose adverse events that
could, in theory, bring down vaccination rates.
6. There is no definitive research proving a link between vaccines and
autism or ADD, but there is also no definitive research ruling it out.
* Something rarely reported is that while there's no definitive study
linking vaccines to autism or ADD, there is also no study definitively
disproving a link. And there's a substantial body of peer-reviewed,
published science from places like Columbia, Yale and Northeastern
suggesting a link, or pointing to the need for further study.
* Many credible voices deny a link. But many other credible voices
support the idea of a link. One example of the latter is George Wayne Lucier,
formerly a senior official at the National Institutes of Health in
Environmental Toxicology, an NIH advisor, member of the National
Academy of Sciences Committee on Toxicity Testing and a scientific advisor for
EPA who concludes "...it is highly probably that use of thimerosal as a
preservative has caused developmental disorders, including autism, in
some children." A lengthy Congressional investigation also concluded that the
autism epidemic is likely linked to vaccinations.
7. Those who say autism and ADD are not linked to vaccines do not
know what is causing the epidemics.
* The most frightening part of the autism/ADD epidemics is that if,
indeed, they're unrelated to vaccinations, that our best, brightest public
health experts still have no idea what is causing it. Excluding ADD, one out of
every 150 American children are now being diagnosed with autism.
Vaccinations have provided lifesaving miracles in public health.
However, it's undisputed that they are also responsible for many serious adverse
events including brain disorders and, rarely, deaths. Trying to maximize
the potential benefits of vaccines and minimize the harm shouldn't be
seen as a threat to the nation's inoculation program, it's merely a
logical step forward.
One scientist who testified for the plaintiff this week in The Vaccine
Court said there's a way to test children for a hidden hole in their
immune make-up that makes them susceptible to bad immune reactions from
vaccinations. He said that, ideally, every child should undergo such
a test before their first vaccinations. But he also said the test is very
expensive and so "not worth it." Many parents might disagree. If
they knew such a test was available, they'd find a way to pay for it. But such
information has to be disseminated to the public before a first step can
even be considered.
Mainstream medicine initially said that autism was caused by mothers who
weren't affectionate enough with their children. If that doesn't
teach us that we should always seek further knowledge and not necessarily accept
what's spoon-fed to us by certain experts...then nothing will.