I have three friends with whom I graduated HS long ago. Last year, our wives became pregnant within six months of each other. For three of us, this was our first child. My son is now 11 months, and so falls into the age range of 6-23 months for those "at risk" during the upcoming flu season. Lately, some controversy has arisen as to whether or not an increase in cases of autism may be linked to a mercury compound used as a preservative in flu shots.
The compound is called thermosil. Flu shots containing thermosil have mercury amounts higher than those recommended by the FDA. Other childhood vaccinations and immunizations have only trace amounts of thermosil. Again, the flu shots are the issue.
Anyway, I am posting two CBS news articles about the controversy. After that, I will include part of an email written by my friend's wife. She is a speech therapist and works with autistic children, and she has given my wife and me some helpful advice that I wish to pass along to you new parents.
And, yes, my son received the shot with thermosil, and he's fine. I'll ask for the preservative-free shot next year. While reading all this, bear in mind that the flu itself can be fatal to infants and small children. Also, the link with autism has not been proven and has been refuted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the US.
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CBS News Article #1:
Vaccine Links To Autism?
(CBS) Because Alex Donnelly is autistic, he can't communicate normally or lead a normal life.
Yet he has some amazing abilities. When asked what the capital cities of Turkmenistan and Venezuela are, he can answer "Ashkerbad" and "Caracas" accurately.
His father claims Alex wasn't autistic - until he got certain vaccinations containing a mercury preservative.
As kids got more and more vaccines over the years, more mercury came with them - in amounts way over safety limits. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has long claimed it's not the cause of autism or related disorders, and mercury is still in flu shots recommended for babies this fall, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
A half dozen childhood vaccines still have mercury,but the shots most kids get have little to none, so flu shots this fall are the biggest outstanding issue.
Does the amount in a flu shot matter? The theory is yes. In genetically susceptible children, even small amounts of mercury can damage the brain and the mercury buildup is cumulative in those children who lack the ability to shed it.
The flu shot is particularly important because babies will get it twice the first year and then continue getting it once a year thereafter. There are 25 micrograms of mercury in a single flu shot. Compare that to the current safe levels of mercury most kids get in their cumulative vaccinations in 2004 which is something like .4 micrograms all together over several years.
Nobody makes the claim that all ADD and autism cases are caused by the mercury in vaccines. But many researchers believe it plays a large role in our epidemic of the 1990's.
But now, a landmark study by Dr. Mady Hornig, from the Mailman School Of Public Health, Columbia University, is adding to the mercury worries, as Attkisson finds out.
Hornig injected a strain of mice with genetic tissues similar to those found in children with mercury-laden vaccines equivalent to what kids got in the 1990's. The mice developed profound brain problems.
So what types of behavior did Hornig see in the mice, and how does that compare with what we call autism? Dr. Hornig answers, "All sorts of strange behaviors that were repetitive in nature, where animals would just keep repeating the same behavior in a very stereotyped fashion."
It wasn't just repetition -- the mice withdrew from their surroundings like autistic children. They resisted change and developed brain abnormalities affecting emotion and thinking, also like autistic children.
Alex's father, Jim Donnelly, says it only confirms what he's believed all along: most kids aren't harmed by mercury in vaccines; they shed it naturally, but some retain it, and it poisons their brains.
Says Donnelly, "When (Alex's) testing came back, he had mercury levels that were 20 times the EPA safety margin residing in his body. It was unbelievable."
Other scientists and the CDC dispute such a link. But if it's true, hundreds of thousands of American kids could be living with the fallout. And the results could be devastating to vaccine makers and federal health officials who have steadfastly defended the use of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, in childhood vaccines.
By Sharyl Attkisson©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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CBS News Article #2:
Autism, Mercury Link Disputed
(CBS/AP) There is no evidence that a controversial mercury-based vaccine preservative causes autism, concludes an eagerly anticipated scientific review that says it's time to lay vaccine suspicions to rest and find the real culprit.
Tuesday's conclusion by the prestigious Institute of Medicine was a blow to parents of autistic children who blame vaccination for the brain disorder and are pushing for more research of the issue.
But the Institute of Medicine's panel of prominent scientists pointed to five large studies, here and in Denmark, Sweden and Britain that tracked thousands of children since 2001 and found no association between autism and thimerosal.
While high doses of mercury can cause neurologic damage, there's no evidence that this type of damage causes the symptoms specific to autism -- and no laboratory or animal research that proves how the much smaller amounts in thimerosal could do so, either, the IOM concluded.
On the other hand, genetics plays a role in autism, and several studies show clear signs of prenatal onset of the disorder, including brain differences at birth, the report notes.
"Don't misunderstand: The committee members are fully aware that this is a very horrible and devastating condition," said Dr. Marie McCormick, a Harvard professor of maternal and child health who led the IOM probe. "It's important to get to the root of what's happening."
But, "there seem to be lots of opportunities for research that would be more productive" than continuing the vaccine hunt.
Autism is a complex developmental disorder best known for impairing a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. Recent data suggest a 10-fold increase in autism rates over the last decade, although it's not clear how much of the apparent surge reflects better diagnosis and how much is a true rise.
Thimerosal has been used as a pharmaceutical preservative since the 1930s. Although the amount of mercury it contains is very small, in 1999 public health officials ordered manufacturers to phase thimerosal out of common vaccines, from hepatitis to diphtheria, as a precaution, saying small infants had begun getting so many immunizations that they might get too much of the chemical. Today it's all but gone.
There is a notable exception -- flu shots. The CDC just added influenza to the list of shots for babies, and most flu shots still contain mercury.
Thimerosal critics, who had derived hope from a 2001 Institute of Medicine review that called the potential link unproven but medically plausible, were disappointed by Tuesday's reconsideration.
"The science is still out, the verdict is still out," said Lyn Redwood, president of the SafeMinds activist group and mother of an autistic son. "They've just set us back five years in terms of getting more science."
Some parents argue that children may be born genetically susceptible to autism and some environmental factor, such as thimerosal, triggers it.
Jennifer Lassiter has a daughter with autism, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. Katelyn, a bright 8-year-old, cannot connect with the world.
Lassiter said Katelyn was a happy normal, babbling baby until getting her shots when she was 15-months-old.
"She got her vaccinations, she ran a low grade fever," she told Attkisson. "She had a little rash and then she stopped talking."
Her parents didn't connect the dots until they needed her shot records for preschool. Her doctor had misplaced them, so just gave her another round.
Afterwards, "she was walking in circles, she was lining things up, screeching and flapping," Lassiter said.
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., is a doctor who has proposed a bill banning just about all mercury in vaccines.
"The safety of thimeresol, which was the mercury product in the vaccines, has not been demonstrated. And actually a lot of the press reporting on this issue has been inaccurate,'' said Weldon.
Katelyn's parents support vaccines but not the mercury -- with their daughter unable to have a normal life, they ask how can it be wrong to err on the side of caution?
©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Email from my friend:
RE: Flu Shots?
Actually this has been an issue for some time for us. A large percentage of my clients have autism or an autism spectrum disorder (PDD, Asperger's...) anyway...I am actually taking my child to get a flu shot tomorrow but only after I requested a thermisol free flu shot. I called my ped. office and the nurse called me back. She had no idea what I was talking about and all I said was "I want to make sure my 13 month old child's flu shot is thermisol free... she responded "what is thermisol???" I again asked "are you a nurse?" she curtly said "yes I am" then I rephrased "preservative free" she then seemed to understand... "oh yes the preservative free version is what we are giving our 6-23 month olds and when we're out of the preservative free version we'll give the regular kind to them." So I am taking my child tomorrow and I will make sure to requestion and will reschedule if needed if the thermisol free aka "preservative free" version is not available... I know that there have been a lot of questions especially in the past about the MMR vacc. It was never the MMR vacc but the thermisol in it that parents with autistic children had difficultly with and some parents I know tracked their batch numbers and did find that certain MMR vaccs in the past did contain higher levels of thermisol than was appropriate. The FDA requested some time ago that thermisol be taken out (didn't mandate but requested) of vacc. and only trace amounts remain but some people still question why in the world thermisol is still in flu shots... it is not allowed in over the counter medications.
It's really not the thermisol alone, regarding autism, it's more like a combination of things including some kids' difficulty with clearing heavy metals, intestinal difficulties that allow certain gluten/cassein foods to create an opiate effect and thus cause brain damage, etc. It's all a very personal decision to vacc./get the flu shot and thankfully we have vacc and not epidemic and needless diseases, but I think that I would rather know as a parent what my options are. I read somewhere the other day that it is approx. $4.00 more dollars to have a thermisol free flu shot to the companies...I would gladly pay that out of my pocket to have more peace of mind...
Anyway...I guess I'm too long winded... just all of us parents remember to do our own homework, ask good questions, have drs and nurse practs. who view us as partners, stop acting like Dr's know everything...they certainly know more than us on some things but they can't possibly keep up with every new thing, and remember you are the best advocate for your own child.
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More articles and info can be found by typing "Flu Shot + Autism" into the search engine of your choice. Thanks, umfum.
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