Vaccination: Vaccine Link to Child Autism Epidemic

"Our hope is that, once-and-for-all, this IOM report will stop playing politics with the lives and health of our children and call for the aggressive enforcement of the joint recommendation made by the U.S. Public Health Service and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) five years ago to remove mercury from all vaccines given to children," stated Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN, NP, president of SafeMinds. "Our primary concern over the past year remains the same: that the February 2004 meeting was premature and was scheduled as a direct result of political pressure being applied to the IOM by the CDC. By forcing the meeting in February, the CDC ensured that key scientific studies -- whose conclusions in support of the vaccine-autism link were just being prepared at that time -- would be ineligible for inclusion in the forthcoming report."

The majority of the government's requested presenters seemed to be pre- occupied with the need to count and recount the number of children possibly affected by the vaccine-autism link, rather than look at the actual level of injury or possible resolutions. "This is a medical issue, not one for the number crunchers. The time for the government to set aside the numbers spinning and fulfill its duty to protect our children and families from this threat is long overdue," Redwood said. "Even Congress is frustrated by the lack of aggressive action and is taking steps to fulfill this duty with the bi-partisan bill, HR 4169, introduced by Reps. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-Fla.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)."

Source: SafeMinds