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Autism and vaccines

Stepford Consumers

Warning: Listening to the radio in your car may be bad for your health. It could be bad for mine anyway.

There are few things that make me angrier than hearing completely misguided health information broadcast to an audience of millions. And it makes me even angrier when I’m in my car and it comes over my radio. The result: radio road rage.

I brake for uninformed opinions

One recent morning I was listening to Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR) when I heard a brief report from a David Ropeik – an author and teacher of something called “risk communication” at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Addressing the issue of childhood vaccines associated with autism, Mr. Ropeik started off by stating that it now appears there is no link between the two. Then, without pausing to qualify this, he wondered if the advocates for children’s health are “more set on being right than giving the facts a fair hearing.” And he described those advocates as stubbornly resisting information that challenges their beliefs.

In a way, Mr. Ropeik is right: There’s no link between autism and vaccines, per se. It’s primarily the vaccines that use the mercury-based thimerosal as a preservative that are associated with autism. Five years ago, the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics petitioned drug companies to remove thimerosal from vaccines intended for children, and many vaccine manufacturers complied. So who’s being stubborn: The parents of children who are put at risk, or drug companies that insist on still using thimerosal when alternative preservatives are obviously available?

For several years now, advocates of thimerosal vaccines have been stubbornly resisting information that challenges their beliefs. And most of these advocates are clearly “more set on being right than giving the facts a fair hearing.” In fact, some of them have gone out of their way to hide or subvert the conclusions of key research.

Seeing what they want to see

Mr. Ropeik seems to be naively unaware that the thimerosal/autism issue is a long way from being settled. But then maybe he’s getting his information on this topic from the Immunization Safety Review Committee (ISRC) of the National Institute of Medicine. Last month, the ISRC released a report on autism and vaccines that found no link between the two.

The report cited five studies that supported the conclusion, as well as five studies that revealed thimerosal and autism links. But according to the committee, the five studies that indicate no association were well-designed, while the five that found an autism/thimerosal link were judged to be flawed.

Weird coincidence, huh?

Last March, at a public hearing conducted by the ISRC, U.S. congressman Dave Weldon (who is also a doctor) noted a lack of cooperation from the Centers for Disease Control. He told the panel that CDC officials have “erected excessive barriers and have imposed severe limits on access to this data.”

But the data that has been eked out of the CDC is revealing. In one study that examined CDC statistics, researchers found evidence that children who receive just three vaccines containing thimerosal are 27 times more likely to develop autism, compared to children who get vaccinations containing no thimerosal.

We can only imagine that this is one of the studies that the ISRC found to be “flawed.”

A little bit goes too far

But never mind the dissenting voices. According to Mr. Ropeik it’s a closed case: there’s no autism/vaccine link. The official report says so – right? – so, that’s that.

In his NPR report, Mr. Ropeik talked about a concept called hormesis. The basic idea of hormesis is that a large dose of something that might be harmful, just might be good for you in a small dose. Mr. Ropeik offered these examples: “aspirin, vitamins, sunshine or even water.” (Interesting choices. I couldn’t help but think: Which of these things does not belong?)

So if we follow this Ropeikian logic, a little thimerosal just might be good for us!

Well, it’s an interesting concept, but I think I’ll pass on the mercury injections. But you go ahead and enjoy all the small doses you want, Dave. Although I wouldn’t recommend it for your kids.

Welcome to Stepford

Certain drug companies would be more than happy to have everyone just forget all about the vaccine/autism link. As you can imagine, the drug industry has no desire to accept evidence that an ingredient used extensively for many years may have injured the minds of thousands of children.

So the underlying message of Mr. Ropeik’s report must warm the hearts of drug executives: Stop whining about the safety of children. Be compliant. Don’t question authority. Be Stepford Consumers.

If you think I’m exaggerating, or if you’d just like to hear this brilliant piece of reporting for yourself, follow this link to listen to the actual broadcast: http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=1954297

If this situation were just a little bit of bunk, we could enjoy the hormesis of it. But it’s not. It’s a LOT of bunk.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Commentary: Connection Between Vaccines and Autism” David Ropeik, National Public Radio, Morning Edition, 6/11/04, npr.org
“No Vaccine Link Found to Autism” The Associated Press, 5/19/04, msnbc.com
“MMR Vaccine and Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines Are Not Associated With Autism, IOM Report Says” The National Academies, 5/18/04, nas.edu
“CDC Vaccine Data Leads Scientists to Shocking Discovery” National Autism Association Press Release, 2/9/04, biz.yahoo.com

 

 

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