Vaccine Case: An Exception Or A Precedent?

First Family To Have Autism-Related Case "Conceded" Is Just One Of Thousands

(CBS)  It's a very controversial question that's been debated for some time: Is there a link between childhood vaccines and autism? For the first time, federal officials conceded that vaccines contributed to autism-like symptoms in one child. The case involved a 9-year-old girl whose family filed a legal claim against the government. And some believe that what happened to her could have major implications for other families, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.

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Terry and Jon Poling spoke publicly for the first time Thursday about a case being watched by thousands of families with autistic children.

"My daughter, who had been completely normal until getting nine vaccinations in one day, was suddenly no longer there," said Terry Poling, mother of 9-year-old Hannah.

Hannah Poling appeared to be like many children. At 19 months, her pediatrician noted she was "alert and active" and "spoke well."

At that same visit, she got five shots - nine doses of vaccines. She almost immediately developed fever, seizures and severe health problems.

Eight years later, the government has quietly conceded that vaccines aggravated a cell disorder nobody knew Hannah had, leaving her with permanent brain damage and autistic-like symptoms.

Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., is also a doctor.

Weldon has long been pushing the government to aggressively work to develop ways to screen for children who might be the most susceptible to ill effects from vaccines.

The government has been telling the public for more than a decade that there's absolutely no reason to be concerned about any link.

"I wouldn't recommend they say something like that in light of the Poling case and the admission on the part of the government," Weldon said.

But Thursday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control responded.

"This is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of a very simple situation of one child with an unusual disorder, and it would be completely wrong to say that this has bearing to the vast majority of children with autism," Julie Gerberding said.

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FYI: More information and resources on autism and vaccines.
Couric & Co. Blog: Autism, Why The Debate Rages.

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While the Poling case is the first of its kind to become public, a CBS News investigation uncovered at least nine other cases as far back as 1990, where records show the court ordered the government compensated families whose children developed autism or autistic-like symptoms in children including toddlers who had been called "very smart" and "impressed" doctors with their "intelligence and curiosity" … until their vaccinations.

They were children just like Hannah Poling.

What's still being debated is whether the Poling case is an exception ... or a precedent.

[barbjc1]

I have been saying this for years, the pharmaceuticals have to be behind this for money. There is no way in H..., you can put that much toxin in a small body without problems.

[cyberus-2009]

I''ve always been suspicious of the claim that the mercury in vaccines is harmless ... while at the same time saying that pregnant women and small children shouldn''t eat a whole list of seafoods because of the mercury

[mythoughtsr]

The mercury has been out of the vaccines for YEARS. People need to get over it, move on and find another way to get free money. In the meantime the rest of us will live realistic lives and stop chasing lies.

[susanhelit]

Every study, no matter who it''s run by, comes to the same conclusions. Vaccines don''t cause autism. On the other hand, vaccines do prevent many deadly diseases, as some parents who fall for the autism hype learn to their deep sorrow.

Go, search, read the studies for yourself, not the description of the link on an anti-vaccine site (they flat out lie about what the study says quite often) - you can see it for yourself. Two groups of kids, one group gets vaccinated and the other does not - the unvaccinated kids get autism at exactly the same rate as the vaccinated.

[cyberus-2009]

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The mercury has been out of the vaccines for YEARS. People need to get over it, move on and find another way to get free money. In the meantime the rest of us will live realistic lives and stop chasing lies.

Posted by MyThoughtsR at 08:32 PM : Mar 06, 2008
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You had better go check your facts .. mercury is still used in vaccines. There have been many cases recently of parents fighting the vaccine rules for school because of it.

[Syndicate]

MyOpinion1: I agree completely. Autism is a disease that forms in the womb and is hard wired into the brain. There is a huge differance between a brain that is wired wrong and one that is damaged even if the symptoms are the same. Fact is the human body uses some pretty complicated chemistry and we are still learning. If you are worried about a vaccine hurting your child imagine what the full blown illness would do to them.

[lpal23]

This is GREAT news for the family in Atlanta! Now these "medical experts" should admit why the drug co. took these vaccines off the market and removed the mercury out of these vaccines if "nothing was wrong with them?" So come see MY child and see his medical shot records and the Lot numbers from these vaccines he got -- sadly, those were all the ones that were pulled with mercury in them -- and watch our home movies of my child before these vaccines and then afterwards and tell me he is not the same kid! I am one of those parents who will not shut up about this and who lives with a child who has been damaged by these vaccines. I will NEVER stop professing the connection to Autism and vaccines and my child''s physical, mental and developmental setbacks. We live with the damage it did. And there are no medically documented "genetic" cases that have affected so many thousands of children with such profound changes in their development over time as this epidemic, so these "medical experts" need to stop claiming there is no connection when in fact THERE IS INDEED! Sadly, these drug co. and "medical experts" need to shut up, pay up and help all these children and families and one day they will have to eat their words when the facts come out and it is indeed acknowledged! - Lpal23

[cbsblogger]

At least three lives badly hurt if not ruined....the child, the two parents and the siblings who must all sacrifice because of the harmful effects of the vaccines.

[krumjean]

Ah yes, all the people commenting here are brainwashed by the media who are all backed up by the pharmaceutical companies. I can assume that all of you don''t have a child with autism who has spent thousands and thousands of dollars doing treatments to make their kids better. And they are getting better with these treatments. I could care less if my child received a dime. I wouldn''t want any additional children to be harmed by these vaccinations. GET FREE MONEY. Ha! Don''t talk about something you know nothing about. You know nothing of autism and what our family and the child with autism goes through. Some day you will all be affected by autism and God bless you when that happens.

[bsa0001]

I cannot believe how rude and inconsiderate some of you people are!!!! These children are beautiful and obviously you who are so hateful have never met a child with Autism. I don''t want a dime from the government, they''ve done enough for my child!!! The FDA doesn''t even know what''s in your food much less the immunizations that they are so proud of. The problem needs to be stopped NOW! Why don''t you get to know a child that has Autism and then see if you are still as heartless as you are now. Our daughter lost her hair, vomited every meal, lost her speech,lost her balance, lost her social skills, and had numerous ear infections all within a 1 year period. That''s normal though I guess today in society.

[bsa0001]

I cannot believe how rude and inconsiderate some of you people are!!!! These children are beautiful and obviously you who are so hateful have never met a child with Autism. I don''t want a dime from the government, they''ve done enough for my child!!! The FDA doesn''t even know what''s in your food much less the immunizations that they are so proud of. The problem needs to be stopped NOW! Why don''t you get to know a child that has Autism and then see if you are still as heartless as you are now. Our daughter lost her hair, vomited every meal, lost her speech,lost her balance, lost her social skills, and had numerous ear infections all within a 1 year period. That''s normal though I guess today in society.

[lloydbest1]

"This is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of a very simple situation of one child with an unusual disorder, and it would be completely wrong to say that this has bearing to the vast majority of children with autism,"
Sounds a little like "Sh** happens, let''s move on". Well, maybe but.......
If is YOUR kid or if the nitrogenous waste lands in YOUR lap then it becomes a lot more personal. It''s as clear as it can be that something in the vaccines caused Hannah to crash and burn. Mercury? Maybe, it is a neurotoxin, after all.
The fact that millions of kids (and adults, too) get vaccinations yearly and suffer no ill affects - SusanHelit is right about that - is of small or no comfort to Mr. and Mrs Poling.
The mercury in the vaccine functions only as a preservative; it allows storage of the stuff for longer periods of time. It is not needed to be effective. There are also vaccines out there that do not have the thimerosol preservative; they either have a different and presumably safer one or none at all.
Get your kids vaccinated! But also ask questions about what else is in the vaccine. Mercury may not be the culprit but it does raise a lot of red flags.

[drinuk]

Folks on this board never learn.

Every time a news item is published on these pages which is even slightly detrimental to the Pharmaceutical Barons, SUSAN HELIT wades in to defend them. She is THEM, part of their misinformation propaganda machine. Ignore her comments and have a truthful and genuine debate.

[bsa0001]

You all talk about money? We cannot even get our child insured! Do you really think that we expect financial assistance from the government?

[mamabear9397]

Obviously the people who think this is rubbish have never dealt with an autistic child. Have never experience having your child develop at a normal rate and then it is all gone. Have never had your child say I love you Mommy and then one day never hear it again because his communication skills and social skills have diminished. These are beautiful children trapped in their own mind all because their body could not tolerate the mercury. Sure plenty of people (adults and children) get shots and tolerate them, but not all people and body chemistries are alike. Some are less tolerable. Society does not understand nor do they care to take the time to understand these children. Parents of totally healthy children don''t know how fortunate they are. But on the otherhand, maybe I am the fortunate one. I have been given the opportunity to see the difficulties some children go through and don''t take life for granted like some other parents do.

[mamabear9397]

Do your research - there are still mercury in the shots - maybe not in such a large dose - but it is still there. I am a mother of an autistic child - I have spent HOURS doing research on this. The government will not deny nor admit to this finding, but it is there

[drinuk]

Cases of Autism have risen alarmingly since the introduction of the triple vaccine and now stand at ONE child in every Hundred. Right now in France GSK are being sued by five thousand families for serious harm caused by the hepatitis B vaccine, are your Big Pharma sponsored Media reporting it ? NO. Maybe Susan Helit and MyOpinion1 will inform you but I doubt it.

Check out www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk Read the true facts from the people who are really supporting and fighting for families.

[drinuk]

MyOpinion1 You are a Big Pharma mole, Go Away!

[realinfopdx]

"Thimerosal, which is approximately 50% mercury by weight, has been one of the most widely used preservatives in vaccines."

Get that, 50% mercury. That is directly from the U.S. FDA website. The government, okay, not a whacky tree-hugging site. Here is the link:

http://www.fda.gov/CBER/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#pres

The debate can continue, but let''s all understand that mercury IS IN VACCINES.

[bsa0001]

May God be with all of the families that have went through this and those that are going to go through it. It''s a horrible epidemic in our country and until the facts are faced and the truth is told, the problem is going to persist. I thought the purpose of vaccinations was to prevent an outrage of disease? All they have done is create an outbreak of Autism.

[bsa0001]

Thanks realinfopdx!

[drewsmom12]

To MyOpinion1:

Take a look at this link: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm

Does this not prove that there IS MERCURY in vaccines????

[bsa0001]

Look how many of us, and still they try to lie?

[drinuk]

BSA0001 Vaccines are meant to make big bucks, they are the staple diet of Big Pharma. Our protection against such genocide should be the FDA, that organisation however is now not fit for purpose being firmly under the control of the pharmaceuticals as are many politicians.

[nothappyatall]

"aggravated a cell disorder nobody knew Hannah had,"

In other words, it was HER problem, not the vaccine, it was her own WEAKNESS inherited from her parents. The vaccine just brought out the defect that was there and would have manifested itself sooner or later anyway.

"Our daughter lost her hair, vomited every meal, lost her speech,lost her balance, lost her social skills, and had numerous ear infections all within a 1 year period." BSA001

Ok, then explain how come the other 99 children out of 100 get the SAME shots and they have no such problems, just YOURS, what does that suggest the problem is, the vaccine or your GENETICS?

"there are still mercury in the shots - maybe not in such a large dose - but it is still there."

So its still there, explain how millions got/get vaccines and are fine, its just the few who have a problem, thats not the vaccine fault its your GENETIC weakness at fault- a birth defect, the same reason a 2 year old gets cancer that typically takes 20-30 years to develop.

[mommyxtwo-2009]

I am not sure if the nay-sayers are uneducated or too trusting but the fact remains that our bodies may have individual predispostions but something environmental can trigger a dormant disorder/illness. I was once too trusting too--though my son doesnt have autism; he has epilepsy. Epilepsy that originally presented as febrile seizures caused by fevers that he often got after vaccinations. Even after having a DTap booster in December that led to 24 hrs of uncontrollable seizure activity,I still didn''t believe there was a link...until one ER doc asked the question no one else had in 4 yrs--"Did your son have any shots recently?"
For all you people that follow government protocol blindly--I too understand that the majority of children have no adverse reaction but my son has a blazing warning in his PCP''s chart "Adverse Medical Reaction". They have been contacted by the pharmaceutical company to document the episode. None of this was done at our request--it has been done because the "experts" know there is a problem & don''t know how to deal with it (in my opinion).

As far as the neccessity of the vaccinations--yes, they serve a purpose but we live in the US--when was the last time someone was blinded by the measles or died of smallpox?? Yes, we may need to vaccinate but you can''t convince me it has to be done as agressively as it is being done in the past 10-15 yrs. I am 40--somehow our generation survived childhood without the chicken pox & pneumoncocol vaccines.

[bsa0001]

Mamabear:

Is there any way to get your email without giving it to some of these loons??

[drinuk]

There is a video on www.dorway.com go see how Big Pharma get informative and truthful TV shows "Pulled"

I want to hear the final three contestants for the Presidency come out and condemn this Big Pharma Mafia, then tell us how much cash they have taken from them in attempting to reach the White House.

I think Pigs May Fly before I do

[bsa0001]

Mommyxtwo:
Thank you so much.

newster1: Do you not realize how many children have Autism? 99 out of 100?? Please do some more research before you try to criticize me or my family.

[drinuk]

See! one disapears and on comes another Big Pharma Creep jumps up, Go Away newster1, probably the same person, there sick message is too similar to be objective.

[nothappyatall]

"Thimerosal, which is approximately 50% mercury by weight, has been one of the most widely used preservatives in vaccines."

50% by WEIGHT, as a preservative thimerisol is added in a MINUTE miniscule amount, like the BHA and BHT added to your food for the same reasons.
How much does a 1 cc dose of vaccine weigh? take that small amount and thimerisole may be 1% of that, of which 50% is mercury.

This is like dropping a soda pop in an olympic swimming pool
mercury comes out of the EARTH, this is not some man invention it is found naturally;

The richest mercury ores contain up to 2.5% mercury by mass, and even the leanest concentrated deposits are at least 0.1% mercury

It is found either as a native metal or in cinnabar, corderoite, livingstonite and other minerals, with cinnabar being the most common ore. Mercury ores usually occur in very young orogenic belts where rock of high density are forced to the crust of the Earth, often in hot springs or other volcanic regions.

Natural sources such as volcanoes are responsible for approximately half of atmospheric mercury emissions

Mercury compounds are found in some over-the-counter drugs, including topical antiseptics, stimulant laxatives, diaper-rash ointment, eye drops, and nasal sprays, antidepressants, in antisyphilitics and used in the manufacture of mascara

[nothappyatall]

Mercury in the form of one of its common ores, cinnabar, remains an important component of Chinese, Tibetan, and Ayurvedic medicine.

Mercury compounds are found in some over-the-counter drugs, including topical antiseptics, stimulant laxatives, diaper-rash ointment, eye drops, and nasal sprays.

[drinuk]

TOO MUCH INFORMATION NEWSTER1, you are giving the game away now, go see if Big Pharma can find you another dirty job.

[bsa0001]

You are truly ridiculous newster.

drinuk: thank you

[drinuk]

BSA0001, Sorry but it is 1 child in every One hundred.

Get the real facts by going to WWW.theoneclickgroup.co.uk

[drinuk]

They are so bloody arrogant, first they poison us then come on here defending their junk and shouting their mouths off. They really are SCUM.

[bsa0001]

I''m sorry I don''t understand. I know that in the U.S. it is 1 and 150 are diagnosed with Autism. It is more common than diabetes, pediatric cancer, and AIDS combined.

[nothappyatall]

I have nothing to do with pharma companies you idiots, I am ANTI corporate and ANTI Govt, but I think the thimerisol/ autism is a FARCE propagated by slap-suit happy fools who dont accept their kids have a weakness or DEFECT. The REASON you dont see diseases like smallpox, the plague,typhoid or all the horrific diseases that killed millions in this country is because of vaccines, medicine, sanitation and chlorinated WATER!
Yet we have idiots trying to get cholorine removed from the water!
I dont like mercury any more than you do, but put perspective on it- ANYTHING has the potential to cause problems, even plain WHEAT- a FOOD if someone is allergic to it, lots of naturally occuring things can kill someone who has severe asthsma. Out of 100,000 vaccinated people- SOME will die or get sick- the weak ones, the other 99,99+ wont. Expose that 100,000 unvaccinated to influenza, polio, plague or smallpox if you could and almost ALL will get sick, many will die. Polio and smallpox are nothing here now, in the 50''s- research how many polio and smallpox struck before the vaccines.

[bsa0001]

"Polio and smallpox are nothing here now, in the 50''''s- research how many polio and smallpox struck before the vaccines."

Why don''t you research how many children had Autism in the 50''s?????

[nothappyatall]

I didnt say it was 99 out of 100 have autism!
I SAID ONE (1) out of 100, now it''s 1 in 150, ok we''ll go with THAT number then, a theoretical number cited here;

"BSA0001, Sorry but it is 1 child in every One hundred
Posted by drinuk at 10:15 PM : Mar 06, 2008"

Again, explain how come out of 150 people vaccinated, 149 are just FINE and DONT have autism etc.

Expose that 150 to smallpox if you could and see how many get sick and die with out the immunity from the vaccine we all had as kids before it was eradicated.

"Why dont you research how many children had Autism in the 50''''s????? "

I dont CARE how many had autism in the 50''s, they are alive because of those vaccinations for smallpox, polio and all the rest- millions did NOT live because of those dieseases that were epidemic, and many wound up in iron lungs from polio, know anyone who lives in an iron lung today? ever even SEEN one any more??

Go to cemetaries and look at the headstones from the 1890''s era and you''ll see LOTS of infants, babies and children, in many cases SEVERAL children in familes who all died within weeks of each other- that all sickened and died from diseases we have under control today.

[nothappyatall]

TOO MUCH INFORMATION NEWSTER1"

A SIMPLE google search and wikipedia provided the mercury information, about it''s being a naturally occurring element found all over the earth, and thrust into the AIR from volcanoes as well, this is not some man-invented evil ''chemical''- it comes out of ROCKS!
It''s also used in many products YOU probably use;

Some over-the-counter drugs, including topical antiseptics, stimulant laxatives, diaper-rash ointment, eye drops, and nasal sprays, antidepressants, in antisyphilitics and used in the manufacture of mascara.

Dont forget the RABIES vaccine, without the vaccine, rabies is 100% fatal- only about TWO people in recorded history survived.

[drinuk]

I assume that if you are anti corporate you will be anti corrupt corporate too. Big Pharma are truly evil, all powerful and have corrupted medicine worldwide. You are preaching from their doctrine when in fact the diseases you mention began to decline prior to vaccination by 1940 and with the introduction of clean water and sanitation.

The current draconian measures being applied to vaccinations right now is because crooked government agencies having taken graft from Big Pharma to stockpile vaccines, they are now desperate to to justify the cost. Bird Flu is most certainly a scam and how come they chose the wrong flu vaccine this year.

The truth is not far away now. The massive cover up and corruption is about to brought out into the open and Big Pharma stock falls will almost certainly trigger financial depression.

[bsa0001]

I''m done talking to you. You have your belief and I have mine. I also have a 7 year old daughter has suffered from vaccinations that contain mercury. Do you have children? Arguing about it is not going to help my daughter or the other thousands of children that are suffering. Goodnight and may God be with you and your family.

[lucasnico]

5 vaccines in one day.......a child under the age of 2.... ***..... there is no reason for mercury in vaccines, EVER.

[tucano2]

We''ve known for decades Merck''s MMR vaccine cause deafness in children. Yet the Federal government defends Merck in each and every lawsuit. Is some judge or the other making millions under the table?

[nothappyatall]

Corporations exist for ONE reason, and one reason only- to maximize their profits not matter what, you are not a customer you are an invoice number, and that is why Southwest air skipped plane inspections- COSTS, because if your plane crashes due to faults they are INSURED and the insurance pays all the claims for your death and the rest of the passengers while the CEO sips a martini.

I dont believe in flu vaccines and herding the dumb sheeple in for shots every year, the virus changes too rapidly EVERY YEAR for vaccines to be effective, in THAT case the vaccine risk is worse than the disease.

Its NOT the case with proven epidemic killers or serious diseases like- smallpox, polio, dyptheria, measles, tetanus, rabies and a bunch of others.
Problem with kids in school is, ONE gets sick and it spreads like wildfire as it does during flu season- imagine if that was something like polio instead of flu! then the dam kids go home and infect the PARENTS who go to WORK- the ones who handle your groceries, food, touch the doorknobs at work, your computer etc, then YOU get it.
Thats how epidemics spread, and by the time we know whats up its spread all over.

[nothappyatall]

All I know is, I HAD all those childhood shots, and nothing EVER happened as a result, none made me get sick nor do I have autism, so either I have a stronger constitution and immune system than your kids with autism, or they have defective ones, thats not the vaccines fault, if it was then 100% of those given it would be affected.

[nothappyatall]

"Weldon has long been pushing the government to aggressively work to develop ways to screen for children who might be the most susceptible to ill effects from vaccines."

I have NO problem with that, SCREEN em like you screen for alergies or any other negative reaction that normal people don''t have.

Allergies to naturally made things like pollin and ragweed are not normal- neither bothers me at all, someone who is allergic to ragweed could be the same type who would have a reaction to ANY vaccine, especially those grown in chicken cells, that''s not the vaccine or the ragweed at fault if someone has an allergy!
SOME people even have a reaction to ordinary latex, and latex gloves- again, thats THEIR immune system at fault. Like ragweed- latex doesn''t bother me in the least, so if ragweed sends you to the hospital gasping and wheezing and it doesn''t affect me at all, well, where does that indicate the problem is?

[nothappyatall]

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[nothappyatall]

"Im done talking to you. You have your belief and I have mine."

I have my beliefs, but you dont have proof of anything.

" I also have a 7 year old daughter has suffered from vaccinations that contain mercury."

No, you have a 7 year old with a medical problem you THINK might be related but don''t know for certain.

" Do you have children? Arguing about it is not going to help my daughter or the other thousands of children that are suffering."

No, I dont like children

" Goodnight and may god be with you and your family.
Posted by BSA0001 "

I dont do ''god'' Im an atheist, so dont foist your god off on me.

Anyone who actually believes in such crazy things as flying angels, a book of fables written 2000 years ago, and an invisible Santa Claus in the sky is not qualified to tell me about medical science.